PROFESSION DESCRIPTION
“You need to eat to live, not live to eat,” said the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. But you must admit that food should be enjoyable, tasty and healthy. Scientists have already proven that when eating tasty food, a person receives a hormone of joy - endorphin, which plays a major role in the mechanisms of memory, learning, sleep, helps to be in good mood during the whole day.
The chef is a gourmet food professional, he knows a huge number of different dishes. national cuisines, can turn any product into a masterpiece. In the culinary arts, there different directions. A chef may specialize, for example, in Mediterranean cuisine, and be engaged exclusively in the preparation of sushi. Chefs who specialize in making sweets are called confectioners.
A pastry chef must love to cook. He needs a good memory, including taste, creative imagination, fine taste and smell. Good coordination of movements (at the level of the hands), an eye that reproduces the imagination, responsibility, honesty. People eat on average three times a day, which ensures a stable demand for the services of professional chefs. Of the opening enterprises, a significant segment is made up of enterprises Catering and restaurants, which means good specialist will not be without work.
A cook is a specialist who prepares food in catering establishments. Of course, almost anyone can cook something edible. What then is the difference between amateur cooking and professional cooking? Yes, in the fact that a chef can cook something really delicious from the same products and serve it with taste. Also, a chef is not only a person who knows how to cook dishes technologically correctly and in strict accordance with the recipe, but also a specialist who loves his work, receives sincere pleasure and joy from it when the results of his work delight customers.
The owners of cafes and restaurants are well aware that the success of the institution directly depends on the skill of the chef, on the variety, exclusivity or exoticism of the dishes offered. Special meaning this profession has received in our age of speed and constant time pressure. People are eating less at home, more and more in catering establishments. And if we remember that food for a person is not only a source of energy and nutrients, but also a great taste pleasure, it will become clear that a person who can give food a special taste will always be in demand.
MORE ABOUT THE PROFESSION
Direction of preparation:
food and consumer products technology
Purpose of the profession:
cooking a wide range simple and main dishes and basic bakery and confectionery flour products, taking into account the needs of various categories of consumers.
Must know:
- the basics of nutrition;
- characteristics and biological value of products, signs of their good quality;
- range of manufactured products;
- recipes, consumption rates of raw materials, semi-finished products;
- technology and mode of cooking and confectionery;
- rules for compiling the menu;
- norms, ratios and sequence of laying raw materials.
Should be able to:
- process and properly store raw materials;
- prepare cold appetizers, first, second, third, sweet dishes;
- carry out the primary processing of meat and fish products and vegetables, arrange them for distribution, distribute them;
- cook different kinds manual and machine testing;
- stamping and molding products;
- prepare various types of creams and sweets, decorate products with them;
- Pack up finished products.
Professionally important qualities:
- figurative memory;
- aesthetic taste;
- well-developed sense of smell and taste;
- accuracy;
- mobility of hands, fingers;
- physical endurance.
Medical contraindications:
- infectious diseases;
- violation of the functions of the musculoskeletal system;
- mental illness;
- diseases associated with loss of consciousness;
- phlebeurysm;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
The demand for the profession of a confectioner today is quite high and stable. This type of activity involves the masterful manufacture of all kinds of flour and sugar confectionery. Waffles, cookies, cakes, muffins, chocolate, jelly, ice cream, jam - this is far from full list all your favorite sweets that a confectioner can please. A person of this profession prepares various types of dough, fillings, cream according to recipes. In addition, his duties include the preparation of semi-finished products, from which various products are then baked.
A feature of the profession of a confectioner is that he has to do a lot of specific work manually. For example, decorate and paint cakes with cream. This kind of activity has a narrower focus than the profession of a pastry chef. The duties of the latter, in addition to making sweets, also include the preparation of first and second courses. A person with this specialty is a more versatile master.
The skill level of confectioners is determined by 6 categories. The 3rd or 4th category can be obtained immediately after graduating from a culinary school. Consider what types of work the master performs, depending on his category.
The confectioner of the first category cuts out a finished biscuit with a knife; brings semi-finished products to the workplace; loads special machines with stuffing or cream and controls the operation of the equipment. All other operations are performed only under the guidance of more experienced craftsmen.
