Culinary Management Vs Baking and Pastry Arts

Steven Covey, the author of the 7 Highly Effective Habits for Teens uses an old adage that I find wonderfully handy with this quandary: Start with the End in mind! In other words, Jess, what do you hope to do? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10? Then maybe make some decisions based on that.

I am sure you have heard, but it doesn't hurt reiterating, that cooking at home (and loving to do that!) can be, and is, very different from being in industry. If you spend even a moment trawling these forums, you will find that the demands of being in the industry will have on you and your personal time will be absolutely astonishing. Just go into with both eyes open.

There are also varying approaches to school; some will say, You must go to school to learn. Others will say, Starting in industry is the best education. Whatever you decide, have all the facts in front of you. In other words, do your home work - talk to grads, talk to bakers and cooks, visit the kitchen of a busy restaurant on a Saturday night.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your endeavor. Keep us posted!

 

Effectively, patisserie is a specialisation within the cheffing environment so an education specifically in it will not be as broad but you should be able get to a higher level more directly.

Same with the job market, its a narrower field and therefore likely to be more competitive. A lot would depend on your personal talent and achieved skill level. If you're good you'll get work...who wouldn't want to make a buck off someone else's talent.

They are different environments, hot, wet & frantic...cool, dry and paced, service orientated...production orientated. They are often separated into two worlds in big places. I dunno but I've heard there's good money & security in pastry in accommodation 'cos no-one wants to mess with the croissants...that specialist thing again!

If you train as a chef you will get a broad base including pastry and if you gravitate towards it in the kitchen you can always train to specialise...on the job even. If you don't like the biz at all, your husband (by now) will get a slightly better dinner much quicker!

Does your fiance know if you go in the biz he's rarely going to get you're best work ever again...if he does then he really does love you! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

 

pastry is much more art than cooking. you'll learn artisan breads, then you'll make all kinds of crazy cakes, make sugar sculptures, and do alot of design type work. Culinary you will learn techniques for cooking sauces, soups, and how to mix flavors. If you are more interested in the flavor mixing, then take culinary. If you are more interested in making mickey mouse out of 2000 types of sugar and putting him on a dead dough shaped like antartica, then take pastry. ( in case you hadn't noticed i'm not a baker lol)

 

try posting in the proffesional forums on this site. They are very helpful. Of course there's no reason why you could take both. The school I'm going to will let you get an associates in culinary arts and a gen ed associates and you can learn both.