Becoming a world-class pastry chef is the work of a lifetime. It requires specialized training and a certain amount of natural aptitude in order to produce exquisite pastries and desserts for gourmet restaurants and other venues. It is never too early to begin acquiring the essential skills and education needed for a career in the culinary arts. Even in high school, there are several areas of study that will prove useful to aspiring pastry chefs in pursuing their chosen career path. Students who obtain critical skills and knowledge early will have a head start on success in the competitive world of culinary arts. You might be wondering “What classes should I take in high school to become a pastry chef“. Here are a few of the most useful high school courses for aspiring pastry chefs.
Chemistry
Understanding the properties and reactions of various chemicals and compounds is essential for success in the culinary field, and this is especially true with the delicate mixtures and chemical interactions required for successful baking. Understanding the chemical composition of the various ingredients used in bread dough, for instance, can help provide insight into why breads rise (or don’t rise) and what environmental conditions result in the best yeast and soda breads. Acquiring at least the fundamentals of chemistry can serve aspiring pastry chefs well in determining the best methods for achieving the desired results and avoiding doomed culinary experiments. Additionally, with the advent of modern molecular gastronomy techniques, chemistry is even more important for cutting-edge pastry design and dessert construction.
Home Economics
While the cooking classes provided in high school home economics courses may not be up to gourmet standards, the budgeting and menu planning guidelines and nutritional information are vital to any professional chef. Because executive chefs often serve as kitchen managers as well, understanding how to manage money and how to properly supply the storeroom is an essential part of a competent pastry chef’s repertoire of skills.
Mathematics
While trigonometry and calculus are usually not required for a career in the culinary arts, a basic understanding of fractions, proportions, and basic math is required in order to translate measurements and adjust the size of various recipes in order to produce the required amount of pastries or other desserts. Executive pastry chefs should also have a basic grounding in bookkeeping in order to maintain accurate records of shipments, ingredients on hand, and the expenses involved in managing a professional kitchen. This will be especially important in the event the chef ends up running his or her own business at some point in the future. Geometry is also useful, since being able to calculate the surface area and volume of desserts, pastries, and baked goods is a significant advantage when assigning portion sizes to menu items.
Art and Art Appreciation
The appearance of food is nearly as important as how it tastes; courses in art, art appreciation, and art history can provide a solid basis for food presentation. At the most fundamental level, the ability to draw or sketch can help convey the chef’s ideas to sous-chefs and other kitchen personnel; more artistically-gifted chefs can often create artistic designs and sculpted desserts and pastries for elaborate dinner parties or gourmet menu offerings. Understanding the basic underpinnings of art theory will help an aspiring pastry chef create designs that are beautiful as well as delicious.
Taking these courses will build a very strong foundation, and give you a leg up on the competition when you decide to take the next step into this industry. If this truly is your dream job, then you should take it as seriously as you would any other profession. There are many culinary and pastry chef schools out there that can mold you into a pasty artist that is highly sought after and can demand a high salary.