Cooking and confectionery cooking and confectionery. Profession pastry chef

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 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 cook different types dough, various fillings, 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 using special tools, in connection with which this profession often equated to the profession of a sculptor and an 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, recipes and cooking methods. confectionery along with various types their decoration and decoration. In addition, knowledge of sanitary and hygienic production standards, which include the terms and conditions of storage of components and finished products.

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 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 lies in the recruitment excess weight: Full time job with sweet and high-calorie dishes is not 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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Fragrant strudel, unrivaled tiramisu, airy meringue, delicate muffins, exquisite sponge cake, various oriental sweets, candies, cakes, jam, confiture... At the mere mention of one of these culinary masterpieces, any person begins to involuntarily salivate. And that’s because all these confectionery products are not only tasty, but also give people happiness. And we have pastry chefs to thank for them.

Viennese strudel, Spanish paella, German marzipan, French meat, Hungarian goulash, various oriental sweets, Italian pizza, Polish bigos, cake, jam, confiture... At the mere mention of one of these culinary masterpieces, any person begins to feel involuntary salivation. And that’s because all these dishes are not only tasty, but also give people happiness. And we should be grateful for them pastry chefs who can prepare a wide variety of delicacies from the most ordinary products.

Of course, any housewife who loves and knows how to please her friends and relatives can rightfully be considered a skilled pastry chef. delicious dishes. However, as practice shows, the menu of such pastry chefs is quite limited, and the technology for preparing complex recipes at home does not always allow one to achieve impeccable taste and aesthetically attractive appearance. Becoming a professional pastry chef, who turns the most ordinary cake or borscht into a masterpiece, and who can flawlessly reproduce any recipe and develop his own, is possible only after graduating from a specialized educational institution.

Who is a pastry chef?

A pastry chef is a qualified all-rounder who creates both confectionery and desserts (ice cream, halva, jam, cakes, waffles, cookies, candies, etc.), as well as snacks, first and second courses. In other words, if a chef specializes in preparing main courses and appetizers, and a pastry chef specializes in preparing pastries and desserts, then a pastry chef can cook everything.

The name of the profession comes from the Old Slavonic var (heat) and the Arabic kandi (sweetness). Story pastry chef profession goes back more than one century. It is reliably known that back in the 850s, various sweets were prepared using sugar in Arab countries. And each king or khan had his own pastry chef at the court, whose recipes were kept as secret as the most important state secrets. Well, humanity learned to cook meat, fish, soups or salads back in the days when a way to make fire was found.

It should be noted that the work of a pastry chef is akin to the work of an artist - you also need to show creative imagination, experiment, look for new solutions, implement your ideas and realize the wishes of customers. Wherein creativity must be demonstrated regardless of whether the confectionery product or main dish is prepared according to a given recipe or according to a specialist’s original recipe. That is why a good pastry chef performs all stages of preparing his culinary masterpiece on his own: from cutting the preparations to making decorative elements.

Among other things, in responsibilities of a pastry chef includes:

• preparation of the workplace, tools and equipment (scales, food processors, stoves, etc.);
• checking the availability and quality of products, as well as preparing raw materials for work;
• preparation and design of finished products;
• cooling, freezing and storage of semi-finished products;
• packaging and labeling finished products.

But, as a rule, a specialist independently prepares a dish “from start to finish” only if it is an original recipe or a culinary masterpiece intended for a special guest. Most often, the preparation of dishes and confectionery products is put on stream, so a whole team of pastry chefs “conjures” their preparation, each member of which is responsible for a certain process.

What personal qualities should a pastry chef have?

Because pastry chef job involves direct contact with products, the specialist must be clean, neat and responsible. In addition, the presence of such personal qualities, How:

It’s not difficult to guess that a professional pastry chef should know a huge number of the most different recipes and technologies for preparing main courses, snacks and confectionery products. Besides real professional knows the calorie content and biological value of products, conditions and periods of their storage, structure and rules of use special equipment, sanitary and hygienic standards of food production.

Advantages of being a pastry chef

Since pastry chefs are fluent in the technology of preparing both dishes from the kitchens different nations world, and a wide variety of confectionery products, such specialists will always be in demand at any enterprise Catering, regardless of whether it is a confectionery factory or a pizzeria. And that's the main thing advantage of being a pastry chef. At the same time, they are in demand in a variety of industries: from canteens in kindergartens and schools, to kitchens in elite restaurants.

