In our time, when there is an abundance of everything ready-made, go and buy what you want, custom-made services are still in demand. Dresses and sweaters, handmade shoes and unusual gifts, bijouterie and ... cakes. The most beautiful, unusual, author's cakes... Baked to order by a private pastry chef at home.

Photo from here

My questions were answered by a private confectioner from Moscow Ekaterina ( muskatik ) and Lana Kaznovskaya ( iozhichka ) from St. Petersburg, now the owner of her own confectionery "Piece of Happiness".

Who are private confectioners?

Outwardly, it is a beautiful hobby, in fact, it is hard work that must be appreciated. As in any "hand-made" occupation, there are three options: it can be a hobby, parallel to the main job, like Ekaterina: she has a permanent job that is not related to the confectionery business. You can work for yourself, that is, be a freelancer who determines and controls your earnings. Or you can go further and start your own business.

Lana also started baking cakes in her free time, it was a hobby,which paid for itself and brought in additional money. Orders were sent, she raised prices. There were no fewer orders, and something had to be done with this: “I realized that I can feed on this no worse than from my office work. But there will be a drive for "my" business. I really wanted it, and I left the office for free swimming.

A really beautiful cake takes 5 hours of very painstaking work. It is necessary to "get sick" with these cakes in order to constantly deal with them. Actually, such "patients" do them. The rest go into simpler areas. "

How did it all start?

Naturally, from the Internet, or rather, from active virtual communication on popular forums, where we all love to chat about this and that. Virtual communication, as is often the case, develops into real, besides, members of the forum know almost everything about each other. Therefore, when someone starts talking about themselves, about their new hobby or hobby, such support is very important. Catherine: "The first cake that I made to order with a small income was a cake with hedgehogs for the girl's birthday, which we celebrated together with the whole company from our forum with our children. " Lana also actively communicated on the "parent" forum, andonce she complained that her family was no longer able to consume her culinary works, and the creative itch did not leave her. Those who wanted to order a cake were found right away.

How do customers find out about you?

It all started with the Internet, everything continues there: customers come by reading a pastry chef's blog or by visiting his website. And then word of mouth goes off: acquaintances of acquaintances appear or those who purposefully choose this particular pastry chefon the recommendation of customers who have already made an order.

What are the key questions potential customers ask?

As a rule, all preliminary information about what cakes the pastry chef bakes, with what filling, how long before "X" day is it better to place an order, is in the blog or on the website. Some confectioners announce prices for their services, some adhere to the "negotiated price" option, because the cake is an individual thing, and its cost is determined not so much by the filling as by the overall design and weight.

Ekaterina: “They ask more specific things, for example, is it possible to dostuffing specially for children from one year old. Sometimes people are interested in whether it is possible to make the cake lean or exclude from it foods that future eaters are allergic to. "

Are the products you use in your cakes from brick-and-mortar stores? Or is there something professional (thickeners, stabilizers)?

The cakes are baked from the most common products that pastry chefs buy in regular chain supermarkets. Catherine: "I take perishable products only with "today's" date. Everything for the cake is bought the day before; in advance and in bulk - only flour, sugar and vanilla-gelatins. I do not use professional thickeners and stabilizers. In special confectionery stores I buy mastic, marzipan, dyes, inventory. " Lana doesn't use either "no chemistry, I do not know how. In the pastry shop now I also have only natural ingredients. Of course, we buy them in bulk. But we choose suppliers very carefully. "

The cakes baked by private pastry chefs look nothing like those that can be bought in stores. A cake in the form of an open book, a telephone receiver, a laptop, a typewriter, whatever they order! Sometimes you look at a photograph and you don't understand how you can eat it, it's a pity!

The insides of the cake are familiar (I’m descriptions from Ekaterina’s blog): chocolate or ordinary biscuits with layers, honey cake. The cream can be very different, and curd-yoghurt, and curd-creamy, and chocolate, and custard on white chocolate, and protein custard, and… I will pity you, dear readers, she herself has already dripped saliva all over the keyboard.

