Focus on the Fundamentals: Safety & Sanitation and Culinary Foundations I

Learning the art of baking and pastry begins with the basics. You’ll be taught:

• The terminology, standards and organization used in working kitchens.
• Stocks and sauces, and taste and flavor.
• How to handle food safely from acquisition to service.
• Culminating with the nationally-accredited ServSafe® Food Safety exam for certification required to work in a professional kitchen.

Start Baking: Introduction to Pâtisserie and Baking Techniques

Become acquainted with the art of pâtisserie as you learn the way to bake, decorate and create. You’ll be taught:

• The names and uses of various baked products and baking ingredients.
• How to weigh and measure ingredients for baking.
• Techniques for preparing cookies, cakes, muffins, tarts, custards, and petit fours.
• Meringues, butter creams, and Genoise sponge preparation.

Get More Adventurous: Baking Principles and Viennoiserie

Working with your hands, gain an understanding of how yeast works, and the importance of timing and recipe development:

• How ingredients work; techniques for producing and presentation of yeast products.
• Prepare breads, enriched doughs and various artisan breads, phyllo dough, sweet dough and Brioche.

Experience New Horizons: International Pastries, Cake Formula and Assembly

Explore the world of classical European desserts, and the art of assembling, finishing, and decorating cakes with various fillings and icings. As part of this baking certificate program, you’ll work hands on to create:

• Pâte à choux, stirred and baked custards, Bavarians and mousses.
• Crepes, soufflé, sabayon and frozen desserts.
• Creamed, two-stage, and foamed cakes.
• And more.

Explore Your Inner Artist: Advanced Pastry Techniques and Centerpiece/Cake Decorating*

Focus on plated desserts; move on to grander scale centerpieces and wedding cakes:

• Tempering chocolate, piping, and preparing sauces and garnishes.
• Pâtisserie and Baking Market Basket practical.
• More elaborate decorations with pastillage, chocolate, gum paste, cooked sugar, nougatine, and marzipan as you gain the skills to produce celebration cakes.
• Create candies, showpieces, and centerpieces.

* This course is offered in the 12 month certificate program currently offered at the Le Cordon Bleu campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, Portland, San Francisco, and Scottsdale. (In Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando this program is official known as the Diploma in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking.)

Get a Real-World Perspective: Externship I and II

Bring it all together and put your skills into practice in an actual business environment:

• Work alongside pâtisserie and baking professionals.
• Refine your skills and creativity.
• Gain irreplaceable immersion in the industry with 180 hours of progressive work-place experience.
• Stay with the same site or explore somewhere new for your second externship.

* The 9 month certificate program offered in Boston, Sacramento, Seattle, and St. Louis, includes one externship course (90 hours).