An undoubted advantage of this profession can also be called great opportunities to realize creative potential. After all, thanks modern technologies Pastry chefs can reproduce any item in their products or give them the most unexpected flavor and color shades.

Pastry chefs who have already achieved professional success cite a decent level of payment for their services as one of the advantages of their profession. According to statistics average monthly salary a pastry chef in Russia is 30-40 thousand rubles. But this is far from the limit, since the fees of famous masters amount to hundreds of thousands (and not always rubles).

Disadvantages of being a pastry chef

Talking about disadvantages of being a pastry chef First of all, it is necessary to note the fact that working in any kitchen involves direct contact with hot surfaces. And this invariably entails frequent burns. Well, working with knives quite often leads to cuts and puncture wounds (especially if the specialist neglects safety precautions).

We should also not forget that the pastry chef is directly responsible for the quality of the dish or confectionery product he prepares. Moreover, this concerns both its compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, as well as taste and aesthetic qualities.

The disadvantages also include the fact that without the appropriate talent there is nothing to do in this profession. Yes, you can learn how to cook dishes and desserts using classic recipes. However, to achieve professional success with only basic knowledge and skills is impossible.

Where can you get a job as a pastry chef?

Get a job as a pastry chef You can go to culinary technical schools or colleges, which are found in almost every Russian city. You can also master the wisdom of this profession at special courses. However last option It is more suitable for those who already have a diploma in their pocket as a cook or pastry chef, and simply want to expand their scope of activity. It should be noted that such courses are very popular, since among culinary specializations the profession of a pastry chef is considered the most prestigious, in demand and interesting.

Those who feel a calling to create real culinary masterpieces need to prepare not only for the fact that they will have to learn a huge number of different recipes and cooking technologies, but also for the constant improvement of their skills. And this means regular attendance at master classes, seminars, courses, etc.

If we talk about choosing a specific educational institution, then, of course, it is recommended to choose the best culinary technical schools and colleges in Russia, since it is their diploma that allows them to count on successful employment and great prospects for professional growth. Such educational institutions today include:

• Samara College of Culinary Arts;
• Tomsk College of Food Industry, Trade and Services;
• Yekaterinburg College of Food and Services Industry "Culinary";
• St. Petersburg College of Culinary Arts;
• Novosibirsk College of Public Catering and Service Sector.

Details Updated: 01/25/2019 15:50 Published: 05/03/2017 17:47

The confectioner is a specialist in the production of sweets. Our article describes the main responsibilities, necessary knowledge and skills, important qualities, prospects and careers, training.

History of the profession:

Confectioner's profession appeared in the distant past. Back in the 9th century, ancient Arabs and Hindus created sweets from dates and cane sugar. The confectionery craft developed in the 15th-16th centuries in Europe. During this period the best masters The Italians were considered to be the makers of sweets. In Italy, there were even entire dynasties of confectioners, where family recipes were passed down from parents to children. Confectioners worked in many royal courts and were considered a privileged class of servants. Currently, this culinary industry is rapidly developing and mastering new technologies, without forgetting about national traditions.

Features of the profession:

The main feature of the profession is that most of the work is done manually, so the pastry chef must have a developed fine motor skills hands In addition, a true master cannot do without such qualities as artistic taste, imagination and creativity - only then can he create true culinary masterpieces!

Responsibilities:

The confectioner is obliged:

• calculate the required amount of raw materials for preparing dough, fillings and decorative elements;
• make various types of dough, creams and fillings;
• knead, beat, roll out the dough and shape it the required form;
• fill confectionery products with filling and decorate them decorative elements;
• work with confectionery equipment and supplies;
• check the weight of the finished confectionery product;
• package and label finished products.

Important qualities:

A confectionery master must have a good eye and a reproducing imagination - an ability that allows the master to imagine the look and taste of a dessert when looking at its recipe. In the work of a pastry chef, such qualities as cleanliness and accuracy are very important. The specialist must have a sensitive sense of smell and sensitive taste buds. It is important for a pastry chef to have a developed sense of touch in order to fully assess the readiness of a dish. In addition, the pastry chef must have physical endurance, since he is often forced to work at a fast pace, especially in continuous production. If production is not automated, the confectioner has to deal with great physical stress.