The top of the cake is decorated with mastic, it can be the most diverse: sugar, milk. The essence of the mastic coating is that the pastry chef makes a big "pancake" out of it, the mastic stretches well and rolls out, and then the cake is covered with this pancake, the excess is cut off from the bottom along the perimeter. It turns out a smooth background, on which mastic or marzipan figures are attached, inscriptions and other unique designs are made. The mastic is heavy, therefore the cakes with it weigh from 2-3 kg.

Almost all the cakes that you and other confectioners bake are made with mastic, and not with the usual store-bought “cream and roses”. Why?

Catherine: " First of all, it is effective and original. Mastic has more options. As a rule, all my cakes are with figurines: my favorite cartoon characters, real people, representatives of professions, a car or other object of my dreams. The cream does not have such opportunities, or they are very limited. Mastic cake is much more difficult to make than cream cake. The mastic is very dense, and accordingly makes the cake heavier. I would compare it in density to honey or wet clay. Which is easier: a glass of whipped protein / cream or a glass of honey? After all, the main composition is sugar syrup.

Lana: “Yes, mastic is fashionable and beautiful, but I will never say that it is easy to make. This is the most difficult material for decoration, there are a lot of subtleties and tricks, you cannot do without sufficient experience. You can also make simple delicious homemade cakes and earn normally, no less than with mastic. "

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The end - tomorrow, there will be a story about whether there is competition among confectioners, how much you can earn, as well as advice to novice confectioners.

Confectioner is engaged in the manufacture of confectionery, as well as the development of recipes, the purchase of necessary products, the organization of storage of prepared sweets and other organizational issues. It can be classified as a “human-sign system” if the ability to fulfill all recipe requirements in detail, observe the proportions of ingredients and follow the rules of confectionery production technologies is at the forefront. If we focus on the creative component of such work (the creation of new sweets, their creative design), then the profession can be regarded as belonging to the category of “person-artistic image”. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in the world artistic culture and labor and economy (see the choice of profession for interest in school subjects).

Short description: who is a pastry chef?

As already noted, the confectioner is engaged in the production of confectionery. The latter include all kinds of sweets, which contain less than half of the flour (otherwise we are talking about bakery products). All confectionery products can be divided into two groups:

1. Flour (cakes, cookies, waffles, etc.).
2. Sugar (marshmallow, marmalade, chocolate, candy, halva, ice cream, jelly, etc.).

In any case, each confectionery product contains a large amount of sugar or its substitutes (fructose, honey, sweet fruits, inulin, sucralose, stevia, erythritol).

Features of the profession of a pastry chef

The main duties of a pastry chef are reduced to the preparation of the types of sweets listed above in accordance with the recipe. At the same time, such a specialist can perform part of the work with the help of equipment and tools, and part - directly by hand. The level of professionalism of a pastry chef is determined by the rank assigned to him. So, after graduating from college, he can get the third or fourth grade, and the highest (opening doors to prestigious confectionery factories or restaurants) is the sixth.

If we talk about the job duties of a pastry chef in more detail, they boil down to the following:

• Primary processing, cutting and shaping of ingredients, ensuring their correct storage.
• Preparation of individual components for future desserts (creams, fillings, jams, decorative items, etc.).
• Preparation of confectionery products based on the requirements of the recipes used.
• Development of new and improvement of existing recipes for confectionery products.
• Decorating cooked sweets.
• Ensuring the correct storage of prepared confectionery.
• Participation in the work of the logistics department of the enterprise (preparation of orders for the purchase of products, tools and equipment, packaging of finished products for delivery, etc.).

To fully understand who a pastry chef is, one can imagine sweets as an abstract product, and such a specialist as a master accompanying the entire process of its production, from purchasing raw materials to providing it to the end consumer.

Pros and cons of the profession of a pastry chef

pros

1. A demanded profession, since the popularity of confectionery in the modern world does not tend to decrease.
2. Quite interesting new areas of activity (for example, the production of sweets with natural plant sugar substitutes), which are gradually gaining more and more popularity.
3. An opportunity to realize your creative potential.
4. Applicability of professional knowledge and skills in everyday life.

