Now you can train for a career in baking and pastry at a school right here in the great state of Texas. Escoffier’s degree and diploma programs in the pastry arts can prepare you for many different professional routes including bakeries, restaurants and hotels. Though located in Texas, our nationally accredited institution by COE allows you to maximize your learning experience in small classes, mentored by field-experienced chef educators.
At Escoffier, we believe baking and pastry students can elevate their education through hands-on instruction in a creative learning environment. Our curriculum emphasizes a variety of foundational and technical pastry arts skills like bread making, patisserie and molecular gastronomy so our graduates leave prepared for a variety of career paths.
Thinking about starting a baking or pastry career? Download our step-by-step Baking & Pasty Career Plan & Checklist.
Curriculum
The 60-week Associate of Applied Science Degree (AAS) in Pastry Arts was developed to provide the practical as well as theoretical foundations essential for success in the foodservice and hospitality industry. Students who earn the AAS degree credential are prepared to enter the industry with a solid foundation in the pastry arts and equipped to apply for entry-level jobs such as a baker, pastry assistant or assistant pastry chef in hotels, restaurant, bakeries, country clubs, and other related foodservice establishments.
The baking and pastry curriculum combines lectures, demonstrations, baking, and evaluation for an integrated approach to the pastry arts. Students complete 12 weeks of industry externship in order to gain functional knowledge by working in an approved industry setting.
Courses in the degree program concentrate on both theory and application in the following areas:
The Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry 6-week class begins with course work concentrating on food safety and sanitation in the professional kitchen. The importance of proper hygiene, food handling and storage, cleaning, pest control and HACCP in a food service operation is explored.
The Patisserie 6-week class begins with learning the classic meringue techniques that lead into the creation of European buttercreams. Students will learn classic mixing methods and piping skills. Specialty dessert cakes and decorated special occasion cakes are a major focus of this course work concentrating on factors related to the baking industry.
The Professional Communications course emphasizes the principles and practical application of effective professional communication behaviors within professional, business, and organizational contexts. In addition to identifying the importance of effective communication skills to the hospitality industry, communication styles and effective listening methods are addressed.
Throughout history, food has done more than just provide nourishment. From prehistoric times to the present day, food and the pursuit of it has had a transformative role in human history. Food has impacted societal organization, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. This course examines the role of food and its contribution and influence over history, culture, religion, economics, and politics. Food customs and attitudes are also explored, as well as, the social awareness selected food patterns and customs.
In this course, students study the hierarchy of management in food service, and the skills needed to succeed as a manager: training employees, motivating them, disciplining them, and creating a safe and positive work environment.
MA130 is an intermediate-level course in algebra. This course includes topics in equations and inequalities, graphing lines and circles, functions and their graphs, polynomial and rational functions, and exponential and logarithmic functions.
Technical Writing, prepares students to write in the hospitality and food service professions. In a professional setting, writing provides readers information they need in a format they can understand.
The Artisan Bread 6-week course provides the framework to understand the principles of the following methods and techniques: the methods of prefermentation, biga, and sponge, starting and maintaining a variety of sourdough starters, extended fermentation, the 10 steps of bread production, proper shaping, proofing and scoring, whole grain breads, Italian artisan breads, enriched breads, and special occasion/holiday breads, puff pastry and laminated dough.
In the Science of Nutrition course, the basic principles of nutrition are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the nutrients, food sources, and their utilization in the body for growth and health throughout life. Contemporary and global nutritional issues are also discussed.
This course covers such topics as business planning, pricing, credit management, government regulation, and legal concerns. Business ethics and the crucial role and importance of management and leadership are also covered. For the final project for this course, the student will complete and present a business plan for a food service operation.
This course explores the cultural differences of desserts, as well as the history and importance of international desserts from regions such as Latin America, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, Italy, Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Germanic Countries. This course also includes instruction of molecular gastronomy and contemporary plated desserts. Students will study wine varieties. Taste evaluation of wine, cooking with wine and pairing wines with desserts is also covered.
Students gain relevant experience by working in an approved food service establishment. Students are required to satisfy 180 working hours and complete other mandatory assignments to fulfill their externship commitment as part of their graduation requirements.
Students gain relevant experience by working in an approved food service establishment. Students are required to satisfy 180 working hours and complete other mandatory assignments to fulfill their externship commitment as part of their graduation requirements.
Our degree and diploma paths synthesize the science and artistry of the pastry arts in a fully-equipped kitchen classroom where you can spend most of your education applying your skills and knowledge in a hands-on learning environment. Programs in our Texas campus are designed to help students explore their artistry and technique in pastry and dessert preparation and presentation by simulating a real-world setting to prepare them to reach their professional objectives beyond the classroom.
For me, the chef educators and courses built a foundation of knowledge, confidence and creativity.*
“Attending Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts has directly contributed to my success. For me, the chef educators and courses built a foundation of knowledge, confidence and creativity. By working with people who did not attend pastry school, I have found that my experience at the school really did prepare me for my career.”*
The Essential Culinary Career Survey
The Essential Culinary Career Survey
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