Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry I

In this course, students will learn the basics of professional bakeshop work: mise en place, baking math (measuring and converting recipes), and safety and sanitation. Students will then practice the fundamental techniques of pastry and baking, learning multiple methods for creating cookies and doughs.

Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry II

In this course, students build on what they’ve learned in the previous course. They expand their understanding of the bakeshop, baking a variety of pies and tartlets as well as preparing custards (stove-top and baked), dessert sauces, and pâte à choux.

Menu Design and Management

This course explores different types of menus (including food and beverage) and their applications. The course covers all aspects of menu planning and design, ranging from visual design to price analysis to making use of available resources. The menu is both a financial tool and a communication tool, and students learn about its uses as both.

Contemporary Pastry Arts

This course highlights modern considerations in the baking industry. Students learn about cutting-edge trends in dessert composition and contemporary plating techniques, and how to stay current with those. Trends in diets and eating habits are constantly changing, and being able to stay on top of them is a key industry skill.

Global Pastry Arts

This course explores the geographical and cultural influences on desserts from around the world. Students will learn about regional desserts from around the world, identifying common ingredients and their key flavors, then practicing the production techniques found in the countries of each region. Each week, students will navigate the assigned regions through readings, discussions and practical assignments.

Food and Beverage Cost Control

Three out of five foodservice operations fail within five years of opening, often due to money mismanagement; this course gives students the skills to not only keep their restaurant in business but also turn a profit. This course introduces students to purchasing, receiving, inventory management and menu pricing. Students learn how to minimize costs while maintaining a full range of customer services. The course progresses from the fundamentals of culinary math into an overview of storeroom operations, inventory, portion control, as purchased and edible portions, ingredient conversions, and recipe costing.

Foundations of Bread I

In this course, students learn the basics of baking breads and dough products. Students will use starters and levains, calculate optimal temperature, and work with various doughs and pre-ferments to create multiple different varieties of bread. Students will also continue to develop their ability to follow a production timeline.

Foundations of Bread II

This course expands the student’s knowledge of bread into enriched breads. Students will use more advanced methods to create yeasted doughs, laminated doughs, sweet doughs, and puff pastry, and use dough shaping in more complex ways.

Foodservice Management

This course covers the different types of commercial food service operations, and how to manage each using the principles of good service. Students study the hierarchy of management in food service, and the skills needed to succeed as a manager: training, motivation, discipline, and creating a safe and positive work environment. The course also explores how to act responsibly and make decisions that benefit the company.

Confiserie

In this course, students will learn about products that, while not necessarily pastry items or baked goods, are important dessert staples and essential knowledge for the bakeshop. Students begin with the proper techniques in storing, melting, and tempering chocolate, as well as creating chocolate decorations. Students will then move on to sugar cookery and confections, explore a variety of fruit desserts and petit fours, and end the course with lessons on frozen desserts, including ice cream and gelato.

Cake Design and Decorating

Students will delve into more complex pastries. Cakes are the main focus, and students will learn about the classic mixing methods used to create a wide variety of American and European cakes and tortes. Students will also learn about various styles of cake decoration, progressing from basic icings, frostings, and cake assembly to intermediate decorating techniques and fine line piping. Throughout the course, students will develop their ability to bake on schedule, following a production timeline like those in a professional bakeshop.

Building Your Own Business

This course covers such topics as business planning, pricing, credit management, government regulation, legal concerns, and business ethics. Students learn how to manage and how to lead. For the final project in this course, students complete and present a business plan for a food service operation.

Pastry Industry Externship I

This course provides opportunities for real life experiences in an operational restaurant or related business and builds on the skills and techniques covered in previous courses. Here, students apply the skills they’ve learned in practical ways to real-world situations. Students gain hands-on experience in the kitchen that mirrors their future work in the industry and develop the skills necessary for a culinary career. Immersion in a work environment also allows students to develop industry contacts and build working relationships.