Pastry chef: advantages and disadvantages of the profession. Confectionery craft: the history of the emergence and further development of the profession

Confectioner

At all times, masters who know the secrets of making delicious sweets - confectionery - were appreciated. Treats such as sweets, cakes, and pastries are enjoyed by many people. A specialist who has knowledge of confectionery manufacturing technology, knows how to create these products, and is called a pastry chef. Confectioners are creative people with imagination and taste. Their best creations can be compared to works of art.

The history of the emergence of the pastry profession How did the profession come about? How did the profession develop?

The exact time of the emergence of the craft of the pastry chef is difficult to establish. Perhaps, among the first pastry chefs were the Mayan Indians, because it was they who discovered the wonderful taste of chocolate. Perhaps these were the ancient Indians who made sweet sticks from cane sugar. Archaeological excavations in Egypt have proven that the ancient Egyptians made candies from dates by hand. At all times, pastry chefs were honored and respected. In European royal courts and in the houses of the highest nobility, pastry chefs were among the most privileged servants. Today, this industry is rapidly developing, mastering the latest technologies, working together with other areas of culinary, reviving national traditions.

Significance to society Importance, significance and social status of the profession

The profession of a pastry chef is popular in any society, in any state. The level of consumption of "sweet" products does not depend on the state of the economy: during the heyday, the demand for exclusive products increases, and in times of crisis, confectionery products are consumed no less, to some extent helping the economy out of the depression. Therefore, the demand for professional pastry chefs is always steady and stable. They work in large state and private companies, and in small restaurants, pastry shops, cafes.

Features of the profession Confectioner The uniqueness and perspective of the profession

Anyone can get an education in this profession. But not everyone is capable of becoming a real Master. Achieve the pinnacle of success can only be those who have a vocation for this, artistic taste, strives for self-improvement, learning new things. This is the only way to become a real professional capable of creating masterpieces of culinary art.

"Pitfalls" of the pastry chef profession All pros and cons of the profession. Difficulties and features.

Only at first glance, the profession of a pastry chef attracts with its lightness. People of this profession work in conditions of high temperature, high humidity, they experience quite large physical and emotional stress. People who suffer from allergies have an insufficiently developed sense of smell; it is not recommended to work in the confectionery industry. But on the other hand, those who are not afraid of these difficulties have all the prospects for professional growth.

Where and how to get the profession Confectioner Where are the professions taught?

You can get an education in the specialty of a pastry chef in special secondary educational institutions. After completing them, the young specialist is assigned a category. If you wish to continue your studies, you can enter the university for the specialty "technologist of confectionery production". There are also private educational institutions in Russia where training seminars and master classes are held for confectioners.

Sweets can be prepared, managed, or sold. Anyone who makes money off of them is called a pastry chef. But we will talk specifically about the pastry chef - a person who turns products into sweet dishes with his own hands.

Description of the profession

If you make sweets at home and you think it’s easy, don’t think it will be just as easy at work. It's one thing to cook periodically for yourself and your loved ones, and quite another - to do it every day for hundreds of people a day. There is a lot to learn:

• determine the quality of products and know by heart the terms and conditions of their storage (God forbid, some of the restaurant's visitors get poisoned);
• know the chemical composition, biological value and calorie content of products (the visitor may suffer from allergies or adhere to a non-standard diet - this must be taken into account);
• cook quickly and get along with professional kitchen appliances - ovens, kneaders, food processors;
• beautifully decorate products with the help of special ingredients (mastic, dyes, powdered sugar, fondant, marzipan) and special devices (pastry bags, stencils, stacks, plungers, spatulas).

When you grow to a pastry chef or sous pastry chef, you will also have to take on administrative and managerial functions: recruit and train a team of pastry chefs, keep track of food consumption, invent and update menus, and draw up technological maps of dishes.

Get ready for physical activity. The pastry chef sits only during the break, and the rest of the time he is constantly on his feet. His hands do not rest for a second: either roll the dough with a rolling pin, then finely chop or rub something, then turn it over in a frying pan or whisk in a bowl. And all this - in a hot room for 8-12 hours a day.

