Education · 1 of 5

The path

Nobody licenses this job. You get it by being useful in a kitchen.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Get a job in any kitchen, even dish pit or counter. Bakeries hire teenagers and the smell test for whether you like 4am starts is free.

2. 2

   Learn the craft

   1 to 4 years

   Either a 1 to 2 year baking and pastry program at a community college or culinary school, or a paid apprenticeship, or straight onto a pastry station under someone good.

3. 3

   Pastry cook

   2 to 5 years

   Mixing, laminating dough, scaling, finishing plates on service. This is where speed and consistency come from, and it takes years.

4. 4

   Pastry chef

   After 5 or more years

   You run the department: recipes, ordering, costing, scheduling and training the cooks under you.