Baking and Pastry Certficate

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I live in Chicago and I'm interested in getting a baking and pastry certificate - hoping to do pastry part-time in the future, i.e. helping out friends & family, maybe even opening a small shop later on in life... I work full-time and have been investigating various schools in the area that would allow me to study in the evenings/weekends. Does anyone recommend any particular school for this certificate? Also, I'll be desperately looking for financial aid since I live on my own and have been paying back student loans for my bachelors that I recieved 3 years ago... If anyone knows of a good starting point to research scholarships/grants, I'd appreciate if you could pass the information along!

Thanks!

By Serf (Serf) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 04:33 pm: Edit

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By Serf (Serf) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 04:33 pm: Edit

Hi, I hope this helps:

The following sites will point you to scholarship lists, tips, and resources for free:


1. PUT YOUR WEBSITE HERE.
2. CASHE: www.cashe.com/runsearch.html
3. College Board: www.collegeboard.org
4. CollegeNET Mach 25: www.collegenet.com
5. CollegeQuest: www.collegequest.com
6. Embark.com: www.embark.com
7. FastAid: www.fastaid.com
8. FastWeb: www.fastweb.com
9. Financial Aid Information Page: www.finaid.com
10. FreSch!: www.freschinfo.com
11. Go Scholarship Search: www.gocollege.com
12. NASFAA/Peterson’s: www.collegequest.com
13. ScholarAid: www.scholaraid.com
14. Scholarships 101: www.scholarships101.com
15. U.S. News Scholarship Search: www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/dollars/scholar/search.htm


Most scholarship search services require you to fill out a personal profile listing your individual characteristics and accomplishments. The program then combs the database of scholarships to find those that you may be eligible for, according to the information that you gave in the profile.

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GOOD LUCK!!!

By George (George) on Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 06:42 pm: Edit

Hi,

Here's a link to the New Scholarship area on EOL.
http://escoffier.com/education/scholarship.html

The links are specifically for Culinary related Scholarships.

I'll make a note to add the other generic ones to that list, thanks Serf!

George

By Corey (Corey) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 11:19 am: Edit

Get the college edition of Gisslen's Pro Baking, the ProMngt edtion. study the book, do the test in the workbook, send the test in to the Restaurant Asso. and if you pass, you get a certificate. thats what a lot of my students do. this will give you the basics.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 08:58 pm: Edit

Corey, Your telling us that, thats how your students get a certificate. In Pastry & Baking.
Your kidding us, right ? You mean all those years I spent working under Germans, and Austrians, and French Chefs were for nothing. I coulda been a Pastry Chef, or a Baker with just that. ?
And they tell me nothings wrong with the industry.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 09:01 pm: Edit

and another thing, you don't get anywhere with just paper. Are you telling your students that.
It takes years of learning, from people who have been doing it for years.
What school is this so I know who not to hire.

By Serf (Serf) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 10:56 pm: Edit

This is to Chefspike;

Since you are a Pastry Chef, & have studied under some of the finest chefs, where should I start my career? In a program that just covers pastry/baking in a general culinary program or one that specializes in it with a 2yr assoc degree. The Texas Culinary Academy just covers Baking/Pastry I & II for a total of 12 credit hours. I mean it may be nice to know all the basics of culinary with a general program, but am I just hurting my chances at a better opp with a more specific program.

Thanx in Advance for your insight.
Serf

By Corey (Corey) on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 11:38 pm: Edit

I mean it's just a certificate that says you know whats in the book. it's just a document thats says you understand what is covered in the book. i.e. study the book, take the test, get a certificate. no hands on or anything thou. but people tach both ways with these books, I went to a cooking school that made you go thru the books in a live kitchen. i.e. a certificate of completion that verifys that the student has taken the course. not a diploma. oh, god, yea, they still need hands on too, it's just like baking or cooking 101, a starting point. hell, I can get a doctorate for just a 40 week book study course.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 12:32 am: Edit

Corey, then I don't understand the point of it.
It's useless. I think that should be pointed out to the students. It reminds me of this guy in the school I went to, this guy was amazing at book work, recipes, numbers, ect., but could not make a veal stock, or a custard for quiche, he became a manager, which would seem to me a perfect fit.
I've just known too many people in the biz that carry certificates and end up being not able to handle a lunch rush. I hope I'm being clear.
There was a time when you accomplished say butchering that the chef you were working for gave you a certificate, and he put his name on it. That ment something. I don't know if that happens today. I know that's how some schools in europe did it. Learn and do sugar, get paper, and so on. Please forgive me for what seemed like an attack, it wasen't.
I'll go get this book, maybe I'm mouthing off before I see.
Peace.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 01:18 am: Edit