Minuses

1. Not the highest level of remuneration (at least immediately after graduation).
2. Quite difficult working conditions: high temperature, high humidity.
3. High requirements for the state of health (a pastry chef should not have chronic diseases of the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, nervous, digestive systems, infectious and venereal ailments, allergies).
4. The risk of developing occupational diseases (most often we are talking about problems with the hormonal system or being overweight).

Important personal qualities

Training for a pastry chef and subsequent work in this area will appeal only to those who are truly passionate about cooking. In addition to a passion for cooking, an excellent sense of taste (literally, I mean excellent work of taste buds), sense of smell, creativity, good memory, and even analytical skills will not hurt. Also, the future pastry chef needs good physical shape, ability to concentrate, endurance, stress resistance.

Where to study to be a pastry chef?

To get the opportunity to work in this area, secondary specialized education is sufficient. One of the most suitable specializations is “Chef, Confectioner” (code 19.01.17). Full-time education on the basis of grade 11 lasts only 10 months, on the basis of grade 9 - two and a half years. In the evening format of attending classes, the duration of study increases by a year and a half. Admission to secondary schools is carried out on the basis of the score of the certificate, therefore the results of the OGE are important for him (you do not need to take the exam). It is also worth noting the specialization "Technology of Bread, Confectionery and Pasta" (code 19.01.05). On it, training has been going on for about 3-4 years.

If we talk about where to get the profession of a pastry chef in the context of higher education, then you should pay attention to the specialty "Food from vegetable raw materials" (code 19.03.02). To enter a university for a pastry chef, you must pass the exam in Russian, mathematics and physics or chemistry. Full-time education lasts 4 years, all others - 5 years.

Courses

Vocational training center "PLUS"

This educational institution offers advanced training courses with the assignment of the status of a fourth-class pastry chef in Moscow. The training includes 72 academic hours and is suitable for those who are looking for where to study as a pastry chef outside universities and colleges. Upon completion of training, graduates are issued certificates of the established form.

Best Colleges for Pastry Chefs

1. SKISiG
2. KSU No. 32
3. PC No. 33
4. MKUGBiIT "Tsaritsyno"
5. College "Krasnoselsky"
6. College of Food Technology

Place of work

Confectioner's vacancies are regularly opened in cafes, restaurants, canteens, coffee shops, and confectionery factories. In addition, a confectionery specialist can open his own store or catering establishment.

Pastry chef salary

The income level of a pastry chef depends, first of all, on the place of his work. In elite establishments and in prosperous factories, it can be quite high, and in simpler cafes and canteens and in less profitable factories, it can be at about the level of the average salary in the region. The higher the rank of a specialist and the level of his professionalism, the more profit he can claim.

Salary for 08/07/2019

Russia 17500-60000 ₽

Moscow 35000—80000 ₽

Career

The career of a pastry chef is to increase the rank and level of income. If desired, over time, such a specialist can head a workshop or department at the enterprise where he works.

Professional knowledge

1. Confectionery production technology.
2. Hygiene, sanitation and microbiology in food production.
3. Raw material preparation and storage technology.
4. Automation of technological processes.
5. Electrical engineering.
6. Color science.
7. Artistic and graphic composition.

Famous pastry chefs

1. Gaston Le Nôtre. One of the first to widely use fresh fruit in desserts, as well as to produce light sweets with a reduced fat and sugar content.
2. David Cakes, British pastry chef who turns every cake into a work of art.

Details

The profession of a pastry chef has enough pros and cons, like any other profile. This is because there are no ideal specialties.

But the ability to deal with the disadvantages and multiply the advantages will definitely help you achieve mastery. The main thing is to know what the pros and cons of the pastry chef profession are, what to increase and what to cope with. Then work will be a pleasure. What. Let's try to figure it out.

Finding himself in any pastry shop, the visitor immediately pays attention to the assortment of cakes, rolls and other products. If the assortment is represented by a small amount of sweets, then the visitor goes out and goes to look for a real confectionery. The question of who is responsible for the assortment of the store can be easily resolved: either the store owner did not make the corresponding order, or an insufficiently qualified specialist works in the confectionery.

What should a pastry chef be able and know?

