If you intend to join a professional pastry school, this post is meant for you. It shares everything you need to know before enrolling, requirements, how to pick the best school and what to expect when you join. The information will help you to know if this is what you really want to do and what you’ll have achieved by the end of the course.
If you are passionate about baking and you want to take your baking skills to another level, reading cookbooks and online recipe at home is great but it’s not enough. You need to join a good pastry school to perfect the art of pastry. It is the only way you will be able to get full comprehensive education in matters concerning pastry and anything else related to pastry. Otherwise, other sources of information are very scanty and they can only be of help if you are contented with the typical baking you do at home without any room for expansion in future.
What do baking and pastry entail?
Baking and pastry is all about baking foods such as loaves of bread, pies, cakes and cookies among others. Any other thing done in the kitchen falls under the culinary arts which majorly deal with cooking vegetables, meats and all the other main dishes served in a restaurant. Whether baking and pastry or culinary art is a personal preference depending on what you find more satisfying.
In baking and pastry classes, you are taught about following a recipe to detail and precise measurements. Pastry chefs do not have room for excuses; they have to follow a recipe exactly how it is written. So, if you love to cook but following the proper techniques, procedures and formulas as exact as they are supposed to be all the time is a problem, then, pastry is not for you.
The things you will be taught in a pastry school
If you enroll in pastry school, these are lessons you will be taught.
1. Professional baking
Of course, you will perfect your baking skills when you join pastry school and become a better baker. This is actually the main goal of joining a pastry school. Also, you get to interact with like-minded people and the instructors are usually talented pastry chefs who are passionate about passing the skills to their trainees. Having a professional take you along your baking classes and answer all your questions will help take your baking to the next level. By the time you are done with the training, you should be making appealing and tasty slices of bread, cakes, desserts, etc.
2. Taste-testing
You will be trained on the importance of taste-testing. Pastry chefs should know that although an appealing design is good, the food they create should also be tastier. If you want to be among the best, make sure you develop your own palate it will help you to make delicious and unique food.
3. Nutrition
More often, desserts and other baked foods are not associated with nutritious foods. But when you join pastry school, you will get to learn how to prepare healthy yet delicious food. Surprisingly, people don’t know it is possible to prepare healthy desserts without compromising their great taste.
4. Teamwork
Pastry school will prepare you for more than the obvious baking lessons. In school, you will learn how to work as a team and how to become a great team player as you work with other students and your trainers. This is an experience that will help you relate well with other people even outside the school setup. Meaning, even after graduating from your pastry school, getting a job or starting your own business won’t be difficult and there are high chances of succeeding.
5. Attention to details
One thing that sets aside pastry chefs from other chefs is keenness. If you are to succeed in a career as a pastry chef, then you must be good at following instructions. When it comes to baking, one wrong move and the effect will still be felt in the end product. In your lessons, you will be taught the importance of following instructions and being observant to produce a masterpiece.
Tips to help you choose the right pastry school
To help you get the right pastry school, these are the things you should consider:
Programs offered
If you are straight from high school and someone else is sponsoring your education, you can choose the full-time program. This option is particularly important because it gives you ample time to learn and practice your newfound profession. If you have a job, you can choose the part-time program so that your job is not affected by your classes. Although you can still quit your job and concentrate on your baking lessons, this may not be possible if you are the one paying for your course. You need money to sponsor your education and to start your pastry business if you want to follow that path. Thus, as you look for a school, choose the one that has the most convenient programs. So that it becomes easier for you to attend the classes without compromising your other commitments.
Facilities available
When choosing a pastry school, choose the one with great baking facilities. Do not settle for less. That’s why it is important to visit the school before you commit. If the general appearance of the school doesn’t impress you, then move on to the next one. Even a simple thing like the class size is important. Choose a school you are contented with.
Recommendation
If you know a relative, a colleague or a friend who has been into a certain pastry school, ask them about their experience there and if they would recommend it to you. When you visit the facility you intend to join, ask other students about their experience there. If most of them are regretting their decision to join that school, don’t be the next victim.
Cost
To ensure you get the best out of the whole course, make sure you choose a program you are comfortable paying. If someone else is sponsoring your course, let them know the amounts involved upfront. Exiting the classes before completing won’t be of help to you even if you had chosen the best school in town.
The art of baking
While you can still learn how to bake at home, going to pastry school is more beneficial. In school, other than learning the ingredients needed to make a cake and the procedure to follow, you also get a chance to know what role every ingredient plays in the cake and the importance of following that particular procedure. Plus, you also get to understand the repercussion of not following the procedure or omitting certain ingredients when baking different types of cakes. In other words, if you are to pursue a career in pastry, you have to enroll in a pastry school and learn the art. And finally, it is only in pastry school where you get to interact and mingle with people who love baking as much as you do.
