Description of the work of a pastry chef. Profession pastry chef: specifics of work, required skills and responsibilities
The demand for the confectionery profession today is quite high and stable. This type of activity involves the masterful production 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 in this profession prepares various types of dough, fillings, and cream according to recipes. In addition, his responsibilities include preparing semi-finished products, from which various products are then baked.
The peculiarity of the confectioner's profession is that he has to do a lot of specific work manually. For example, decorating and painting cakes with cream. This type of activity has a narrower focus than the profession of a pastry chef. The latter’s responsibilities, in addition to making sweets, also include preparing first and second courses. A person with this specialty is a more versatile master.
The skill level of confectioners is determined by 6 categories. The 3rd or 4th category can be obtained immediately after graduating from culinary school. Let's consider what types of work a master performs depending on his category.
A first-class confectioner cuts out the finished biscuit with a knife; brings semi-finished products to work stations; 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.
A second-class confectioner prepares creams, beats and colors them; cooks syrups; cuts the biscuits into layers, coats them with filling; prepares some semi-finished products; fills a special machine with dough, starts and regulates its operation, etc.
A 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, fruit, etc.
A fourth-class confectioner controls the process of making a variety of cookies, rolls, muffins, and cakes from various raw materials; selects creams by color; prepares some details of decorations and designs for cakes, etc.
A 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; supervises the preparation of sweets; deals with the finishing of complex types of desserts, etc.
A confectioner of the sixth category makes complex, highly artistic figured confectionery products; selects materials according to size and color, the most complex of which he prepares himself; develops technologies and recipes for making sweets.
As with any profession, the profession of a pastry chef has its pros and cons. The positive side is that there is a great demand for such chefs. There is probably not a single person who does not love 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 detrimental effects on health.
Personal qualities
A person who decides to devote himself to the profession of a confectioner must have certain qualities. To succeed in this type of activity, you must have a well-developed sense of smell and subtle taste sensations. You should have a good memory so as not to forget many ingredients. Creative and spatial imagination are also necessary for quality work. Manual dexterity and the ability to quickly switch from one job to another are important qualities for a pastry chef that will help him cope with any orders in the shortest possible time. It should also be remembered that if you choose this profession, you will have to endure significant physical stress.
To become a high-level professional, you must have artistic taste, creativity and be inventive. Since the profession of a pastry chef involves working in a team, you need to be patient, self-possessed, friendly, friendly and sociable. Such qualities as sloppiness, inattention and slowness are unacceptable in this type of activity.
Education: what do you need to know?
You can become a pastry chef by attending special courses at training centers. Basic knowledge in this profession can also be obtained in specialized institutions of primary and secondary vocational education. Those who want to become confectionery production technologists can continue their studies at a university.
Knowledge of the natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) will help you master the profession of a confectioner and succeed in it. Studying the experience of foreign professionals will provide an opportunity to learn a lot of new things in dessert preparation technology. To improve your skills, you should attend all kinds of seminars, master classes and trainings conducted by famous confectioners.
Place of work and career
Confectioners can work in bakeries, catering establishments (cafes, restaurants, canteens, snack bars), in health camps, and in sanatoriums. Not a single educational institution (schools, kindergartens, colleges, technical schools, schools, institutes) can do without people in this profession. Confectionery production masters also work in procurement factories and semi-finished products factories.
If you have management skills, a confectioner can move up the career ladder and become a shift, workshop or production manager. Some experienced professionals prefer to engage in private practice, opening their own confectionery shops and bakeries.
Compared to other culinary specialties, the profession of a pastry chef is the most prestigious, in demand and exciting. Although almost anyone can receive 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 to reach the top in this profession.
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. Masters of making sweets have been valued 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, confectioners were a privileged part of the servants. The Arabs are considered the most ancient confectioners, who used sugar to prepare sweets back in the 850s. It is no coincidence that Iran still remains the leader in the production of a wide variety of confectionery products. The word “confectioner” itself comes from the Italian verb “candiere,” which means “to cook in sugar.” This word coincides with the Latin word "conditor", that is, master of food. As a result, Europeans of the 18th century began to mistakenly call sweet makers not “candiers”, but confectioners.
Demand for the profession
Quite in demand
Representatives of the profession Confectioner are quite in demand in the labor market. Despite the fact that universities produce a large number of specialists in this field, many companies and many enterprises require qualified Confectioners.
Description of activity
The confectioner makes various types of dough for cakes, pastries, muffins, cookies, makes all kinds of fillings and creams, fondant, chocolate, whipped cream, jelly, etc. Bakes confectionery products and decorates them. Carries out the process of preparing semi-finished products. The confectioner works independently or in a collective assembly line.