A significant plus and at the same time a minus of the profession of a pastry chef is that a pastry chef working in a bakery, hotel restaurant, cafe, private pastry shop should be able to do a lot, namely:

1. Any confectionery starts with learning the recipe. The technician should have numerous sweet recipes or a pastry cookbook in mind.
2. For cakes, pastries with different types of fillings, different types of dough are needed. A pastry chef will never use cake dough to bake pastries.
3. The most difficult process is the baking process. To make the cake lush and tender, each pastry chef uses his own little tricks. The disadvantage of the pastry chef profession is that it is impossible to learn the intricacies and tricks from books and manuals, but the plus is that with experience, you will definitely learn the secrets of mastery.
4. Decoration of products plays an important role. A pastry chef working in prestigious restaurants must constantly improve his craft by attending pastry courses, for example, in confectionery decoration. After all, innovations appear not only in the world of computers and cars, no less than them in the confectionery business. If thirty years ago cakes were prepared strictly with butter cream, today there are so many ingredients for creams that the visitor is surprised: "As a professional pastry chef he knows and knows everything!" If you do not like to study, then in the profession of a pastry chef there will be more disadvantages than advantages, and if the process of gaining knowledge in practice is pleasant to you, then the work will go like clockwork.
5. Another skill that seems to be at odds with creativity is the skill of using various equipment and techniques. A big plus of the pastry chef profession is that today a lot can be facilitated by technology, but a huge minus is that without knowing it, you will not stay at work for a long time.

The skills and abilities of a pastry chef are interrelated.

A representative of this profession should be aware of:

• About the range of manufactured products;
• On the types of creams and fillings, their compatibility;
• On ways to decorate culinary products, not only traditional, but also new

Advantages of the profession of a pastry chef

As we already understood, the named profession has its positive aspects, as well as disadvantages. The advantages of the pastry chef profession, to be extremely brief, include the following:

• The possibility of a person's creative self-realization;
• The emergence of interest in the process of preparing culinary masterpieces, which can become exclusive products;
• The need and demand for the profession of a pastry chef, because today it is fashionable to organize children's parties in a cafe. But not only the desire to set a festive table for a child is the demand for the work of a pastry chef. The multitude of circumstances (personal, co-operative, school graduation parties) when the sweet table is set call for action to be the pastry chef.
• A decent salary for a pastry chef, moreover, the salary of a pastry chef depends on the prestige of the confectionery establishment in which a specialist in the designated profession works, as well as on their own aspirations.
• You can start your own business, making exclusive culinary products (according to your own recipe) to order. Naturally, such a pastry chef will earn much higher than a specialist working in a restaurant or cafe.
• One of the advantages of the pastry chef profession is the possibility of career growth. You can become the head of the confectionery department or implement your own "sweet ideas".
• The "plus" of the specialty is the fact that training can be started after the end of the 9th grade of a secondary school by enrolling in pastry courses. The resulting low qualification grade (second) will be a signal for action, because in order to improve professional skills, you will need to go on to study further or undergo training in the next courses, which will bring an opportunity to improve practical skills.

Cons of the pastry chef profession

The professional disadvantages of the specialty include:

• Continuous work in a room with a high temperature;
• Physical exercise;
• And one more "but" with which you can argue. Any pastry chef should try their product, which can become overweight. But this statement is ridiculous. Trying does not mean constantly eating the product in portions. A representative of any profession is responsible for the quality of what is done. If you follow this path, the builder risks his life when the strength of buildings is tested. For example, the architects who completed the project of the bridge and the builders who erected it must stand under it when the first column of cars passes over the bridge. It turns out that the pastry chef loses nothing, but gains ... weight. A remark can be made: it all depends on the person.

As you can see, for the profession of a pastry chef, the pros and cons are not so scary. The desire to grow and develop professionally plays an important role. If you enjoy working as a pastry chef, then you can rest assured. There will be no downsides.

Details

You can find yourself in different areas. Someone tries their hand at medicine, someone in science, and someone in cooking. Are you the type of person who loves to bake? Then, perhaps, your option is the profession of a cook or pastry chef. How to become a pastry chef and get a profession? Let's find out in more detail.

