Whether a bakery is a retail operation or in a supermarket, department store, hotel, resort, camp or related business, it needs a professional with the skills to successfully manage and operate it. Students of Centennial College’s Baking – Pastry Arts Management program can rest assured that the two years they spend in the offering and the Ontario College Diploma with which they graduate fully prepares them for the challenges of the field.

Not only do students of this program advance their abilities to produce commercial quantities of breads, rolls, sweet dough, savoury and sweet pastry, Danish and puff pastry, cookies, cakes and desserts but they also learn about managing materials purchasing and storage, product cost control and marketing, hiring and managing personnel. This is an ideal balance for the industry.

Here is an outline of some of the most beneficial courses in Baking – Pastry Management:

Baking and Pastry Arts Theory: This first semester course establishes a solid foundation for students to base their learning on. Through study sessions, students review major baking ingredients and their industry applications, trade terminology, and baking production principles and methods.

Baking and Pastry Arts Practical (three levels): These three courses in semesters one, two and three apply what students learn in their theory class and make use of on-campus facilities such as commercial kitchens. Among the lessons taught throughout the advancing levels of this baking program course are: weighing ingredients, mixing doughs and preparing batters, fillings and icings; baking and finishing specific sweet and savoury doughs, quick breads, cookies, pastries, custards, pies and laminated doughs, foam cakes, advanced pastries, petite fours, special occasion cakes, creams, custards, advanced sweet and savoury doughs, and choux paste desserts.

Mathematics for Bakers: This course introduces students to the mathematical fundamentals required for baking, which is essential to ensuring organization in the kitchen, not to mention delicious pastries every time. Among the included topics are: converting formulae from imperial to metric, calculating baking percentages, determining flour factor, and preparing formulae for practical applications.

Quantity Bakery Production: With a focus on technique, terminology, organization, professionalism, safe handling and storage of products, students learn basic principles of baking and develop the skills necessary for success in a large-scale baking environment.

Supervisory Practices for the Kitchen Manager: Because this is a managerial program, this course is vital in combating one of the biggest concerns of the restaurant manager: human resources. Managers are worried about employee skill level, retention, motivation, training, and retraining. As such, the average kitchen manager must become a better leader, supervisor, and motivator. This course is designed to give learners an opportunity to practice the skill set of a successful supervisor.

To apply for this undertaking, students must have completed an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or have mature student status (19 years or older). They must also have taken English Grade 12 C or U, or equivalent (minimum grade required) or take the Centennial College English Skills Assessment for Admission. Lastly, it is worth noting that graduates of the one year Baking - Commercial Bakeries program may directly enter semester three of program and earn a diploma in one additional year.