A confectioner of the second category prepares creams, beats and colors them; brews syrups; cuts biscuits into layers, greases them with filling; prepares some semi-finished products; fills a special machine with dough, starts and regulates its operation, etc.
The confectioner of the third category makes the simplest confectionery and bakery products; prepares some types of creams, fillings and dough; cuts semi-finished products, covers sweets with fudge, chocolate, cream, fruit, etc.
The confectioner of the fourth category controls the process of making a variety of cookies, rolls, muffins, cakes from various raw materials; selects creams by color; prepares some details of decorations and patterns for cakes, etc.
The confectioner of the fifth category is responsible for the process of making more complex original custom-made cakes according to special recipes under the guidance of a more qualified master; supervises the work on the preparation of sweets; is engaged in finishing complex types desserts, etc.
A confectioner of the sixth category makes complex figured highly artistic confectionery; selects materials by size and color, the most complex of which he prepares himself; develops technologies and recipes for making sweets.
As in any profession, the profession of a pastry chef has its pros and cons. Positive side– this is a great demand for such cooks. Perhaps there is not a single person who would not like to eat tasty and satisfying food. Therefore, a good confectioner will never be left without work. The negative side of the profession is that, by the nature of their activity, specialists have to spend their working day on their feet. This may subsequently lead to various diseases legs and spine. Heat and humidity too in the best way may affect health.
Personal qualities
A person who decides to devote himself to the profession of a confectioner must possess certain qualities. To succeed in this type of activity, one must have a well-developed sense of smell, subtle taste sensations. You should have a good memory so as not to forget a lot of ingredients. Creative and spatial imagination is also necessary for quality work. Hand dexterity and the ability to quickly switch from one job to another are important qualities for a confectioner that will help him cope with any orders in the shortest possible time. It should be remembered that choosing this profession, you will have to endure significant physical stress.
To become a professional high level, you must have an artistic taste, creativity and be inventive. Since the profession of a confectioner involves working in a team, one must be patient, self-possessed, friendly, friendly and sociable. Such qualities as carelessness, inattention and slowness are unacceptable in this type of activity.
Education: what do you need to know?
You can become a confectioner by attending special courses in training centers. Basic knowledge in this profession can also be obtained in specialized institutions of primary and secondary vocational education. Those who wish to become confectionery technologists can continue their education at the university.
Knowledge of the natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) will help you master the profession of a confectioner and succeed in it. Studying the experience of foreign professionals will provide an opportunity to learn a lot of new things in the technology of making desserts. To improve your skills, it is worth attending all kinds of seminars, master classes and trainings conducted by famous confectioners.
Place of work and career
Confectioners can work at bakeries, catering establishments (cafes, restaurants, canteens, eateries), in health camps, and in sanatoriums. Not a single one can do without people of this profession educational institution(schools, kindergartens, colleges, technical schools, colleges, institutes). Masters of confectionery production also work at blank factories and semi-finished products factories.
With managerial skills, a confectioner can advance through career ladder and become the leader of a shift, workshop or production. Some experienced professionals prefer to engage in private practice, opening their own pastry shops and bakeries.
Compared to other culinary specialties, the confectioner's profession is the most prestigious, in demand and exciting. Although almost anyone can get an education in this specialty, not everyone is able to become a qualified master. Highly artistic taste, the desire for self-improvement and the desire to create your own masterpiece - that's what you need to have in order to reach the heights in this profession.
The main decoration of any holiday table there was always dessert. And it doesn’t matter what it will be - a huge cake, modest cakes or other pastries - dessert is always awaited with great impatience, and then its taste and design are discussed for a long time. Why? Yes, because a sweet dessert is a source of sincere joy and real happiness. After all, it is not for nothing that they say that the best medicine for bad mood is a candy, cake or piece of chocolate.
The main decoration of any festive table has always been a dessert, in anticipation of which both adults and children languish throughout the entire banquet. And no matter what it will be - a huge cake, modest cakes or other pastries - dessert is always awaited with great impatience, and then its taste and design are discussed for a long time. Why? Yes, because a sweet dessert is a source of sincere joy and real happiness. After all, it is not for nothing that they say that the best medicine for a bad mood is a candy, a cake or a piece of chocolate.
