I would choose them over CIA simply because anyone can get into CIA it is all about money.

I was a chef or many years and held the title of Executive Chef for most of my 30 plus years in the business.

Now for the real world. I really wouldn’t recommend becoming a chef to anyone. It is one of the hardest most time demanding fields in the world. The hours rank with those put in by physicians. I had friends who would talk about deadlines in a week or a day.. I always laughed. I had a deadline every 30 seconds and if I missed one the whole night could come tumbling down.

I am a rare drinker, because I saw so many of my chef friends who became alcoholics. I am not 60 and I have attended the funerals of four close friends who drank themselves to death, all but one was younger than I am.

I know only one chef who isn’t divorced. I wouldn’t have been but I had a tragedy in my life. My wife loved the businees as I did.

The hours a pastry chef works are even worse then normal since many start at 3 AM.

Now for the good parts. The money for a GOOD pastry chef in a major hotel ( and upper end major, like the Fairmont Orchid or the Four Seasons in Hawaii) would be in the range of 80,000 and up. The is the Chef as in the deptment head.

If you really want a career in cooking don’t limit your thinking to just pastry. You may find it is just a start, and the Excutive Chef will always be paid the higher salary and there is a ladder to go up, on to F&B Manager and up.

I loved and missed the creativity of the kitchen but I don’t miss the hours or the politics.

I hope this helps, if you want to know more about the real business feel free to email me with your questions.

The major thing about a pastry chef is that usually (depending on the setting) have to get up really early–many start around 5 am or earlier (and that’s certainly true for new chefs). There’s a certain rote to the job, but when you move up you have more creativity in your position.

Certainly explore schools in your area, and double check any private schools–you don’t need to spend the money to get started. Find out where the school places graduates, and quiz them on their placement record.

Croisants for breakfast if it is a hotel.

You sometimes make all the sandwiches if you are working the lunch shift. Even tho that shouldn’t be the job of the Pastry Chef.

Then you create the things that make the Pastry Chef the favorite of all the workers. You make the delicious deserts.

1. As for competative, it can be, but with all the operations from Hotels, Restaurants, Catering Company’s, Private Clubs, Resorts and Cruise Ships like other chefs there are many openings

2 Once established it is very secure and you can travel also, I worked here in Canada were I am from, in Singapore, Japan and Jamaica

3. The work environment can be warm and sticky, but the pastry shop or department works on needs and quantity, not like the hot kitchen were you work to each order, you do what is need to be done from desserts, dough for pastrys and other need items, in some places you may have the added duties of banquets/functions. As for the other persons remarks about early shifts, now most Hotels I worked had a baker who worked from 11pm -7am he did the muffins, danishes, sweet rolls and croissants at night, you may make the dough but often they did it the night before to use the next day, most pastry chefs start at between 7:30-8am and are finished at 3-5pm, a night one serving the dinner rush would start at 2-3pm and finish 10:30-11pm.

4. As for physical requirement, the bags of flour and sugar can weight 50 lbs, but can be moved by 2 persons, I worked at a bakery in my teens and had to carry 100lbs bags of flour up a flight of stairs 2 times a week, over 1 ton of flour.

If you are mulling over a career as a pastry chef, check with the local schools that teach the courses, there are places on the internet for culinary school info, even meet with a pastry chef from a hotel or other operation and talk with them about how to get into it and there experiences.

At both these schools you can get an Associate degree in culinary or baking, and then get a BA or BS in food management, beverage management, nutrition, etc. They teach you how to be a high level professional chef, but they also teach you how the food service industry works and how to manage a business so that you dont go bankrupt when you start your restaurant or shop. That would be worth knowing, wouldn’t it?

These schools treat culinary arts as a real profession. When you graduate you are a chef, not just a cook.

Check them out.

I am interested in this field, but have no idea on the details. What are the general hours, what is the general pay for this like of work?

Do you work weekends, holidays, nights, mornings?

Do you work in a bakery, supermarket, or…etc??? What is better? Please give me some info that will enable me to make an educated decision.

What classes are required?

If you want to become a cake decorator, a good way to start is by taking Wilton Classes at the local Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s. They are inexpensive, and give you the basic skills. They can even qualify you to get a job as a cake decorator at a grocery store or bakery.

Bakers usually start early in the morning. However, if you have a wedding cake business, the hours may be different and include lots of weekends.