How To Become A Pastry Chef

by Genevieve M. Blaber

When you're a pastry chef, "c" isn't just for cookies -- it's for everything from cakes and croissants to crullers and crème brulee. That's right, while some people may mistakenly label them as bakers, pastry chefs do more than just bake bread and cookies, they create pastries and desserts from all over the world.

How do I become a pastry chef?
While some high schools may offer perfunctory training in the culinary industry, the best way into a pastry chef career is with a high school diploma and post-high school training in the field. This can be attained either by enrolling in a pastry arts program at a career school or college, or by applying to a school that's purely devoted to the culinary arts or pastry arts. Depending on the pastry chef school or program, you may end up spending anywhere from a few months to four years studying the pastry arts.

Whether you aim for a certificate of a full-fledged degree in the pastry arts, it's best to attend only those programs and/or pastry chef schools that have been accredited by The American Culinary Federation. As with most career tracks, the more education and training you have as a pastry chef, the more job opportunities you'll enjoy.

A pastry chef can then choose a number of different ways of establishing him/herself. They can begin working in an established restaurant or bakery, compete in one of the nation's many baking and pastry competitions, or even start their own bakery if they are ambitious and smart enough to do so.

What will I learn in a pastry school?
Whether they work in a restaurant or a pastry shop, pastry chefs -- also known as patissiers -- are charged with creating a cavalry of desserts to delight even the most discerning of customers. Using their diverse training, they create both time-honored favorites and new takes on old recipes.

Depending upon whether you want to be a pastry chef or a baker, you'll find that the courses you'll take at a pastry chef school will differ. For example, while a baker will focus on the everyday cakes and cookies that you grew up loving, a pastry chef will learn more about desserts from all over the world while also honing their ability to create new concoctions on the fly. Another distinct difference between pastry chefs and other dessert makers, such as bakers, is the level of artistry involved in their creations. Fancy frosting designs, complimentary colors, and exotic tastes and flavors are all par for the course for ambitious pastry chefs.

In general though, bakers and pastry chefs will learn the ins and outs of cookies, cakes, chocolates, confections, tarts, and breads. That means learning everything about what ingredients compliment each other, what temperatures to bake at, and how to present food in a way that is appealing to the eye and stomach.