Baking and Pastry Specialist

The Baking and Pastry Specialist (BPS) program is designed to prepare students for the specific skills needed to excel in a career in the foodservice industry. Students learn the culinary skills that are foundational to baking and patisserie, including breads, cakes, specialty breads and desserts, chocolates, tarts and tortes.

Students who complete the program and pass the appropriate ServSafe exams will have met the American Culinary Federation certification standards for Food Safety and Sanitation. Graduates receive a diploma. The program is offered at the Clovis/Fresno and Modesto campuses.

Your baking and pastry classroom is an immersion experience in IOT’s full-service kitchen. This professional kitchen is equipped with ovens, broilers, a walk-in freezer, demonstration tables and baking ovens to provide culinary students with a learning environment similar to those found in restaurants.

• Network of support: a supportive network of peers, plus the entire IOT staff to guide you along the way.
• Training that transfers to your career: real-world preparation in baking and pastry so you can be ready for day one in the pastry arts.
• Industry externship: a 160-hour externship in the kitchens of bakeries, restaurants, hotels, institutions or clubs.

All students interested in applying must first meet with an Admissions Representative and successfully pass a 12-minute assessment test. Students must be a minimum of 18 years of age, or 17 years of age with the written consent of a parent or guardian, and possess a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid government or state issued GED, or proof of completing an officially recognized and accredited home schooling program (home-school applicants must also pass an entrance examination). Foreign education documents that cannot be confirmed must be evaluated by a third-party agency at the applicant’s expense.

Non-ATB applicants take the Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam; diploma programs require a minimum score of 10. Students with delinquent student loans must resolve them before being considered, and students who have defaulted on a student loan will not be considered for admission.

No diploma or GED? Through a partnership with C4L Academy, students in an eligible career pathway program (ECPP) can earn a high school diploma while concurrently enrolled; ability-to-benefit applicants must pass the ACCUPLACER test (Reading 233, Writing 235, Arithmetic 230).

The program is 890 hours / 48 quarter credit hours. Classes are held Monday through Thursday for 40 weeks and include an Independent Study component. See your Admissions Representative for available class times.

Graduates will be prepared to contribute in a broad range of entry-level occupations in the foodservice industry, including Bread and Pastry Baker, Dessert Specialist, Catering Specialist, Institutional and Cafeteria Baker, Bakery Chef and Gourmet Specialty Baker.

The catalog lists Standard Occupational Classification codes for the program including Chefs and Head Cooks (35-1011), Cooks, Restaurant (35-2014), Food Preparation Workers (35-2021) and Bakers (51-3011).

Coursework emphasizes proficiency in breads, cakes, specialty breads and desserts. Uniforms and a Pastry Tool Kit are required and are available for purchase; textbooks are provided either as classroom resources or are purchased by the student.

In the final 160-hour externship, students work on the job in an approved kitchen or bakery, rotating through various stations of production; it reinforces skills learned at the Institute and prepares them for the workforce. Students who successfully complete the program are documented as “Graduate” and receive a diploma.