Those who know how to work with dough, bake and decorate cakes, and cook all kinds of sweets are often referred to as chefs. But it is more correct to say that such a person has all the skills to work as a pastry chef.

I want to become a pastry chef

To become a pastry chef, you will need to study after graduating from an appropriate educational institution according to the profile. Instantly a chain of questions arises, arising from the main thing. Related questions might be something like this:

1. Where can you get training and get the profession of a pastry chef?
2. What is the salary of a representative of this profession?
3. Is it easy to get a job in this specialty?

The last questions should be asked a little later, after you have graduated from an educational institution and received a specialty. In the meantime, the question of how to become a pastry chef is still open.

If the applicant's intentions are serious, then you need to set yourself up for mental work for two to three years. This is exactly how much it takes to master a profession in college.

A quick option that will help you get the profession of a pastry chef requires little time - training for pastry chef courses... This will take 3-6 months. But becoming a pastry chef with a good salary is unlikely to work. Knowledge will not be enough to get a high qualification category. Employment opportunities after completing courses will not bring high pay. The position - assistant pastry chef - this is what is most likely and it is paid from 20,000 rubles.

Therefore, everyone needs to look into the future and aim themselves at the "maximum" program: to get maximum knowledge, maximum skills and abilities.

For this:

1. You can start by browsing the official websites that help the prospective applicant choose the appropriate educational institution in his home or nearby city. You should be aware that many educational institutions hold Open House days, which give an impression of the educational institution. This impression in the question of how to become a pastry chef can be decisive. In addition, by going to the site of the confectionery college, you can also get comprehensive information.
2. For admission to any educational institution, including a confectionery college, certain documents are required. This means that after graduation, you will need to collect them and bring them to the selection committee of the selected educational institution. The list of documents is pretty simple:

• High school graduation document;
• Medical certificate of the established form;
• Several photographs for documents;
• Photocopy of your passport.
• A statement is attached to the documents, which is written in the form established by the college.

1. Admission to college usually takes place without exams. If there is a big competition, applicants are interviewed. The main question of the interview: "Why was the specialty of the pastry chef chosen?"

How to get the profession of a pastry chef?

The answer to the question of how to get the profession of a pastry chef cannot be monosyllabic. Monosyllabic answers arise when filling out questionnaires when submitting documents. So answering with two words “Start learning” means giving a monosyllabic and thoughtless answer.

To give comprehensive information on the question of how to become a pastry chef, you need to think about what future confectioners are studying. Training in the profession of a pastry chef includes:

1. The theoretical part.
2. The practical part

The theoretical part may seem boring, because you will need to learn the equipment that is available in catering organizations. Questions about how to use certain inventory are also being explored. Along the way, we need knowledge about the principles of nutrition. At first glance, not very interesting. But how to become a pastry chef if you don't know basic things? No way. Therefore, without theory, nowhere. And after the introductory part has been passed, it will become a little more interesting. Because further there will be a study of the assortment, recipes for the preparation of confectionery products. But the subject - the cooking technology - will last a year and a half. Indeed, without this knowledge, information on the theory will be incomplete.

The practical part of the classes will begin only after passing the exam in the theoretical part. And how not to recall the statement that without theory, practice is dead. Practical lessons will teach students how to prepare creams, marzipan, glaze. This will be followed by training in baking all the most common sweets.

Practice in confectionery colleges

How to become a pastry chef without an internship? Yes, too, almost nothing. Therefore, any college provides for internship at various catering establishments. Organizes a college practice, the student is required to absorb everything like a sponge.

This is the last stage and it seems that the answer to the question of how to get the profession of a pastry chef has already been found. By the way, the company where you will be doing your internship may become the place of your subsequent work for years or even your whole life. Try to choose the place of practice yourself, without leaving your fate to the college.

Some schoolchildren think about what subjects should be taken to the cook. In particular, the pastry chef. The thing is that this profession is considered very promising. With modern capabilities, a person can not only become a famous pastry chef, but also open their own business. Only with regard to training and admission to the direction, very serious questions arise. Which ones? What tests will you have to face upon admission? Where to study to be a pastry chef? How long does the training last on average? All this will be discussed further. In fact, everything is much simpler than it seems.