And for these sweet "pieces of happiness", which today can be bought in any store, we should be grateful to the representatives profession confectioner. It is these specialists who not only make goodies, but are also constantly in search of new solutions and recipes. We invite you to "visit the kitchen" of a confectioner and learn about all the features of this profession.
Who is a confectioner?
Confectioner - a professional chef specializing in the manufacture of sweets: confectionery, pastries and all kinds of desserts (jam, ice cream, chocolate, etc.). In addition to the direct production of sugary and flour confectionery products, the confectioner is developing new or improving existing recipes, and is also constantly working to create original variants decorating desserts.
The name of the profession comes from the Arabic kandi (sweets) and the Latin condire (cook, season), which directly indicates the type of activity of a specialist - cooking sweets. The "pioneers" of this profession are considered to be the Arabs, who back in the 850s "sweetened" their lives with sugary confectionery. Note that at that time confectioner's job consisted in making sweets from dates and cane sugar (which, by the way, is still used today as a base for all kinds of desserts) and had nothing to do with creativity.
The same cannot be said about modern confectioners, who have to not only cook, but also be creative in the design of their culinary masterpieces (otherwise, they simply won’t buy products). It is noteworthy that today the profession of a confectioner combines several narrow specializations at once: this is a chocolatier, a baker, a culinary specialist, and even a confectionery designer. And the choice of a place of work for such specialists is huge: modern confectioners have the opportunity to work at hotels, in pastry shops, at bakeries or confectionery factories. They can also please a narrow circle of people with their masterpieces and create in private or apply their knowledge in the production of drinks, chocolate and cocoa, wholesale trade sugary confectionery and frozen desserts.
Job responsibilities of a confectioner largely depend on the level of his qualifications. For example, a beginner confectioner(specialist of the 1st category) is engaged exclusively in "rough" work: knocking out the dough from the molds and cleaning them, preparing the workplace and filling special containers with creams. But the duties of a high-level professional include the most time-consuming, and at the same time interesting processes: dough kneading, baking, preparation of creams and fillings, decoration finished products etc.
What personal qualities should a confectioner have?
As in many other professions, knowledge and skills alone are not enough to become a true professional pastry chef. It is in this profession that the personal qualities of a specialist are sometimes much more important than professional skills. For example, it is impossible to imagine a confectioner who would not have such personal qualities, how:
- accuracy;
- cleanliness;
- creative streak;
- good health;
- endurance;
- taste memory;
- fine olfactory sensitivity;
- patience;
- excellent coordination of movements;
- creativity.
By the way, there is an opinion that women are more inclined to the profession of a confectioner, because they are more accurate, responsible and patient. However, experience has shown that most pastry chefs, who not only managed to achieve success in the professional field, but also create truly unique desserts with a unique taste and original design, namely men.
What is it connected with? Perhaps with the fact that women enjoy the cooking process, and men from eating the finished product. Or maybe with the fact that women, unlike men, consider cooking desserts more like a hobby than a profession. Or with the fact that the work of a confectioner is a team work in which men show themselves much better than women.
Benefits of being a confectioner
The main thing advantage of the profession of confectioner- the opportunity to show their creative talents and give joy to people. After all, confectioners are real magicians who create not only delicious sweets, but also a good mood.
An equally important advantage of this profession is demand. As noted, try own forces a confectioner can work both at a large enterprise (bakery, hotel, bakery, confectionery factory) and at a small production (confectionery shop, small cafeteria, own business). Therefore, even a novice confectioner can easily get a job. Another thing is that it is much more difficult to "keep" at work and achieve success in the profession.
In addition, thanks to wide choice places of work, confectioners have the opportunity to choose a decent wages. Note that eminent confectioners can afford to work only a couple of days a week, and at the same time receive good fees.
Disadvantages of the Pastry Chef Profession
Unfortunately, this “tasty” specialty has not only advantages, but also a number of disadvantages. In particular, among the main disadvantages of the confectioner's profession can be distinguished:
- difficult working conditions - this is especially true for specialists in the manufacture of flour products, as they have to work in conditions of high temperature.
- the likelihood of rapid weight gain - the confectioner is obliged to taste not only his products, but also all the ingredients that he uses in his work.
- responsibility - the health (and sometimes life) of people largely depends on the quality of the dessert, so the confectioner must not only strictly adhere to the cooking technologies, but also carefully monitor the quality and shelf life of the products.