Where to study

To start working as a pastry chef, it is enough to graduate from college or technical school in the specialty 43.01.09 "Chef, pastry chef" or 43.02.15 "Cook and confectionery business". There is no need to take exams, the competition is based on the marks in the certificate. If you go after ninth grade, college will take four years. If you go after 11th grade - three years.

Together with the diploma, you will receive a third qualification level, which will allow you to work in kitchens as an assistant pastry chef. Simultaneously with work, you can improve your qualifications (either through courses or at the enterprise itself) and grow to the last sixth grade, which gives you the right to be a chef, that is, the main one in the kitchen.

Another way to become a professional pastry chef is to go first to college and then to a food school in one of these areas:

• Product technology and organization of public catering;
• Plant-based food products;
• Food products of animal origin.

After higher education, your knowledge will be broader, which means that your career can go faster and further. But these are all possibilities, not a guarantee. With both secondary and higher education, you can stay out of work or, conversely, reach the very heights. It all depends on the passion for one's vocation and the ability to constantly learn new things at work itself, on refresher courses, internships with famous chefs, master classes, and professional competitions.

There is a third way: not to go to college, but to go straight to higher education in food technology. The downside to this path is that you will not have the practical skills of a cook. You will have a lot of knowledge about food, but not the ability to cook it. You will be gladly accepted in production as a junior technologist or assistant restaurant administrator. But if you want to be exactly a pastry chef, you will have to additionally take advanced training or professional retraining courses. Some employers will take it without courses, but they will definitely test your ability to cook deliciously and on time.

Here are some colleges where you can become a pastry chef:

• First Moscow Educational Complex, Moscow;
• College of Service Sector No. 32, Moscow;
• College of Food Technologies, St. Petersburg;
• College of Culinary Arts, St. Petersburg;
• Technical school of food and services industry "Culinary", Yekaterinburg;
• Novosibirsk Lyceum of Nutrition, Novosibirsk;
• International College of Service, Kazan.

And these are some universities in which there are areas of training related to technology and organization of public catering:

• Moscow State University of Food Production;
• Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Agricultural Academy K.A. Timiryazeva, Moscow;
• St. Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics "ITMO";
• Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University;
• Novosibirsk State Technical University;
• Nizhny Novgorod State Engineering and Economic University;
• Volgograd State Agrarian University.

Responsibilities and salary

Each pastry chef in a large restaurant has his own stage of preparation. Cases are allocated depending on the qualifications of the employee.

1st - 2nd category... First year college students are first grade. In the kitchen, they wash dishes, cut ready-made dough, deliver semi-finished products to senior colleagues, fill pastry bags and syringes with creams, and monitor equipment operation.

After passing the exam while studying, college students receive a second grade. In the kitchen they are already allowed to cook creams and syrups, make the simplest semi-finished products, and cut biscuits.

3-4th category... Yesterday's college graduates make simple desserts and pastries themselves, prepare toppings (except for the most complex ones), knead regular dough, and coat cakes and pastries with chocolate, cream, or fruit.

Having passed the qualification test for the fourth category, confectioners can already be fully responsible for flour sweets: cookies, rolls, muffins, cakes. They are also trusted to match creams by color and make simple cake decorations.

5th grade... At this level, pastry chefs are responsible for preparing custom-made cakes; supervise the preparation of sweets; flatten, coat and decorate complex desserts.

6th grade... This is the pinnacle of confectionery excellence on the qualification scale. Such chefs are engaged in highly artistic products for holidays and special events, supervise the work of younger colleagues. They can come up with recipes and cooking technologies themselves, as well as select materials for decoration with their own hands.

The correspondence between rank and duty is not strict. It all depends on the size of the establishment, the degree of kitchen automation, production goals. Somewhere one person can cope with all the duties, and somewhere dozens of people conjure over sweet dishes. If an employee has the sixth grade, he can also perform functions inherent in the lower grades. A top-qualified pastry chef can even take over a piece of a piece - from beating dough to making chocolate figurines.

The higher the rank and position, the more the pastry chef is involved in duties that are not directly related to cooking. The pastry chef can deal with personnel issues, negotiate with food suppliers, keep material and financial records, and even develop a restaurant concept.

Do not think that the development of a pastry chef ends with the receipt of the certificate of the highest qualification. It's just that at such heights it is no longer possible to measure skill with a "ruler". Here more subtle indicators come into force - the demand in the labor market and the reputation of a pastry chef in professional circles.