Skills and knowledge:

The specialist must be able to:

• check the quality of raw materials for compliance sanitary rules and standards;
• select the equipment necessary for the cooking process;
• apply various technologies in the preparation of desserts and their decoration;
• evaluate the quality of finished desserts;
• store raw materials and finished products using optimal temperature conditions.

The specialist should know:

• physiology of human nutrition;
• nutritional value products;
• features of storage of raw materials and finished desserts;
• recipes for various sweets and technology for their preparation;
• sanitary and hygienic requirements for the process of preparing desserts.

Prospects and career:

People who have a specialty as a pastry chef find work in catering organizations: restaurants, cafes, canteens. Top-class confectioners can count on a place in the most prestigious establishments. People with this specialty are also required in the staff of bakeries and procurement factories.
The work of a pastry chef is highly valued, and specialists in this profession receive a good salary.
Concerning career growth, then a professional of the highest rank can become a confectionery production manager, a workshop manager or a foreman.
Those who want to try themselves in business can open a private confectionery shop.

Sweets can be prepared, managed or sold. Anyone who makes money from them is called a pastry chef. But we will talk specifically about a pastry chef - a person who turns food into sweet dishes with his own hands.

Description of the profession

If you make sweets at home and it seems easy to you, don’t think that it will be just as easy at work. It’s one thing to cook periodically for yourself and your loved ones, and quite another to do it every day for hundreds of people a day. There is a lot to learn:

• determine the quality of products and know by heart the terms and conditions of their storage (God forbid, one of the restaurant visitors gets poisoned);
• know chemical composition, biological value and calorie content of products (the visitor may suffer from allergies or adhere to a non-standard diet - this must be taken into account);
• cook quickly and get along with the professional kitchen appliances– oven, dough mixers, food processors;
• beautifully decorate products using special ingredients (mastic, dyes, powdered sugar, fondant, marzipan) and special devices(pastry bags, stencils, stacks, plungers, spatulas).

When you reach the rank of pastry chef or pastry chef sous chef, you will also have to take on administrative and management functions: recruit and train a team of pastry chefs, keep track of food consumption, come up with and update menus, and draw up technological maps of dishes.

Get ready for physical activity. The pastry chef sits only during breaks, and the rest of the time he is constantly on his feet. His hands are never at rest for a second: he rolls out the dough with a rolling pin, then finely chops or rubs something, then turns it over in a frying pan or whisks it in a bowl. And all this - in a hot room for 8-12 hours a day.

Where to study

To start working as a pastry chef, it is enough to graduate from college or technical school with a specialty of 01/43/09 “Cook, Confectioner” or 02/43/15 “Cooking and Confectionery”. There is no need to take exams; the competition is based on the grades in the certificate. If you start studying after ninth grade, college will take four years. If you go after 11th grade - three years.

Along with your diploma you will receive a third qualification category, which will allow you to work in kitchens as an assistant pastry chef. At the same time as working, you will be able to improve your qualifications (either through courses or at the enterprise itself) and reach the last sixth category, which gives you the right to be a chef, that is, the head of the kitchen.

Another way to become a professional pastry chef is to go first to college and then to a food university in one of these areas:

• Product technology and catering organization;
• Food products made from plant materials;
• Food products of animal origin.

After higher education, your knowledge will be wider, which means your career can go faster and further. But these are all possibilities, not a guarantee. With both secondary and higher education, you can remain out of work or, conversely, reach the very top. It all depends on the passion for your calling and the ability to constantly learn new things at work, in advanced training courses, internships with famous chefs, master classes, and professional competitions.

There is a third way: do not go to college, but immediately go to get higher education in the field of food technology. The downside of this route is that you will not have practical chef skills. You will have a lot of knowledge about food, but not the ability to cook it. You will be gladly accepted into production as a junior technologist or assistant restaurant administrator. But if you want to be a pastry chef, you will have to take additional training courses or professional retraining. Some employers will take you without courses, but they will definitely test your ability to cook deliciously and on time.

Here are some colleges where you can become a pastry chef:

• First Moscow educational complex, Moscow;
• College of Services No. 32, Moscow;
• College of Food Technologies, St. Petersburg;
• College of Culinary Arts, St. Petersburg;
• Technical College of Food and Services Industry "Culinary", Yekaterinburg;
• Novosibirsk Nutrition Lyceum, Novosibirsk;
• International College of Service, Kazan.

