How to Become a Pastry Chef?

You absolutely DO NOT need a culinary degree to become a professional baker. Of course, there are plenty of places that might require a degree, but there are plenty of others that will be more than happy to take on and train a novice. In New York, perhaps it's a bit harder to find the latter, but if you look hard enough I'm sure you can find something.

I've made a decent baking career without the benefit of schooling, and I've known many others who've done the same. In fact, in my personal experience having trained many bakers -- some from culinary school and others straight off the street -- culinary school offers no clear advantage. Culinary schools do little to prepare their students for the chaos and pressure of a production environment. And often times, students graduate with an inflated ego that is actually counter productive -- students who think they know it all are the most difficult to train.

Don't get discouraged. It may take a little time and effort, but if you look hard enough you WILL find a place that's willing to train you. Just apply to as many places as possible. And keep an open mind and listen to those who've been in the trenches. Baking is one of those careers where learning on the job is just as good as, if not better than learning through school.

I suggest you bake as often as possible at home, take pictures of your creations and compile a portfolio (a simple Instagram account will do the job just fine). When you go to an interview, you can demonstrate what you've managed to accomplish on your own -- but emphasize that you want to LEARN. Bakers enjoy sharing their knowledge (this forum is a perfect example of that). If you have passion and a mind open to learning new things then there are plenty of bakers that will be willing to take you on -- better getting paid to learn than paying to learn.

Good luck!

Trevor

Try reaching out to the best bakeries and restaurants in your town and ask if you can come in for a stage. A stage is usually a day of unpaid work that allows you to learn new techniques and work side by side with the chefs. If you are talented and work cleanly and efficiently, you may be offered a position. Also, it's a great way to network and become active in your city's food scene.

I went to culinary school and have since been working in pastry production for the last two years in Austin, Texas. Culinary school was a life changing experience in and of itself that I don't regret, but it did not get me far in the real world! Be prepared to work long, thankless hours for very little money...even if you enjoy baking, you have to commit to the culture and lifestyle of a kitchen to be successful.

Good luck, reach out if you have any questions!

First, I want to echo what Trevor and Dana have offered and confirm that it is great advice. Culinary school, while it can be something of a leg up when looking for a job, won't necessarily guarantee your success in the business. If you're looking to learn more about what it takes to be a pastry chef, better to knock on a million doors to see if there's one who will take you in for an internship (paid or unpaid), rather than spending 2+ years at culinary school to be regarded with the same skepticism as if you were a complete novice. I can attest to the fact that formal training, while it does look good on paper, does not necessarily mean that the red carpet is going to be rolled out for your for entry-level work. Culinary training is designed primarily to habituate you physically to certain gestures that are necessary to execute with precision and rapidity, as well as to familiarize you with technological equipment (since modern bakeries are becoming more technologically advanced).

I completed a short, intensive baking program here in Paris, France, and I can say that, while I did pick up valuable skills, it's nothing I could not have learned working alongside an artisan baker. But, of course, getting front-row access to another's work is not necessarily easy, since you are going to be a liability rather than an asset (at least at first -- imagine trying to work if you had an extra arm coming out of your chest ... with time, you'd get used to it and it would help you work faster, but getting used to it would take time). Be patient and apply everywhere. You are going to get more rejections than offers. And you may have to be willing to live a little rustically and without pay in order to have that opportunity. But at least you'll have lots of pastries to eat !

While I'm still a little divided about my formal training, I can say without any doubt that giving up my career in the States to come to France to learn about farming and baking has been an enormously rewarding experience that I wouldn't trade for all the dollars I could have made in the meantime. It's been a long and hard road (I've been here for about 16 months now and have at times lived pretty grittily), but I am 100% confident that I will be capable of undertaking a baking enterprise when I come back to the States. (Whether it will be successful or not remains to be said). 

Bake as much as possible at home ; although you'll be working with better technology (normally) in a professional setting, you can always reinforce the basics on the home scale. Baking is really just a matter of dehydrating rehydrated powders through the action of heat, and so as long as you have a reliable heat source and ingredients (and maybe some mouths to feed -- it would be a shame to throw all that rehydrated powder into the garbage), you can always keep practicing. Personally, I got my start just baking bread at home, and even to this day I continue to make loaves of bread at home every other day.

So get a portfolio going ! Be creative and original ! Find some taste-testers who will give you good and honest feedback ! Start an Instagram or a Youtube channel and document your work. Maybe find a small commercial outlet for your baked goods (check into Cottage laws in your area). Keep on baking and keep us posted !