Serf,
I don't know about the finest chef's, but the ones I did learn from were quite good. High production, Hotel work.
I went to a school that taught everything. I think, and this is just me, that thats where you should start. I can't count the times I've helped prep, or ran a station on the line to help out, or helped a guy with a block of ice and could not have done so if I just learned Pastry & Baking. You become valuable, to your chef and the house. Jumping in during parties, ect. makes working in the " team " thing a little easyer for everyone. I went to Schoolcraft Comm. College, in Livonia, Mich. It was two years then and still is. In fact now they have a certified
Master Pastry Chef. And I believe there are one or two more Master's there. But I don't know your situation as far as money and moving, ect. so I can't tell you were to go. I think this is a dis. you have to make yourself. I'll tell you this, if I get the time and money, I'm going to go back and relearn some stuff, like sugar and choc's, maybe in Belgium or France. If your young and have no ties, thats what I would sujest. And I'm not saying that you can't learn that here in the states, but come on, theres no place like learning food, than in the counties that practically invented food. And the life experience is something you will always have. I don't do a lot of the stuff I used to. Sugar work, Choc's. cause with the places I've worked there wasen't a call for it. I don't miss sugar work. Or gum paste. I just took a job here in LA., and we will be doing everything from scratch, ice cream, choc's, everything. It's for a rest that is opening a second one in a month. I'm looking forward to it. Now, if my old as* can just keep up
and I haven't forgotten how to....What was I saying ? oh yea, so I hope this helps, and get back to me.
Peace.

By Corey (Corey) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 01:34 am: Edit

well, it's still just a certificate thou, I can study the bible and get a certificate in bible studys but that don't make me a minister. all it is is a affirmation stating I studyed the material and proved some knowledge of the material I read. it don't mean you are qualifyed in the field, it just means you know the material you studyed. a lot of teachers that teach from it in a school kitchen don't use the ProMngt cert. program thou. I was just saying, it is a certificate, that is all. if I said, make me a key lime cheesecake, and you did it, and I gave you a certificate saying you can make them well, that don't make you a master of the pie.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 09:25 am: Edit

If I made the pie well and thats all I did for you, then the certif. would be valuabule to me when I went for other jobs. That in it self shows I not only knew that product but knew how to make it well by your standards. You being the teacher, chef, ect. You signing it tells the next chef that it is with your approval.
That is a standard, or level.

By Corey (Corey) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 11:43 am: Edit

well, I do tell them it's not all they need, they need to get hands on and much more training, and I use the bible study example, i.e. this certificate does not make them a cook just like a bible study cert. will not make them a catholic priest. hmm maybe we should check out this program better. I see what you mean on just book learning thou.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 08:37 pm: Edit

Corey, please don't think I'm jumping on your sh**.
I am not. If there was a standard, that all students worked with, and schools, then those items or procedures that were no good would fall to the way side, and chefs might know what they were getting when the person came looking for a job. Maybe the chefs organizations have something, I don't know, I've never heard of any.
Maybe it's a good time to start something like it.

By Serf (Serf) on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 10:24 pm: Edit

To Chefspike & Corey;

Thanx for all the advice. It helped. I guess want I was tryhing to figure out was, if I go to a specialized course or a general one, and I want to be a pastry chef. Will I still end up with the same job, when I start out. And the answer seems to be a YES. As Corey pointed out in another topic I started, its good to be skill all around at first, then study towards a speciality skill if the need arises. I guess I'll be startin at The Texas Culinary Academy around May.

Thanx again for all your wisdom & guidence. I'll be sticking around the forums, to hopefully re-pay the advice to someone else one day.

Serf

By Steve9389 (Steve9389) on Wednesday, September 18, 2002 - 02:05 pm: Edit

One thing you should know: CHIC is in the process of switching its baking and pastry program to an associates' degree. This will happen imminently, and the certificate will go away.

-Steve

By Andapanda (Andapanda) on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 11:50 am: Edit

I concur with Chefspike. It is advisable to study culinary arts first, and then study baking and pastry arts afterwards. I also recommend that you consider attending Schoolcraft College:
<http://cookingcareers.shawguides.com/SchoolcraftCollege/?ci=62.22879&pi=1&q1>, & <http://www.schoolcraft.edu>;
or Grand Rapids Community College:
<http://cookingcareers.shawguides.com/GrandRapidsCommunityCollege/?ci=72.2183778&pi=1&q1>, & <http://www.grcc.edu>.
Good luck.

By Ladycake (Ladycake) on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 04:16 pm: Edit

Serf,

I believe that the more you are exposed to, the more valuable you are to your employers and eventually to your employees. That said...

i would recommend attending one of your local ACF meetings. There will be chefs there who could point you in the right direction in your area. If you are interested only in pastry, you could find an apprenticeship nearby while you get your basics down.

In my area there is a master pastry chef who will teach anybody who will show up at his place (after making the proper arrangements) on a regular basis. He is very open and generous and has given several of my students excellent advice. He is well known enough that to apprentice with him you need to get on the two year long waiting list.

Good luck!