And these are some universities that have areas of training related to technology and catering:

• Moscow State University food production;
• Russian state agricultural university- Moscow Agricultural Academy named after. K.A. Timiryazeva, Moscow;
• St. Petersburg University information technologies, mechanics and optics "ITMO";
• Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University;
• Novosibirsk State Technical University;
• Nizhny Novgorod State Engineering and Economic University;
• Volgograd State Agrarian University.

Responsibilities and salary

Each pastry chef in a large restaurant is assigned his own stage of preparation. Cases are distributed depending on the qualifications of the employee.

1st–2nd categories. First-year college students have the first category. In the kitchen they wash dishes, cut ready dough, deliver semi-finished products to senior colleagues, fill pastry bags and syringes with creams, control the operation of the equipment.

Having passed the exam during training, college students receive a second rank. In the kitchen, they are allowed to prepare creams and syrups, make simple semi-finished products, and cut biscuits.

3rd–4th categories. Yesterday's college graduates do it themselves simple desserts and pastries, prepare fillings (except for the most complex ones), knead regular dough, cover cakes and pastries with chocolate, cream or fruit.

Having passed the qualification test for the fourth category, confectioners can already be fully responsible for flour sweets: cookies, rolls, muffins, and cakes. They are also trusted to select creams by color and make simple decorations for cakes.

5th category. At this level, pastry chefs are responsible for preparing custom custom cakes; supervise the preparation of sweets; level, coat and decorate complex desserts.

6th category. This is the pinnacle of confectionery skill on the qualification scale. Such chefs are engaged in highly artistic products for holidays and special events, and supervise the work of junior colleagues. They can come up with recipes and cooking technologies themselves, as well as select materials for decoration with their own hands.

The correspondence between rank and responsibilities is not strict. It all depends on the size of the establishment, the degree of kitchen automation, and production goals. Somewhere, one person can cope with all the responsibilities, but somewhere dozens of people conjure over sweet dishes. If an employee has a sixth rank, he can also perform functions inherent in lower ranks. A highly qualified pastry chef can even take full charge of a piece of work - from beating dough to making chocolate figures.

The higher the rank and position, the more the pastry chef is involved in responsibilities not directly related to cooking. A pastry chef can deal with personnel issues, negotiate with food suppliers, maintain material and financial records, and even develop a restaurant concept.

Do not think that the development of a pastry chef ends when you receive a certificate of higher qualifications. It’s just that at such heights it’s no longer possible to measure skill with a “ruler”. This is where more subtle indicators come into play - demand in the labor market and the pastry chef’s reputation in professional circles.

For the same reason, it is impossible to measure the salaries of the most sought-after pastry chefs. You will never find a vacancy of this type: “A pastry chef is required for the Turandot restaurant, salary is 200 thousand rubles.” If such an advertisement ever appears, it will certainly not include a salary. As a person sells himself, so it will be, and if an elite establishment is interested, it will be able to buy him for any money. So 200 thousand a month is possible.

But in most restaurants and coffee shops, salaries are an order of magnitude lower. We analyzed the job offers at hh.ru and this is what we got.

As of December 2017, in Moscow pastry chefs and pastry sous chefs receive 62.5 thousand rubles. The highest offer is 100 thousand rubles.

If we talk about the profession of a pastry chef in general - not only about chefs, then here is what the average salaries look like in three regions of Russia:

• Moscow – 47 thousand rubles;
• St. Petersburg – 38 thousand rubles;
• Krasnodar region – 35 thousand rubles.

The highest salaries are offered by restaurants, and the lowest by confectionery departments of supermarkets and factories.

Employment

In factories and supermarkets, the process of preparing sweets is more standardized - there is almost no room for creativity. Technologists come up with recipes, and cooks only carry out those prescribed in technological maps and recipe steps. If you want to realize yourself as a gourmet pastry chef, after graduation you better head for restaurants.

While studying, collect a portfolio, try to study well and participate in all student competitions - this will show employers that you are passionate about your profession and do not just want to earn extra money. Be prepared that during the interview they will give you a professional aptitude test and ask you to prepare something.

Story

It is believed that the word “confectioner” comes from the Italian verb “candiere,” which literally translates as “cook in sugar.” Italian confectioners have been famous for their exquisite sweets since the 15th-16th centuries. But the pioneers of the confectionery craft are considered to be the Arabs, who have known sugar since 850. There is a myth that traditional sweets were the secrets of the Arab states, because baklava, halva and Turkish delight appeared in Europe only in the 17th century. On the other hand, the ancient Hindus, who have long discovered wonderful properties sugar cane and made sugar sticks from it. Amazing Properties chocolate were known to the Mayan Indians, but given that natural chocolate is bitter, we cannot confidently call them the first pastry chefs.