The pastry chef is ...

First of all, you need to understand what a person with this profession has to do. What are the chefs doing? And the pastry chefs? The answer is simple: they cook.

The chef prepares a variety of dishes. The pastry chef prefers baking, as well as sweets. A very promising occupation, although not as simple as it seems. The cook spends a lot of time on his feet and exerts great physical effort. Despite this, the work attracts many. And therefore, schoolchildren are interested in what subjects they need to take to the pastry chef in this or that case.

How to study

To accurately understand the answer to this question, you must first figure out where and how to study. In fact, a lot depends on this. Why? Because different offer different entrance tests.

At the moment you can get:

1. At universities and universities in the country. There is both secondary education and "higher education". For example, the specialty "Technology of food production" is suitable. You can learn to be a pastry chef or an ordinary cook, for example, at the Russian State Technical University in the capital, at the Belarusian State Technical University of St. Petersburg.
2. In colleges. Either liberal arts or specialized culinary schools will do. Quite often, in this case, there is no need to think about what items should be handed over to the cook. After all, technical schools are often accepted only with a certificate.
3. At specialized courses organized by private educational institutions. There are no entrance tests in principle. The student pays money, studies, practices, receives a certificate or certificate of mastering the profession of a pastry chef.
4. At retraining courses. Sometimes labor exchanges and employers send people for retraining. It is quite possible to learn how to become a chef or pastry chef through such courses. no.

Most often, preference is given to colleges and private courses. That is why future chefs do not know what they have to take to study in their specialty.

No exams - no problem

You don't always have to worry about this feature. It has already been said that not in all cases you have to think about what exams you need to take as a cook after grade 9 or after grade 11. Especially when it comes to colleges.

There, as a rule, there are no entrance tests. And for training they accept only according to the declared documents. Accordingly, if a person thinks about what he needs to pass for admission to a pastry chef or an ordinary chef, the answer is simple: documents. It:

• certificate;
• statement;
• identification.

Nothing else is required. Such conditions are offered by many colleges and schools. Therefore, applying to a chef is often not a hassle. But this does not mean at all that you can get rid of the exam or GIA.

Mandatory tests for release

What exams do I need to take as a cook after grade 9 or after grade 11? Regardless of which educational institution a person will enter (technical school or university), you will have to go through several tests. They are not necessary for direct enrollment, but in order to graduate from school and receive a certificate.

At the moment there are only 2 required exams. In the 9th grade, they are given in the form of the GIA, in the 11th - in the form of the Unified State Exam. It:

• Russian language;
• maths.

Both subjects are not specialized. If we are talking about studying at a technical school or about private courses, then this will be more than enough. But in the case of universities, you will have to seriously think about the entrance tests. Indeed, in this situation, there can be a lot of objects.

For universities

What exams do you need to take as a cook after grade 11? The point is that there is no definite answer here. And it can't be. It all depends on the chosen And the specialty as well. Some universities sometimes only require the mandatory exams listed earlier. This is possible if the university issues the Phenomenon is not so rare. But if we are talking about the "tower", you will have to try pretty hard to be enrolled for further education.

What subjects do you need to take to the chef? Universities often require USE results in the following disciplines:

• chemistry;
• biology;
• physics.

Also, all applicants undergo an individual interview. As practice shows, the most common combination of the following exams, which are requested upon admission:

• maths;
• physics;
• Russian language;
• chemistry.

The profile is usually either physics or chemistry. It is better to check this information with a specific educational institution.

Terms of training

Now it is clear what subjects should be taken to the pastry chef after grade 9 or after graduation from school. But how long will you have to study in a particular educational institution? Here, as in the case of exams, there is no certainty. After all, a lot depends on the form of education and the specific educational institution.

As practice shows, in colleges after the 9th grade, they study for 3 years, after 11 - about 24 months. In universities, higher education takes 4 years of study. Retraining lasts from several months to six months. And if you study to be a cook or pastry chef in private courses, then you can hope for only 1 year of study. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Perhaps this is all the relevant information that everyone who wants to become a pastry chef should be familiar with. In fact, mastering a specialty is easier than it seems.