The new Culinary Arts coursework at the New Castle Career Center (NCCC) allows students to move beyond introductory baking and develop more advanced baking and pastry techniques. Students who complete the three new courses can earn a Baking and Pastry Certificate through Ivy Tech Community College.
Chef Robin Pickett, NCCC Culinary Arts/Baking & Pastry Instructor, says the addition reflects both student interest and her professional background.
“My personal background is being a Pastry Chef,” Pickett said. “Over the years, I have noticed that several students are interested in Baking and Pastry or traditional Culinary. I really wanted to allow students to learn the area they are passionate about.”
Learning Baking & Pastry Skills
The Baking and Pastry certificate includes three new courses: Baking Science, Cakes/Icing/Fillings, and Classical Pastry. Baking Science teaches students the science behind the recipes: chemical reactions in baking, ingredient substitutions, and how recipe changes affect the finished product.
In Cakes/Icing/Fillings, students will build a foundation in cake varieties, decorating techniques, fillings, and different types of icing. They'll work with butter cakes, sponge cakes, and high-ratio cakes, along with buttercream, whipped toppings, and glazes.
The course also introduces students to the business side of baking. Students will learn about cost pricing and customer service while working on cake orders.
Classical Pastry takes students into more advanced techniques, with an emphasis on French pastry. The menu includes doughs such as croissants and danishes, along with cream puffs, éclairs, meringues, custards, frozen desserts, petit fours, soufflés, and tarts.
“We will be doing everything from buttery croissants to fresh pastry cream fruit tarts,” Pickett said.
Baking Beyond the Basics
Students already receive an introduction to baking as part of the Culinary Arts program. That coursework covers fundamental techniques such as mixing methods and basic doughs, and students make items such as cookies, muffins, pies, and rolls. The new Baking and Pastry coursework builds on those skills.
“Baking on the Culinary side is just an introduction,” Pickett said. “For the new Baking and Pastry focus, we are taking what they already learned and building on more complicated techniques and pastries.”
The Baking Capstone will culminate in a project that simulates an actual customer order, from the initial conversation through the finished cake. Students will complete a wedding order from start to finish. They'll gather the customer's details, determine the cost, create the cake, and complete the order according to the customer's specifications.
“We may throw a ‘curveball’ as they are working and make a change to their project cake,” Pickett said. Students will have to adapt to the change while still completing the cake on time, mirroring the kind of unexpected adjustments that can happen in a professional bakery.
“This is a real-life experience as a baker,” Pickett said. “We take orders, start working, and sometimes things get changed. They will have to adjust and complete the cake on time.”
The project gives students more than an opportunity to demonstrate their decorating skills. It combines communication, customer service, costing, production, problem-solving, time management, and technical baking skills.
More Options for Culinary Students
The expansion also creates an opportunity for students who want to pursue both sides of the culinary industry. NCCC has expanded the Culinary program to include a three-year option. A student who enrolls as a sophomore and stays for three years could earn both a Culinary Certificate and a Baking and Pastry Certificate through Ivy Tech, along with 29 dual credits toward an Ivy Tech associate degree.
For students interested in turning their passion for baking into a career, the new Baking and Pastry Capstone allows them to develop real skills and certifications while still in high school. Learn more about the Culinary Arts program here.