Description, pros and cons

A pastry chef is a specialist who can skillfully prepare sweet treats, desserts, cakes, pastries, etc. A pastry chef can cook according to a recipe or without it, experimenting, inventing new dishes, original combinations of tastes and smells. The pastry chef kneads, beats, rolls out the dough, prepares fillings, creams, mousses and jams, checks the weight of the finished product, and determines its calorie content. The confectioner must be able to determine the quality of products by their appearance, smell and taste, must know everything about their properties in order to harmoniously combine the components of the product, and also know how to replace the missing ingredient. In addition, the pastry chef must thoroughly study the equipment and tools for cooking. An integral part of a pastry chef's work is the artistic component. In order for a dessert to be beautiful, the chef must have not only a vivid imagination, but also a good eye.

1. You can start studying to become a pastry chef after completing 9 grades in high school.
2. The profession is in high demand. Especially if there is good specialist and reach wealthy clients. But even on small private orders you can make good money on the side - birthdays, family holidays.
3. Good average salary for the profession.
4. A very interesting, creative profession.
5. A pastry chef, like any other culinary specialist, is never hungry.

1. Often you have to work in difficult conditions - closed premises, high temperatures; Confectioners spend a lot of time at the stove, oven, etc.
2. Physical stress. A pastry chef spends most of his working time on his feet, working with his hands.
3. Due to constant tastings (and this is an integral part of the work of culinary specialists), you can quickly gain weight.

Where to study

A higher education is not mandatory for a pastry chef. If you wish, you can become a good “specialist” in this field by studying at a lyceum, technical school, college (KTiGS, for example) or at a college. The specialty is called “Pastry Chef”. Two more options: “Technology of catering products” and “Technology of bread, confectionery and pasta”. Here are some universities that provide quality education in the field of confectionery:

1. REA named after. Plekhanov in Moscow.
2. RGTU in Moscow.
3. MGUPP in Moscow.
4. MSUTU.
5. SPbGUNIPT in St. Petersburg.
6. St. Petersburg BSTEU.

Responsibilities and who is suitable for this job

The following are the main provisions from a typical set: job responsibilities pastry chef:

1. Fast and high-quality primary processing of raw materials.
2. Accurate weighing of raw materials according to the recipe.
3. Fast and high-quality preparation various types test.
4. Strict adherence to cooking rules and sanitary standards, rules of personal hygiene.
5. Compliance with ingredient consumption standards.
6. Checking the weight of finished products and dishes for underweight or overweight.
7. Keeping the work area perfectly clean.
8. Participation in competitions, entertainment and promotional events.
9. Have a medical examination every six months.
10. Know everything about the terms and conditions of storage of finished products, as well as ingredients; thoroughly study the influence of the chemical and organic structure of finished confectionery products on human body. Be fluent in information about the calorie content of prepared desserts, the amount of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and fats in them.

Both beautiful ladies and tough men do this job equally well. The profession of a pastry chef is suitable for creative, but at the same time pedantic and totally clean people. To be a good pastry chef, it is not enough to just love sweets. You need to love cooking and know how to do it.

Salary, career and employment

Pastry chef " mediocre"working in a confectionery factory or in the culinary department of a supermarket receives 20,000-30,000 rubles. At the same time, it is best to leave work in a supermarket “in reserve.” At first, even as a young specialist, try to get a job in a narrow-profile confectionery company. In addition, the pastry chef’s earnings can be supplemented by private orders (from neighbors, acquaintances, distant relatives), if the specialist is really good at making cakes, pies, charlottes, pastries, etc. According to statistics, 30% of employed confectioners believe that their opportunities for career growth are minimal. The remaining 70% believe that there are enough opportunities. Probably, such a “scattering” of opinions depends directly on the place of work and the presence (or absence) of useful acquaintances. It is obvious that in network structures (for example, supermarkets), competition among specialists is much higher.

It is usually not difficult for graduates of culinary universities and colleges to get a job in their specialty: with educational institutions Various cafes, restaurants, reputable retail chains and manufacturing enterprises.