For the same reason, it is impossible to measure the salaries of the most popular pastry chefs. You will not find a job of this type anywhere: "A pastry chef is required at the Turandot restaurant, a salary of 200 thousand rubles." If such an announcement ever appears, then certainly without specifying the salary. As a person sells himself, so he will, and only an elite establishment, if interested, can buy it for any money. So 200 thousand a month is possible.

But in most restaurants and coffee houses, salaries are much lower. We analyzed job offers at hh.ru and that's what we got.

As of December 2017, in Moscow, pastry chefs and sous-pastry chefs receive 62.5 thousand rubles. The largest offer is 100 thousand rubles.

If we talk about the profession of a pastry chef in general - not only about chefs, then this is what the average salaries look like in three regions of Russia:

• Moscow - 47 thousand rubles;
• St. Petersburg - 38 thousand rubles;
• Krasnodar Territory - 35 thousand rubles.

The highest salaries are offered by restaurants, and the lowest - by the confectionery departments of supermarkets and factories.

Employment

In factories and supermarkets, the process of making sweets is more standardized - there is almost no room for creativity. The technologists come up with the recipes, and the cooks only follow the steps prescribed in the technological cards and recipes. If you want to realize yourself as a pastry chef of haute cuisine, after graduation, you better head for restaurants.

During your studies, collect a portfolio, try to study well and participate in all student competitions - this will show employers that you are passionate about the profession, and not just want to earn extra money. Be prepared for an aptitude test during the interview and ask you to cook something.

reference

Oriental Turkish delight and halva, Austrian apple strudel, French tartlet and the famous charlotte, English truffles ... Yes, this is the profession of a pastry chef. Sweets have been appreciated at all times. And the recipes for famous dishes were kept in the strictest confidence, passed down from father to son. At the courts of kings and khans, pastry chefs belonged to the privileged part of the servants. The most ancient confectioners are the Arabs, who used sugar to make sweets back in the 850s. It is no coincidence that Iran is still the leader in the production of a wide variety of confectionery products. The very word "pastry chef" comes from the Italian verb "candiere", which means "to cook in sugar". This word coincided with the Latin word "confectioner", that is, the master of food. As a result, the Europeans of the 18th century began to mistakenly call the manufacturers of sweets not “kandirs”, but confectioners.

Demand for the profession

Quite in demand

Representatives of the profession Pastry chef are quite in demand in the labor market. Despite the fact that universities produce a large number of specialists in this area, many companies and many enterprises require qualified Confectioners.

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Description of activities

The pastry chef makes various types of dough for cakes, pastries, muffins, cookies, makes all kinds of fillings and creams, fondant, chocolate, whipped cream, jelly, etc. He bakes pastries and decorates them. Carries out the process of preparing semi-finished products. The pastry chef works independently or in a collective conveyor.

Wage

average for Russia:average in Moscow:average in St. Petersburg:

The uniqueness of the profession

Quite common

The majority of respondents believe that the profession Pastry chef cannot be called rare, in our country it is quite common. For several years, there has been a demand for representatives of the profession in the labor market Pastry chefdespite the fact that a lot of specialists graduate every year.

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What education is needed

Secondary vocational education (college, technical school)

In order to work by profession Pastry chef, it is not necessary to have a higher professional education in the relevant specialty. For this profession, it is enough to have a diploma of secondary vocational education received in a college or technical school, or, for example, it is enough to complete special courses.

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Labor responsibilities

The duties of a pastry chef of categories 1 and 6 are very different. Thus, a confectioner of the highest category makes or controls the process of making highly artistic, original, curly, custom-made, national cakes. Forms complex-figured dough pieces, is engaged in complex artistic finishing of products, assembly of patterns from parts of various sizes, develops original recipes and technologies for making cakes and pastries. The duties of a novice baker - pastry chef of the 1st category include: cutting with a knife or knocking out the baked biscuit from the molds and further cleaning the molds; transportation of semi-finished products to the workplace; filling of special equipment with creams, filling and regulation of its work; assistance to a confectioner of a higher category.

Labor type

Predominantly physical labor

As the results of the survey show, the profession Pastry chef predominantly involves physical labor. Confectioner must have good physical fitness, high strength endurance and good health.