Where to get a profession of a confectioner?
Become a confectioner today it is possible both at the university, and at the technical school or college. Choice educational institution largely depends on what you want to achieve in the future: if your goal is to gain basic knowledge and work as a simple pastry chef in some bakery, then you can opt for a specialized college or technical school; if you are planning to become a high-level professional confectioner, then it is better to opt for one of the leading universities in Russia, on the basis of which highly qualified confectioners are trained.
Description of the educational program Cook, confectioner
Chef and confectioner are very honorable and demanded professions. The cook is the same artist-creator. In his hands, ordinary products turn into works of art, bringing joy and pleasure to people.
It would seem that the profession of a cook is familiar to everyone and there is no need to talk a lot about it. Young men and women, graduating from school, dream of romantic and heroic professions. Few people aspire to become a chef, perhaps because they do not know well what kind of profession it is.
An old Russian proverb says: "A good cook is worth a doctor." Indeed, a cook, like a doctor, cannot be indifferent. After all, how to feed a person depends on his health, and mood, and labor productivity. And it is also a profession that requires constant search, creative fantasy, because it is necessary to pleasantly surprise the visitor every time he enters the dining room, cafe, restaurant.
Whose business is it to prepare food?
There are a lot of women working in the catering industry now. However, in the old days, only men were cooks. And even now, in large restaurants, chefs are men who not only are not inferior in skill to women, but often surpass them in skill. Yes, and physically this work is a match for a man.
Many students of our college, when asked why they chose the profession of a cook, answer like this: “I love to cook,” “I want to invent new, unknown dishes,” “I want to feed people, tasty and nutritious.”
And experienced chefs say: “Our job is to bring joy to people. Otherwise, why go to the chef?
Boiling two or three bowls of soup, frying some potatoes is easy. But to make 100 servings of soup boiled in a huge pot turn out to be delicious, to cook a truly delicious dinner for several hundred people, is already an art that should be learned long and hard. Of course, there are cookery books that describe how to cook, fry, bake, indicate the exact dosage of products, tens and hundreds of times proven and thoughtful recipes. And yet, the work of a cook always has a place for fiction, fantasy, ingenuity.
And the chefs themselves always talk about creativity. The profession of a cook is one of the few where the obligatory taste sensations and perceptions are the main professionally important mental functions. Therefore, one who decides to become a culinary specialist must have subtle taste sensations and a well-developed sense of smell. Specific requirements are placed on the memory of the cook. He must have developed a long-term verbal-logical memory, he needs to know everything about the composition of food and its calorie content, about the physiology of nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, about the rules for compiling the menu, and, of course, have in-depth knowledge of cooking technology and equipment operation . The difficult, but at the same time fascinating profession of a cook brings great moral satisfaction to a person: it gives him the opportunity to be convinced every day of the necessity and importance of his work.
Culinary art is acquired by a person during years study and practice. Not everyone is able to become a good cook, but everyone should strive for this, cultivating in themselves a love for creativity, a search for something new and a desire to bring joy to people. The chef's talent lies in the fact that he establishes his "secret", unknown to others, attitudes towards products.
Perhaps no image of the profession has changed so radically over last years like an image of a cook. In the old days, only men were cooks. Then he was associated with a rosy-cheeked woman who wanted to feed everyone with simple and satisfying food.
A chef in the 21st century has become different - with professionally perfected hand movements, wild imagination, which he embodies in his dishes, and a delicate gastronomic taste.
Today, the professions of cooks and confectioners are prestigious and in demand in the labor market. Dozens of new restaurants and cafes open every year, festivals and culinary competitions allow young professionals to develop professionally.
These professions can be compared to real art, where great creativity, jeweler's precision and artistic taste are required.
In GAOU SPO SO AKTP cooks of the widest profile are trained. They are given basic knowledge about cuisines different peoples world, so that in the future graduates, after a short internship, could master any direction. There is also a narrower specialization - a pastry chef. Here, the technology of preparing confectionery products is studied in more detail. Of all the specializations, this one is not only the sweetest, but also the most creative. A pastry chef cannot do without artistic taste, imagination, fantasy, because the preparation and decoration of each confectionery is a creative process.
