Develop professional skills for fine pastry production including foundational baking, plated desserts, cake design, and chocolate and confection work.
Pastry Arts
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Meet instructors, ask questions, and tour our facilities.
What you will learn
- Health, sanitation, safety
- Use of bakery equipment including scales, mixers, proofers, and ovens
- Knife skills
- Theoretical baking principles and processes
- Ingredients and methodology
- Biscuits and muffins
- Pie dough and straight dough
- Fermentation, leavening, gluten development
- Aeration and emulsification
- Yeast doughs, quickbreads, loaf cakes
- Cookies, pies, tarts
- Croissant, Danish, and puff dough lamination
- Cakes, cookies, sponges
- Buttercreams, glazes, ganaches
- Dessert plating and presentation
- Composition, use of colour and texture
- Pastries, slices, squares
- Deep-fat frying
- Yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts, French crullers
- Use of seasonal fruits and other ingredients
- Crème bru?le?e and ice cream
- Chocolate and confection making
- Chocolate tempering
- Truffles and moulded chocolates
- Aerated confections and fruit jellies
- Caramel and sugar work
- Dessert cakes, layered cakes, entremets
- Mousses and fillings
- Piping skills
- Icings and decorative techniques
- Wedding cake design and assembly
- Flower-making and rolled fondant
- Marzipan figurines and airbrushing
- Consistency and accuracy
- Environmental conditions
- Daily production planning
- Standard math functions
- Retail bakeshop management
- Professional etiquette and personal hygiene
- Troubleshooting and problem solving
- Ingredient and equipment suppliers
- Merchandising, inventory, and cost control
- Waste management
- Menu design
- Catering
- Effective communication
What to expect
Program Duration and Maximum Time for Completion
The program is 44 weeks. Students must complete the credential within 3 years.
Students who successfully complete this credential may be eligible to receive advance standing in the Artisan Baking Certificate.
- 11 months of full-time study in four terms:
- Introduction to Baking
- Applied Baking
- Pastry
- Capstone
- Classes Monday to Friday - a.m. or p.m. (one option will be available each term; times are subject to change)
- Purchase of textbooks and baking tools (available at the VCC Bookstore)
- Purchase of closed-top, non-slip footwear
- Direct instruction
- Interactive instruction
- Demonstrations
- Problem-solving
- Cooperative learning
- Active participation
- A fully operational kitchen and bakeshop environment
- Self-directed learning
Admission requirements
Program-specific
-
English Language Proficiency at a grade 10 level or equivalent
-
Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 10 or equivalent
-
Valid BC FoodSafe Level 1 Certificate or equivalent
General
- Seats are offered to applicants who have met all admission requirements, on a first-qualified, first-served basis.
- International applicants must be 17 years of age or older or a graduate of a secondary school. (Some exceptions may apply.)
- Applicants must submit official transcripts and educational documents as required by their course or program.
- All VCC applicants are required to function successfully in an English-speaking classroom. English requirements vary by program. For details, visit VCC International - English Requirements.
Recommended Characteristics
- Basic computer and word processing skills
- Organizational and time management skills
- Enjoys working independently and in a team
- Physical condition and stamina to meet the demands of the program, including good motor skills and hand-eye coordination
- Creativity is an asset
- Applicants must be able to physically handle all wheat, dairy, egg, and nut products and all associated by-products required to meet the program outcomes. Any other known food allergies must be disclosed.
Courses *
Classes are generally run on Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., depending on intakes. The work experience at the end of the program is scheduled by the employer. Class times are subject to change.
Prior learning assessment and recognition
Prior learning assessment and recognition is not available for this program.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BAKG 1150 | Quick Breads & Cookies | 4 |
| BAKG 1155 | Pies, Tarts, Puff Pastries | 4 |
| BAKG 1160 | Basic Lean Yeast Doughs | 4 |
| BAKG 1165 | Basic Rich Yeast Doughs | 4 |
| BAKG 1170 | Basic Cakes & Pastries | 4 |
| BAKG 1175 | Specialty Cakes & Pastries | 4 |
| BAKG 1275 | Chocolate & Confectionery | 4 |
| BAKG 1276 | Advanced Cakes | 4 |
| BAKG 1277 | Advanced Pastries & Dessert Presentation | 4 |
| BAKG 1278 | Advanced Decoration | 2 |
| BAKG 1279 | Selected Topics in Pastry Arts | 2 |
| BAKG 1375 | Pastry Arts Capstone Project | 1 |
| BAKG 1376 | Pastry Arts Work Experience | 3 |
| Total Credits | 44 | |
* This information is intended as a guideline only. Program and course details are subject to change with the approval of VCC's Board of Governors.
Discover Open Studies
Open Studies lets you take courses from credit programs without having to be accepted into one. Based on availability, you can sample different courses, earn credits, and build new skills.
Explore your optionsFees and other costs *
Tuition deposits are payable usually within three weeks after a Letter of Offer is issued.
| Fee description | Fee Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | 145 | |
| Tuition Tuition | 28700 | |
| Student union | 283 | |
| College initiative | 134 | |
| Materials | 0 | not including textbooks |
| Campus resource | 268 | |
| Laundry | 0 | |
| Tools (deposit) | 0 | |
| Coverall (deposit) | 0 | |
| Uniform (deposit) | 0 | |
| Medical and Dental | 285 | |
| Temporary Medical Insurance | 149 | |
| U-PASS | 506 | |
| Graduation | 45 | |
| Program-specific extra fees | 0 | |
| Total |
* Fees are approximate and subject to change with the approval of VCC's Board of Governors. Students are required to pay any applicable fee increases. Application and assessment fees are non-refundable.
Fees listed are for international students. For domestic programs, visit vcc.ca.
Any refunds are issued according to VCC's international refund policy.
Apply now
STATUS INFORMATION
- Apply Now: Qualified applicants may receive offers of admission if seats are available, or placed on waitlists if seats are full.
- Closed: Applications are not accepted.
- For details about application availability based on study permit status and recommendations if the application status is closed, visit the Availability Status page.
This is a stand-alone program with no options to combine specialties. Students wishing to study both artisan baking and pastry specialties should apply to the 2-year Baking and Pastry Dual Certificates program.
For more information and tips, see Apply page
Attend an Information Session
Meet instructors, ask questions, and tour our facilities.