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Features of career growth

The career of a pastry chef begins in a canteen, cafe or factories and confectionery manufacturing plants as an assistant pastry chef or pastry chef of the 1st category. A pastry chef can improve his qualifications to 6, the highest category. Such specialists are especially in demand in the kitchens of large and wealthy restaurants, hotels, where they make VIP orders. This is an original piece work. Accordingly, the salary of a restaurant pastry chef is much higher than that of a full-time cafe pastry chef.

Career opportunities

There are enough opportunities

The vast majority of the profession Pastry chef believe that they have sufficient opportunities to advance their careers. If an ordinary specialist has such a goal, then it is quite possible for him to take a leading position in this area.

How users rated this criterion:

The profession of a pastry chef gives a truly great scope for creativity and the realization of all kinds of ideas and fantasies for those who want to master it. It's easy enough to become a chef. It is necessary to learn how to cook deliciously and undergo appropriate training. In order to be a pastry chef, it is important to have imagination and exquisite taste. And the last, as they say, is everyone's business. Therefore, anyone can try themselves in the role of a pastry chef, and this is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

A bit of history

People have been making sweets at all times. The Mayans made chocolate, in India they knew how to extract cane sugar, the Egyptians went even further and learned how to make candy using dates. But the inhabitants of Arab countries are considered the founders of the profession. It was they who first began to cook sweet dishes according to various recipes, and then set up the sale of their delicacies to Europe. There confectioners appeared much later at the royal courts. Servants who could beautifully and tasty prepare sweets for royal feasts enjoyed special privileges and began to be called "confectioners". An interesting fact is that when such people were taught the art of confectionery, even then, in the 18th century, they were taught painting and modeling lessons to develop their creative potential.

Benefits of the specialty

Every chef strives to create not just a tasty and nutritious dish, but to impress with the appearance of his creation. A pastry chef is an artist who creates excellent paintings from ordinary products that delight the eye of gourmets.

Modern technologies open up great opportunities for development for chefs, new ways of decorating cakes and sweets are being invented, the recipe for dough and filling for desserts is constantly being improved. A person who has chosen the profession of a cook is constantly improving and developing. The life of a chef is filled with bright colors and flavors.

In addition to opportunities for self-realization, the profession of a cook offers a number of other advantages. Let's consider a description of each of them:

1. You can learn to cook deliciously and quickly. This skill will be useful not only at work, but also in the family. Households will appreciate the dishes prepared by a professional master.
2. and sculpt: no worse than artists. Someone has such abilities, and they should only be developed, and those who still do not know how to draw well are taught by experienced teachers of confectionery art.
3. Good chefs make decent money. Talent and craftsmanship are valued dearly in any kind of activity, and cooking is no exception.
4. An opportunity to grow professionally and become a chef. This is especially true for men. Traditionally, most of the chefs are men. But female pastry chefs can also vie for the right to become chefs.
5. Prospects for starting a business. In modern society, more and more people turn to professionals for services in making cakes, sweets, decorating sweet buffet tables (the so-called candy bars). You can provide such services yourself, creating the necessary dishes at home or by opening your own pastry shop.

Keeping up with the times

More and more people are striving for proper and healthy nutrition. The state of ecology, the increased allergenicity of many products of animal origin have led to the fact that people began to give up sweets. After all, most of the cakes, pastries, cookies, marmalade, marshmallows and desserts prepared on the basis of these delicacies contain eggs, milk, butter, sugar, etc., products that negatively affect the human body. The question arises - will the profession of confectioner be in demand in the modern world?

Yes, we say, because the most promising area of \u200b\u200bmodern confectionery is the production of completely natural and healthy products. This is not an easy matter, and a person with such skill will always be in demand, and his work will be highly appreciated. Only a true professional can create masterpieces of berries, fruits and honey in such a way that they attract attention, are tasty and arouse an appetite.

The profession of a pastry chef is promising and at the same time easy to learn. A little talent, taste, imagination, desire for new things - that's what this profession needs.

The demand for the profession of a pastry chef is quite high and stable today. This type of activity involves the masterful manufacture of all kinds of flour and sugar confectionery products. Waffles, cookies, cakes, muffins, chocolate, jelly, ice cream, jam - this is not a complete list of everyone's favorite sweets that a pastry chef can please. A person of this profession prepares various types of dough, fillings, cream according to recipes. In addition, his duties include the preparation of semi-finished products, from which various products are then baked.