It would seem that the restaurant fever, which is observed not without surprise by residents of most large cities in Russia, should have declined long ago. Judge for yourself, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and other megacities of our country, you can easily find establishments for every taste and budget. This and all sorts of refined restaurants that claim to be haute cuisine, and a whole sea of democratic restaurants introducing the culinary tastes of the peoples of the former Soviet republics, Mediterranean delights and even the gastronomic culture of the most remote countries. The rich palette is complemented by countless cafes and coffee houses. The list is completed by fast food establishments, which differ from representatives of other segments of the restaurant market only by lower markups on dishes.
Despite such a rich offer, restaurants continue to open. And this process is unlikely to stop in the next five to seven years. You don't have to be an advanced top manager to assume that new restaurants will need specialists. And the mediocre poaching of employees from nearby establishments is unlikely to satisfy the shortage of personnel in an emerging market.
- The modern food industry is characterized by an ever-increasing demand for personnel,- says restaurateur Gayane Breiova. - The emergence of new restaurants provides a high demand for representatives of all professions, from waiters and ordinary kitchen workers to managers and chefs. This opens the way not only for specialists with considerable experience, but also for beginners - graduates of various courses. Youth chances in restaurant business are great. Unlike other areas of the economy, here you can relatively short time make an amazing career. Moreover, starting from the lowest positions.
The specifics of the profession
Pros of the profession:
- Stable income;
- demand in the labor market.
Disadvantages of the profession:
- Big exercise stress: standing for eight to ten hours at the stove is not as easy as it seems;
- Constant tension of attention: it is unlikely that you will be able to relax when you need to cut a salad and watch two pans on the stove.
Place of work:
Students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in cafes, restaurants, bars and canteens of the city. Many already during the practice find a future job.
Personal qualities:
A chef must have an aesthetic taste, imagination, creative inclinations, otherwise he will not go further than sandwiches and scrambled eggs.
A confectioner is a specialist who creates all kinds of confectionery products (sweets, pastries, cakes, etc.). Professionals are in demand in bakeries, restaurants, hotels, as well as in supermarkets that sell their own products. The profession of a confectioner allows you to organize your own business for the manufacture of sweets.
Responsibilities of a pastry chef
The specialist must be able to knead the dough, prepare chocolate products, bake cakes and pastries with different fillings. Not the last role is played by the ability to decorate a confectionery product, because it should be not only fragrant and tasty, but also beautiful. Although today most processes are automated, small bakeries still do most of the work by hand. Especially when it comes to original tori, which resemble a work of art. Depending on the scale of production, certain responsibilities are assigned to the confectioner. In large enterprises, one specialist is responsible for baking, the second for desserts, etc.
Regardless of the place of work, the profession of a confectioner obliges a person to know:
- range of manufactured products;
- types of creams, fillings, their compatibility;
- recipes for confectionery, all kinds of decorations;
- be able to use necessary equipment and equipment.
As in any profession, the automatic performance of duties is unlikely to bring pleasure. You need to approach the process creatively, try to make each sweet as for yourself. Accuracy, good health, a developed sense of smell and sensitivity - all these features belong to the profession of a confectioner.
How to become a confectioner
You can learn a profession in a school, there are also short-term courses. Today, the demand for competent specialists is quite large due to the rapid development of the catering industry. Confectioners can work in budget organizations, sanatoriums, schools, kindergartens, factories, cafes and restaurants. A professional can take part in competitions and improve their skills.
By the way, practice shows that confectioners are in demand even during a crisis. So, between 2008 and 2009, at the height of the economic recession, people began to buy more sweets.
The salary of a confectioner is slightly higher than that of an ordinary cook. Much depends on the organization where the specialist works, as well as the quantity and variety of manufactured products. Confectioners working on individual orders, the highest paid. Before the holidays, a line of customers line up for them.
Do not miss:
Pros and cons of being a confectioner
Advantages:
- interesting creative profession;
- demand in the labor market;
- decent salary.
Flaws:
- work in conditions of high temperature;
- not the easiest physical plane profession;
- probability of scoring excess weight because of the need to try the finished product.
Career growth is possible in several directions. Climbing the administrative ladder allows you to take the position of head of a shop or production. Organization own business makes it possible to realize "sweet" ideas, in addition, the income will be significantly higher.