Wage
average for Russia:Moscow average:average for St. Petersburg:
Uniqueness of the profession
Quite common
The majority of respondents believe that the profession Confectioner cannot be called rare, in our country it is quite common. For several years now, there has been a demand in the labor market for representatives of the profession Confectioner, despite the fact that many specialists graduate every year.
How users rated this criterion:What education is needed
Secondary vocational education (college, technical school)
To work in a profession Confectioner, 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 obtained from a college or technical school, or, for example, it is enough to complete special courses.
How users rated this criterion:Job responsibilities
The responsibilities of a pastry chef of categories 1 and 6 are very different. Thus, a confectioner of the highest level makes or controls the process of making highly artistic, original, figured, custom-made, national cakes. Forms complex-shaped dough pieces, deals with complex artistic finishing of products, installation of designs from parts of various sizes, develops original recipes and technologies for making cakes and pastries. The responsibilities of a novice baker - confectioner 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 special equipment with creams, fillings and regulating its operation; assistance to a higher category pastry chef.
Type of labor
Mostly physical labor
As the survey results show, profession Confectioner involves primarily physical labor. Confectioner must have good physical fitness, high strength endurance and good health.
How users rated this criterion:Features of career growth
A pastry chef's career begins in a canteen, cafe or confectionery manufacturing plant as an assistant pastry chef or pastry chef of the 1st category. A pastry chef can improve his qualifications to level 6, the highest level. Such specialists are especially in demand in the kitchens of large and wealthy restaurants and hotels, where they prepare VIP orders. This is an original, piece work. Accordingly, the salary of a restaurant pastry chef is an order of magnitude higher than that of a full-time cafe pastry chef.
Career Opportunities
There are enough opportunities
The vast majority of representatives of the profession Confectioner believe that they have enough opportunities for career advancement. If an ordinary specialist has such a goal, then it is quite possible for him to occupy a leadership position in this area.
How users rated this criterion:The basis of the profession of a pastry chef is relatively simple: prepare cakes and desserts. To do this, you need to know a certain set of recipes, types of technological equipment, sanitary norms and rules, and much more.
In a large enterprise, the range of responsibilities may be larger and include team management, communication with clients, and so on. So a confectioner is a fairly versatile and interesting job for those who decide to get involved in food production.
Places of work
Conventionally, we can distinguish two main types of organizations where there is a position of confectioner:
- catering establishments - restaurants, cafes, buffets, pastry shops, coffee shops, etc.;
- production of ready-made dishes and semi-finished products - culinary shops, semi-finished food factories, kitchen factories, culinary workshops of large supermarkets.
There are definitely no fewer of both, so confectioners will always be in demand.
History of the profession
It’s difficult to say when professional confectioners appeared, since people have always loved sweets: the Mayans used chocolate, the ancient Indians used sugar cane, the Egyptians learned to make sweets from dates.
In Europe, the profession of pastry chef as a specialized cook appeared in the courts of royalty and courtiers, and with the opening of private bakeries as commercial enterprises, the profession of pastry baker also emerged.
Responsibilities of the pastry chef
As a rule, the main job responsibilities of a pastry chef are as follows:
- preparation and decoration of confectionery and bakery products;
- quality control of finished products;
- participation in menu creation.
Depending on the level of specialist and the specifics of the enterprise, the functions of a confectioner may include:
- drawing up technological maps;
- development of new types of products;
- selection of professional equipment for production and its maintenance;
- control of the work process of the confectionery shop.
Requirements for a pastry chef
Usually the requirements for a pastry chef are very simple:
- education (vocational or short-term courses);
- work experience in the specialty;
- medical book.
Sometimes more skills and knowledge are required from the pastry chef:
- experience with certain ingredients;
- team management skills;
- experience in process control.
Pastry chef resume sample
How to become a pastry chef
Becoming a pastry chef is quite simple - you need to get an education, and you can enter a vocational school or college after the 9th grade, and upon graduation you will receive the qualification of a 3rd category pastry chef.
You can simply complete special courses, with the help of which you can understand what a more highly qualified confectioner does, and gradually reach the highest category - 6th.
To qualify for high positions in this field, it is worth obtaining a university diploma in the specialty “Technology of Products and Organization of Public Catering.”
Pastry chef salary
The salary level of a confectioner fluctuates around 20 - 70 thousand rubles per month. Minimum amounts are offered to production assistants or molders.
The average salary of a pastry chef is approximately 33 thousand rubles per month.
If you get a higher education and work for several years in the field, you can count on a very decent income. Let's say, when asked how much a pastry chef of some elite restaurant earns, no one will answer you - this is often a trade secret. For example, some Moscow restaurants are willing to pay confectioners even up to 200 thousand rubles.