The peculiarity of the pastry chef's profession is that he has to do a lot of specific work by hand. For example, decorate and paint cakes with cream. This occupation is narrower than the profession of a pastry chef. In addition to making sweets, the latter's responsibilities include preparing the first and second courses. A person with this specialty is a more versatile master.

The skill level of confectioners is determined by 6 ranks. The 3rd or 4th grade can be obtained immediately after graduation from the culinary school. Consider what types of work the master performs, depending on his category.

The first-class pastry chef cuts the finished biscuit with a knife; brings semi-finished products to workplaces; loads special machines with filling or cream and controls the operation of the equipment. All other operations are performed only under the guidance of more experienced craftsmen.

The second-class confectioner prepares creams, whips and colors them; makes syrups; cuts biscuits into layers, lubricates them with filling; prepares some semi-finished products; fills a special machine with dough, starts and regulates its operation, etc.

The third-class confectioner makes the simplest confectionery and bakery products; prepares some types of creams, fillings and dough; cuts semi-finished products, covers sweets with fondant, chocolate, cream, fruits, etc.

The fourth grade confectioner controls the process of making a variety of cookies, rolls, muffins, cakes from various raw materials; selects cream by color; prepares some details of decorations and drawings for cakes, etc.

The fifth-grade confectioner is responsible for the process of making more complex original custom-made cakes according to special recipes under the guidance of a more qualified master; controls the work of making sweets; is engaged in the finishing of complex types of desserts, etc.

The sixth grade confectioner makes complex curly highly artistic confectionery; selects materials in size and color, the most complex of which he prepares himself; develops technologies and recipes for making sweets.

As in any specialty, the profession of a pastry chef has its pros and cons. The positive side is the great demand for such chefs. Perhaps there is not a single person who does not like tasty and satisfying food. Therefore, a good pastry chef will never be left without work. The negative side of the profession is that, due to the nature of their work, specialists have to spend their working day on their feet. This can subsequently lead to various diseases of the legs and spine. High temperature and humidity can also have a negative effect on health.

Personal qualities

A person who decides to devote himself to the profession of a pastry chef must have certain qualities. To succeed in this type of activity, you must have a well-developed sense of smell, fine taste sensations. You should have a good memory so as not to forget many ingredients. Creative and spatial imagination is also needed to get the job done well. Sleight of hand and the ability to quickly switch from one job to another are important qualities for a pastry chef, which will help him to cope with any orders in the shortest possible time. It should also be remembered that choosing this profession, you will have to endure significant physical stress.

To become a high-level professional, you must have an artistic taste, creativity and be inventive. Since the profession of a pastry chef presupposes work in a team, one must be patient, self-possessed, welcoming, benevolent and sociable. Such qualities as sloppiness, inattention and slowness are unacceptable in this type of activity.

Education: what you need to know?

You can become a pastry chef by attending special courses in training centers. Basic knowledge in this profession can also be obtained in specialized institutions of primary and secondary vocational education. Those wishing to become technologists of confectionery production can continue their studies at the university.

Knowledge of the natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) will help you master and excel in the profession of a pastry chef. Studying the experience of foreign professionals will provide an opportunity to learn a lot of new things in the technology of making desserts. To improve your skills, you should attend all kinds of seminars, master classes and trainings conducted by famous pastry chefs.

Place of work and career

Confectioners can work at bakeries, catering establishments (cafes, restaurants, canteens, snack bars), in health camps, and in sanatoriums. Not a single educational institution (schools, kindergartens, colleges, technical schools, colleges, institutes) can do without people of this profession. Confectionery masters also work at blank factories and semi-finished products factories.

With managerial skills, a pastry chef can move up the career ladder and become a shift manager, workshop or production manager. Some experienced professionals choose to practice in private practice, opening their own pastry shops and bakeries.

Compared to other specialties, the profession of a pastry chef is the most prestigious, in demand and exciting. Although almost anyone can get an education in this specialty, not everyone is able to become a qualified master. Highly artistic taste, the desire for self-improvement and the desire to create your own masterpiece - this is what you need to have in order to reach the top in this profession.