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Through our diploma and degree programs in Pastry Arts, you’ll study interactive courses delivered by our professional chef instructors, engage in live classroom discussions, learn the business side of the industry and fine-tune your techniques and knowledge – all in the convenience of your own kitchen! Start your journey with our online programs specializing in baking & pastry.

Thinking about starting a baking or pastry career? Download our step-by-step Baking & Pasty Career Plan & Checklist.

Gain the Same Skills as Ground Campus Students with Escoffier’s Online Learning Format

Chef Instructor Luke Shaffer

 

Diploma in Professional Pastry Arts

Curriculum for our Professional Pastry Arts diploma offers a unique, industry-relevant, 100% online educational experience in baking and pastry arts. Our diploma program covers everything from artisan bread baking classes and cake decorating to menu planning and budget management. The program concludes with a six-week externship in a foodservice establishment that allows students to gain valuable, experiential knowledge in a professional kitchen environment.

Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Baking and Pastry

The Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Baking and Pastry provides the practical as well as theoretical foundations essential for success in the foodservice and hospitality industry. No matter where your dreams lead you, the baking and pastry courses in our online program can help provide the tools needed for professional advancement.

The AOS curriculum combines lectures, demonstrations, baking, and evaluation for an integrated and innovative approach to the pastry arts. Students complete 12 weeks of hands-on industry externship in order to gain functional knowledge by working in an approved industry setting.

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Clicking the "Get the Survey Now" button constitutes your express request, and your express written consent, to be contacted by and to receive automated or pre-recorded call, texts, messages and/or emails from via phone, text, and/or emails by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts at the number(s)/email you provided, regarding furthering your education and enrolling. You understand that these calls, texts, messages and/or emails may be generated using an automated or pre-recorded technology. You are not required to agree to receive automated or pre-recorded calls, texts, messages or emails as a condition of enrolling at Escoffier. You can unsubscribe at any time or request removal of street address, phone number, email address via Escoffier website.

Program Courses

Online pastry courses in the program concentrate on both theory and application in the following areas:

  • Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry I

    In this course, students will learn the basics of professional bakeshop work: mise en place, baking math (measuring and converting recipes), and safety and sanitation. Students will then practice the fundamental techniques of pastry and baking, learning multiple methods for creating cookies and doughs.

  • Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry II

    In this course, students build on what they’ve learned in the previous course. They expand their understanding of the bakeshop, baking a variety of pies and tartlets as well as preparing custards (stove-top and baked), dessert sauces, and pâte à choux.

  • Menu Design and Management

    This course explores different types of menus (including food and beverage) and their applications. The course covers all aspects of menu planning and design, ranging from visual design to price analysis to making use of available resources. The menu is both a financial tool and a communication tool, and students learn about its uses as both.

  • Contemporary Pastry Arts

    This course highlights modern considerations in the baking industry. Students learn about cutting-edge trends in dessert composition and contemporary plating techniques, and how to stay current with those. Trends in diets and eating habits are constantly changing, and being able to stay on top of them is a key industry skill.

  • Global Pastry Arts

    This course explores the geographical and cultural influences on desserts from around the world. Students will learn about regional desserts from around the world, identifying common ingredients and their key flavors, then practicing the production techniques found in the countries of each region. Each week, students will navigate the assigned regions through readings, discussions and practical assignments.

  • Food and Beverage Cost Control

    Three out of five foodservice operations fail within five years of opening, often due to money mismanagement; this course gives students the skills to not only keep their restaurant in business but also turn a profit. This course introduces students to purchasing, receiving, inventory management and menu pricing. Students learn how to minimize costs while maintaining a full range of customer services. The course progresses from the fundamentals of culinary math into an overview of storeroom operations, inventory, portion control, as purchased and edible portions, ingredient conversions, and recipe costing.

  • Foundations of Bread I

    In this course, students learn the basics of baking breads and dough products. Students will use starters and levains, calculate optimal temperature, and work with various doughs and pre-ferments to create multiple different varieties of bread. Students will also continue to develop their ability to follow a production timeline.

  • Foundations of Bread II

    This course expands the student’s knowledge of bread into enriched breads. Students will use more advanced methods to create yeasted doughs, laminated doughs, sweet doughs, and puff pastry, and use dough shaping in more complex ways.

  • Foodservice Management

    This course covers the different types of commercial food service operations, and how to manage each using the principles of good service. Students study the hierarchy of management in food service, and the skills needed to succeed as a manager: training, motivation, discipline, and creating a safe and positive work environment. The course also explores how to act responsibly and make decisions that benefit the company.

  • Cake Design and Decorating

    Students will delve into more complex pastries. Cakes are the main focus, and students will learn about the classic mixing methods used to create a wide variety of American and European cakes and tortes. Students will also learn about various styles of cake decoration, progressing from basic icings, frostings, and cake assembly to intermediate decorating techniques and fine line piping. Throughout the course, students will develop their ability to bake on schedule, following a production timeline like those in a professional bakeshop.

  • Confiserie

    In this course, students will learn about products that, while not necessarily pastry items or baked goods, are important dessert staples and essential knowledge for the bakeshop. Students begin with the proper techniques in storing, melting, and tempering chocolate, as well as creating chocolate decorations. Students will then move on to sugar cookery and confections, explore a variety of fruit desserts and petit fours, and end the course with lessons on frozen desserts, including ice cream and gelato.

  • Building Your Own Business

    This course covers such topics as business planning, pricing, credit management, government regulation, legal concerns, and business ethics. Students learn how to manage and how to lead. For the final project in this course, students complete and present a business plan for a food service operation.

  • Pastry Industry Externship I

    This course provides opportunities for real life experiences in an operational restaurant or related business and builds on the skills and techniques covered in previous courses. Here, students apply the skills they’ve learned in practical ways to real-world situations. Students gain hands-on experience in the kitchen that mirrors their future work in the industry and develop the skills necessary for a culinary career. Immersion in a work environment also allows students to develop industry contacts and build working relationships, ideal for those aspiring to become skilled bakery chefs.

Online Curriculum & Pastry Courses

Our pastry arts programs are an effective and convenient way to obtain a formal online baking and pastry education in the kitchen you know best—your own! These innovative, 100% online baking programs, complete with externships, promote thorough and accurate knowledge to help build up your artisan baking repertoire. Our competency-based approach for all online pastry courses helps students master the foundational skills and techniques necessary for success in today’s professional baking environments. These original online diploma and degree programs can help you build real-world kitchen credentials.

“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.”*

Lezlie Mills Gibbs headshot

Lezlie Mills Gibbs

Pastry Arts Graduate, Head Pastry Chef & Co-Kitchen Manager, La Patisserie by Luxe Sweets

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Clicking the "Send Request" button constitutes your express request, and your express written consent, to be contacted by and to receive automated or pre-recorded call, texts, messages and/or emails from via phone, text, and/or emails by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts at the number(s)/email you provided, regarding furthering your education and enrolling. You understand that these calls, texts, messages and/or emails may be generated using an automated or pre-recorded technology. You are not required to agree to receive automated or pre-recorded calls, texts, messages or emails as a condition of enrolling at Escoffier. You can unsubscribe at any time or request removal of street address, phone number, email address via Escoffier website.

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