How To Become A Pastry Chef? Know The Qualifications

Are you a great lover of food and cooking? If yes, you can choose commercial cookery as your career pathway. Australia has a diverse landscape and culture that also impact the different food habits that persist in the country. So, from where will you start? The answer is simple. You can get enrolled in commercial cookery in any college in Perth. The courses in Perth are taught with extreme care, where you can get theoretical training and practical learning.

Background

There was a time when a ‘chef’ was not at all treated as a talented professional. But with time, the perspective has changed a lot. Now, cooking is considered a real art and talent and deservedly appreciated, which serve as a true inspiration for professional cooks. Commercial cooks are those cooks who, as professionals, use their vast knowledge and skills to prepare and also improvise food menus. In the following sections, we discuss different tasks and responsibilities of a pastry chef, required qualifications, and an overview of courses you can take. 

What are the tasks and responsibilities of a pastry chef?

As the name suggests, a pastry chef is the kitchen professional skilled in preparing not only delicious and mouth-watering pastries but also other bakery items and desserts. As a professional pastry-maker, you should perform the following duties.

1. Daily operations: With experience come more significant opportunities, and with greater opportunity come more responsibilities. As a head chef, you should plan, oversee the implementation and manage the daily operations.
2. Prepare menus: This is very expectable, right? Well, it has to be. The primary of the chef is true to prepare food. And you should never forget that.
3. Suggest new items: Cooking is an art, and you can improvise and create artistic menus. Such experimentation will reward your appreciation and satisfaction.
4. Listen to your visitors: Just like any other creative person, your greatest critic here will be your visitors. As a professional, you have to understand their choices. You can also make some changes according to their suggestions. It can be fruitful for you and your eatery establishment.
5. Prepare a wide variety of foods: As we have already mentioned, you should focus on preparing a wide range of items, from pastries, cakes to cookies, pies, and bread. It will increase your credibility.
6. Give some attention to decoration: You must be very familiar with the saying, ‘icing on the cake.’ This is a critical area where you should give your focus. You can decorate your pastries with toppings and icings so that they appear immensely appealing to your visitors.
7. Monitor supplies: As a responsible professional, you should monitor all the supplies and necessary ingredients to carry out daily operations.
8. Check the quality: This is directly connected to the previous duty. Here, you have to check the quality of the ingredients and frequently inspect the condition of the equipment. You will never like to get negative reviews from your visitors, will you?
9. Give proper training to apprentices: As cookery is gaining popularity every day, many aspiring young individuals take up this job. You have to give adequate training and guidance to them. You should also motivate them to be successful chefs.
10. Listen to your staff: Everyone possesses some creativity, and your team can give excellent suggestions for your business. So, you should listen to what they say and recruit the best possible individuals.
11. Keep your environment clean: You should keep the cooking place clean so that health and hygiene can be best maintained.
12. Maintain industry standards: This is also an essential factor to keep your business standard high and acceptable to customers.

13. Maintain a professional appearance:

Image is everything and a well-dressed pastry chef is aware that appearances count and will convey the image of a professional who is concerned about presentation and details.
Therefore,  it is a matter of the utmost importance that you assemble a collection of stylish chef coats and aprons to wear. If you can afford it, for a few dollars more than what you pay for generic chef coats and aprons, you can get them custom-made. For more information on custom made chef coats and aprons visit Crooked Brook.

Read Also: 7 MYTHS TO IGNORE ABOUT QUARTZ COUNTERTOPS

What requirements and qualifications should you meet for the job?

Following are the requirements and qualifications which you should meet to apply for the job.

1. Passion: This is the most primary requirement of any profession. If you significantly follow your love, it will never feel like a profession. Instead, it will be more like a family.
2. Certificate in culinary arts: There are several academic courses that you can take to become a professional. Various colleges in and around Perth offer these courses. For necessary details and information, you can discuss the matter with an experienced education consultant in Perth.
3. Experience: Every industry values experience. It is better if you have experience of about 10 years in this sector. You do not need to be precisely a pastry chef for the past years. Experience in food preparation with a particular focus on baking techniques and nutrition will also be helpful.
4. Knowledge in sanitation: Sanitation is a necessity in the food industry, and you should have an in-depth understanding of all the principles. It will help keep your cooking place clean and healthy.
5. Knowledge in baking with limited resources: A person can become a successful artist when he or she can make something with limited resources. Abilities to make gluten-free or sugar-free pastries will be added advantage.
6. Organizational skills: As you will be a part of a team, maybe as a leader, you should acquire organizational and management skills. This quality will help you solve issues. In addition to that, you should have some outstanding communicational and leadership qualities.
7. Friendly attitude: Your attitude to your staff and customers will boost your acceptability and reputation in the market. 

Courses available in pastry preparation

There are two types of courses available for Patisserie.

1. Certificate III in Patisserie: Also termed as Cert 3 in Patisserie, you will get theoretical knowledge and practical training in this course. You will learn a great deal of pastry-making techniques. After completion, you can get jobs in a pastry kitchen or bakery.
2. Certificate IV in Patisserie: Also Termed as Cert 4 in Patisserie, this course is more advanced. You can take this course after the certificate 3 course. This course will make you a more technically sound pastry chef with advanced preparation and presentation skills. You will also learn about management duties like supervision of staff, stock control, and accounts management.

Ending note

Education Agent Perth provides essential information and assigns professional consultants. So, to study in Perth, you can get help with necessary details from the experts.