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Gluten-Free Cooking Programs

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on August 27, 2010
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culinary school costsOne of the hottest trends in the culinary world today is cooking gourmet gluten-free foods. Popular for its health benefits (shedding pounds and eliminating many types of allergies) as well as a way to live with illnesses like celiac disease, a gluten-free diet deals primarily with eliminating certain types of flours and sweeteners.

This includes cooking without wheat, barley, and rye, eliminating most types of flour, bread, pasta, and even beer. Although there are not yet any accredited gluten-free cooking schools, many reputable culinary institutions are incorporating gluten-free programs as part of a larger culinary package.

Ranging from baking courses (which can be particularly tricky) to straightforward American cuisine, these programs provide another layer of training for cooks seeking to build a strong portfolio of skills.

Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet

Although most proponents of gluten-free foods cite celiac disease as the leading cause, there are a number of health benefits believed to be derived from this type of diet.

  • Staying away from gluten means avoiding many types of fatty pre-packaged foods.
  • Some researchers believe gluten contributes to higher risks of certain types of cancer.
  • Other researches cite the benefits of a gluten-free diet for those who suffer from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, seizures, and other neurological disorders.
  • Gluten-free foods tend to be higher in natural fiber and protein.
  • A gluten-free diet may help reduce the side effects of anemia and diabetes.

Becoming a Gluten-Free Chef

When you learn gluten-free cooking, you’ll most likely discover new ways of cooking old favorites, as well as how to choose ingredients that avoid the gluten no-nos. (For example, soy sauce and most processed foods have some sort of gluten product, even if it’s only used as a preservative or filler.)

When it comes to cooking techniques, burgeoning chefs learn how to blend different types of flours, gums, and starches to replicate the use of regular flour. Although it is impossible to use a straightforward substitution, there are techniques and ingredients that can simulate the same chemical reaction.

If you are interested in learning more about this process and how you might be able to incorporate a gluten-free cooking class into your own culinary education, be sure and talk with the schools you’re considering. You might be surprised at how many of these types of courses are being included as a way to diversify your skills and meet the demands of health-conscious consumers everywhere.

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Baking and Pastry Schools

The Difference Between Baking School and Pastry School

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on April 13, 2010
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Most of the time, “baking school” is an umbrella term used to describe everything related to the act of baking, including both baking and the pastry arts. After all, pastry and baking are really two sides of the same coin; each one includes a set of skills that leads to the creation of fabulous pies, cakes, and breads most often associated with the dessert course.

Although most schools offer baking and pastry arts as a combined course or diploma program, they are actually two different concepts. Both are required to become a truly accomplished pastry chef, but it is possible to focus on just one as a specialization.

Baking includes the real “meat” of the baking and pastry arts. It involves the creation of:

  • Breads
  • Doughs
  • Cookies
  • Scones
  • Pies
  • Tarts
  • Rolls

Pastry is really just the fancy stuff. It requires the hand of an artist and quite a bit of delicacy. It is the chocolate embellishments on top of the cake, the sugar-sprinkled flowers, and often times the delicate puff of a successful meringue.

When you’re looking for a baking and pastry school, make sure the courses contain exactly what it is you’re after. A straight baking course will probably skip over the small intricacies that make desserts fun and light. A straight pastry course might not teach all the skills you need to successfully integrate ingredients for mass production in an industrial kitchen. If you’re looking for just one or the other, that’s great, and you might be able to save quite a lot of time and money by only focusing on one aspect.

However, if you want a comprehensive culinary education that may lead to a restaurant job or the ability to open a bakery of your own, make sure both baking and pastry get a front seat role. Both sets of skills can go a long way in making your culinary career a success.

Why Baking School Can Equal Big Dough

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on April 2, 2010
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Baking school tends to get a bad reputation when set against its bigger, more glamorous older brother culinary school. Culinary school is often viewed as the place for the creative artist, where cooking food takes second place to the act of combining ingredients with flair, panache, and all those things that bring something new and interesting to the palate. Baking school, on the other hand, is where students go to learn facts; where ingredient ratios are considered just as important as new creations.

While there is certainly more to both culinary school and baking school, there is one factor that’s often overlooked in the comparison of the two. Baking school often leads to more opportunities in the culinary field and a higher income upon graduation. Here’s why:

  • Baking school has less competition. Because baking school doesn’t have quite the same reputation as culinary school, baking programs tend to be easier to get into—particularly at the more prestigious schools. This means you have a better chance of boosting your resume with a name employers recognize. It also means there are fewer graduates competing for jobs.
  • Baking school leads to incredible specializations. Nothing spells profit quite so much as the baking industry, especially when you consider things like wedding and special event cakes. At up to $2,000 per cake, this higher end of the baking industry can really help you turn a profit.
  • Baking school is part of a booming industry. Bakers tend to be in higher demand than those with a culinary degree. After all, even most grocery stores have a bakery, and a quality education can go a long way in moving you up the ranks to the top tier of professionals in these more low-key venues.

Although you should never choose any culinary career based solely on earning potential, baking school is worth a second look. If you simply love being around food, it might be a better long-term investment to find a school that teaches culinary basics as well as a specialization in baking and pastry arts.

Skills Needed to Succeed in Baking School

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on November 10, 2009
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baking schoolAlthough the two fall under the same umbrella concept of working in the kitchen, baking school and cooking school are two very different ideas. Cooking is very much an art form, requiring students to use their imaginations and their taste buds to come up with new, delicious creations. Baking is more like a science, and although there is certainly room for creativity, there is much about baking that has to do with measurements and proportions of ingredients.

Most of the time, culinary professionals focus on either baking or cooking, although they may dabble a little in both. If you think baking school might be right for you, consider the following skills sets:

  • Attention to detail: Because so much of baking school is about creating correct proportions of things like leavening agents, you have to be able to understand how the little things might make all the difference.
  • Adaptable and imaginative: At the same time, while you have to be able to adhere to time-honored techniques and recipes, you have to be able to come up with recipes of your own. That means taking the skills you learn and applying them to your own creations.
  • Physically capable: Much of baking is strenuous. You can expect to work in a hot, fast-paced environment, oftentimes for long hours at a time. In many types of settings, you’ll also need to lift heavy trays and/or cakes.
  • Team-oriented: When you go to baking school or even start a baking career, you’re not going to be going solo. You need to work well with others in both a leadership and a team setting, since commercial kitchens and bakeries often require collaboration from the start of a project to the finish.

Of course, you’ll also need basic kitchen skills. Fortunately all of these things can be learned as you go through baking skill. Some people are born with the type of patience and attention it takes to become a successful pastry chef; others have to develop these things over time. As long as you choose a good pastry arts and baking school, however, you’ve taken the right first step.