A confectioner is a specialist who creates all kinds of confectionery products (sweets, pastries, cakes, etc.). Professionals are in demand in bakeries, restaurants, hotels, as well as in supermarkets that sell their own products. The profession of a confectioner allows you to organize your own business making sweets.
Responsibilities of the pastry chef
A specialist must be able to knead dough, prepare chocolate products, bake cakes and pastries with different fillings. The ability to decorate a confectionery product plays an important role, because it should not only be aromatic and tasty, but also beautiful. Although today most processes are automated, in small bakeries most of the work is still done manually. Especially when it comes to original tori that resemble a work of art. Depending on the scale of production, the confectioner is assigned certain responsibilities. In large enterprises, one specialist is responsible for baking, the second for desserts, etc.
Regardless of the place of work, the profession of a pastry chef obliges a person to know:
- range of manufactured products;
- types of creams, fillings and their compatibility;
- confectionery recipes, all kinds of decoration methods;
- be able to use the necessary technology and equipment.
As in any profession, performing duties mechanically is unlikely to bring pleasure. You need to approach the process creatively, try to make each sweet as if it were for yourself. Accuracy, good health, developed sense of smell and sensitivity - all these traits belong to the profession of a pastry chef.
How to become a pastry chef
You can learn a profession at school, and there are also short-term courses. Today, the demand for competent specialists is quite high due to the rapid development of the catering industry. Confectioners can work in budget organizations, sanatoriums, schools, kindergartens, factories, cafes and restaurants. A professional can take part in competitions and improve their skills.
By the way, practice shows that confectioners are in demand even during a crisis. So, between 2008 and 2009, at the height of the economic recession, people began to buy more sweets.
The salary of a pastry chef is slightly higher than that of an ordinary chef. Much depends on the organization where the specialist works, as well as the quantity and variety of products manufactured. Confectioners working on individual orders are the most highly paid. Before the holidays, there is a queue of clients.
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Pros and cons of being a pastry chef
Advantages:
- interesting creative profession;
- demand in the labor market;
- decent salary.
Flaws:
- work in high temperature conditions;
- not the easiest profession physically;
- the likelihood of gaining excess weight due to the need to try the finished product.
Career growth is possible in several directions. Climbing the administrative ladder allows you to occupy the position of head of a workshop or production. Organizing your own business makes it possible to bring “sweet” ideas to life, in addition, the income will be significantly higher.
Confectioner is a professional chef who creates confectionery products (cakes, candies, chocolates, caramels, etc.), as well as pastries and desserts. Representatives of this profession work in catering establishments (restaurants, bakeries, large supermarkets, confectionery factories) or have their own small confectionery production.
Today it is difficult to reliably say when exactly the confectionery craft was born, but masters of making sweets have been highly valued at all times. It should be noted that the recipes for famous dishes were kept in the strictest confidence, passed down from generation to generation, due to which famous confectioners created entire dynasties.
Meanwhile, the responsibilities of a modern pastry chef include the ability to prepare different types of dough, various fillings, and types of creams according to given recipes. In addition, he must professionally produce and decorate finished products, while at the same time having the ability to prepare food products of high quality and varied in appearance, taste and aroma.
The confectioner performs the majority of the work exclusively manually with the help of special tools, and therefore this profession is often equated to the profession of a sculptor and artist at the same time. The artist creates with a brush and paints, but for the confectioner they are replaced by a pastry syringe and creams.
It is noteworthy that depending on the type of work, the responsibilities of a pastry chef may vary. For example, in large catering establishments, confectioners have a specialization - in particular, one specialist deals only with baking, while the other is responsible exclusively for desserts.
However, absolutely any confectioner must know the range of products produced, the types and properties of food raw materials, the recipe and methods of preparing confectionery products, along with the various types of their finishing and decorations. In addition, knowledge of sanitary and hygienic production standards, which include the terms and conditions of storage of components and finished products, is important for the confectioner.
In order to acquire the profession of a confectioner, you need to receive a special secondary education. Specialties in this area include such as a pastry chef and a confectioner of sugar products, while a related specialty is a food technologist.
Undoubtedly, knowledge and skills alone are not enough for a professional pastry chef - like any other profession, this craft also implies the importance of a person’s personal qualities. First of all, a real pastry chef always approaches his work creatively.
Many rightfully consider this sweet profession attractive and prestigious, although the pastry chef himself often has a completely hard time. The fact is that he has to work in conditions of elevated temperatures and humidity. In addition, confectioners are forced to experience serious emotional stress, since it is very important for them not to spoil the final product, which keeps the specialist in constant tension.
And, of course, we must not forget about the probable threat, which is gaining excess weight: constant work with sweet and high-calorie dishes does not go in vain. Even if the pastry chef does not have a so-called sweet tooth, he still needs to taste the products to achieve the desired result.
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