Becoming a Pastry Chef & Baker :
The Fundamentals

A Structured Program to Become a Professional Pastry Chef & Baker

This training provides you with all the essential skills to work in pastry and bakery. You will learn the fundamental techniques for making bread, viennoiseries, and iconic French pastries, while integrating hygiene principles and laboratory management. Through practical and immersive teaching, you will be prepared to work in pastry shops, bakeries, restaurants, hotels, or to develop your own business.

Programme provided in French only.

Who Is This Program For?

This program is intended for adults undergoing professional retraining who wish to enter the fields of pastry and bakery. It is particularly suitable for those who aim to :

• Work in a bakery-pastry shop, either in a boutique or laboratory, as a baker and/or pastry chef.

• Join a pastry or bakery team in a renowned restaurant or hotel.

• Open or take over a tearoom, combining the skills of a pastry chef and baker.

• Start an independent business as a pastry chef or choose to open or take over a bakery.

• Work in the bakery and pastry industry by joining large-scale production units.

Obtain a Recognized Diploma

This training leads to the CQP “Qualified Worker in Bakery, Viennoiserie, Pastry,” Level 3, NSF code 221, registered in the National Directory of Professional Certifications (RNCP sheet No. 37639).

Learn more about our diploma here.

BECOME A PASTRY CHEF & BAKER: THE FUNDAMENTALS PROGRAM

The training program includes several modules covering the various facets of the pastry and bakery professions. Each module is designed to offer a balanced approach between theory and practice.

PASTRY TECHNIQUES – 150 HOURS

Mastering the essential foundations of pastry-making

You will learn to create the great classics of French pastry by applying fundamental preparation, baking, and assembly techniques:

• Tarts and fillings: dough preparation, lining techniques, baking management, making creams and compotes, assembly and finishing.

• Choux pastry and creams: choux dough preparation, cream fillings, piping, glazing, and finishing.

• Travel cakes and puff pastry: cake batters, puff pastry production, fillings, and piping.

• Petit gâteaux and entremets: sponge and base doughs, creams and compotes, assembly and finishing.

UNDERSTANDING APPLIED PASTRY TECHNOLOGY

(Included in the practical hours)

• Understanding raw ingredients: origin and seasonality of products (milk, cream, eggs, food additives, cocoa, chocolate).

• Risk management: allergens and precautions related to the raw materials used.

In a professional kitchen setting, Chef Charles Liets demonstrates chocolate techniques to trainees, working chocolate with a spatula surrounded by participants in pastry chef uniforms.

BAKERY TECHNIQUES – 90 HOURS

Acquiring the fundamentals of artisanal baking

You will discover bread and viennoiserie production processes, mastering each stage from kneading to baking:

• Traditional and specialty breads (classic white, country-style, whole wheat, Nordic, sandwich bread…)

• Weighing ingredients, pre-fermentation, and fermentation

• Kneading and shaping

• Baking management

• Viennoiseries (brioche, sandwich bread, croissant, kougelhof, pain au chocolat…)

• Understanding each production step

• Adapting preparation and kneading to raw materials

• Monitoring fermentation and lamination

• Baking management

Practical workshops include: production and workstation management

ADVANCED BAKERY TECHNOLOGY – 3 HOURS

• Studying ingredients: butter, milk, eggs, cream, cereals

• Allergen management and specific precautions

FOOD HYGIENE & SAFETY RULES – HACCP (14 HOURS)

Hygiene and safety are essential in the pastry and bakery professions. You will be trained in current regulations to ensure product quality and protect consumer health:

• Key principles of bakery-pastry regulations

• Identifying physical, chemical, and biological risks

• Best hygiene practices in pastry, bakery, and viennoiserie

OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT – 14 HOURS

Beyond technical skills, management is essential to thrive in the bakery and pastry sector. This module enables you to structure and optimize your business by mastering offer development, key performance indicators, and cost control through technical sheets and ratio management.

Explore our food safety training programs

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Preparing for and earning the “BECOME A PASTRY CHEF & BAKER” certification

Throughout the program, multiple assessments are conducted to validate the acquisition of knowledge, soft skills, and technical competencies.

Types of assessments:

• Written assessment: Professional-level questionnaires, including MCQs, classification exercises, and activity descriptions

• Practical assessment: Real or simulated scenarios to evaluate technical skills

• On-site observation: A professional jury evaluates trainees using a detailed scoring grid focused on core industry operations

Certification validation conditions:

• To pass a block, the trainee must achieve a minimum average of 70%, with at least 50% per competency.

• To obtain the Professional Qualification Certificate (CQP), all three competency blocks must be validated.

• Certification is issued by the awarding body upon validation of the trainee’s full course.

• Each validated block is acquired for life.

Each trainee receives dedicated support throughout the program to help them succeed.

TRAINING ELIGIBLE FOR CPF

This course is eligible for funding through the Compte Personnel de Formation (CPF). You may benefit from full or partial coverage depending on your situation.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• Duration: 10 weeks (292 hours)

• Dates: September 8 to November 14, 2025

• Participants: 6 to 8

• Tuition: €9,950 incl. VAT (€8,291.67 excl. VAT)

To learn more about the “Become a Pastry Chef & Baker” program, information sessions are held at our Écully campus, led by Dominique Brunet, Director of Institut Lyfe Executive Education, and Fabienne Novelli, Client Relations Manager. They will answer all your questions and present the full support system available during your training.

Next Information Session

Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Institut Lyfe Executive Education – Château du Vivier – 1A, Chemin de Calabert, 69130 Écully – FRANCE

INSCRIPTION