Baking Schools and Pastry Chef Schools

The International Baking and Pastry Program

They say if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. If you have a passion for flavorsome food and decadent desserts, then Baking School could be just the right recipe for you. Training as a Pastry Chef can open doors to a career you never thought possible. When you attend Lincoln Culinary Institute’s International Baking & Pastry program you will learn essential, hands-on, fundamental skills needed to bake like a professional in replica European-style kitchens from some of the industry's most coveted Baking Instructors.

In the International Baking and Pastry program at Lincoln Culinary Institute, you will learn important hands-on skills like knife safety, properly measuring ingredients, time management and more. You will also learn all the ins and outs of a commercial kitchen. Not just how to use the tools of the trade, but how to do it safely, for yourself and for your customers. Learn to use convection ovens, proof boxes, fryers, grills, giant mixers, deck ovens, flame torches, chocolate molds, air brush compressors, slicers, food processors, tart pans, and more. A clean, well-stocked kitchen is a great example of what you can expect in a commercial workplace and that’s what you’ll find at Lincoln Culinary Institute.

Our Baking Schools Include These Courses

• Introduction to Culinary Arts
• Foodservice Operations
• Artisan Breads and Viennoiserie
• American and European Pastry and Baked Goods
• Contemporary and Classical Cakes
• Baking and Pastry Techniques
• Techniques and Artistry in Sugar and Chocolate

In the Artisan Breads and Viennoiserie course we teach you to make classic baguettes, sourdoughs, brioche, and of course, croissants. You’ll learn the difference between lean and enriched doughs, how to care for yeast and what it means to laminate dough with butter.

In our Contemporary and Classical Cakes course -- it is not just plain vanilla cake, although we make that too -- you’ll learn how to create beautifully decorated, decadent party cakes, meringues, entremets filled with luscious mousses, classic tortes, petit fours and gateaux, and many of the classic French cakes. In our cakes course alone we use 150 pounds of butter, 540 eggs, 120 pounds of flour, 320 pounds of sugar in a five-week period. That’s a lot of tasty potential!

In our American and European Pastries course, we dive into cookies, pies, plated desserts, biscuits, tarts, puff pastry and pate a choux. More than just chocolate chip cookies and apple pies, you’ll explore decadent fillings and creative flavor profiles. We’ve also never heard of anyone turning down a cream puff or éclair.

Our courses Techniques and Artistry in Sugar and in Chocolate, are all about great candies, chocolates, and beautiful designs. You will learn to create everything from delicious ganaches and gorgeous molded bon-bons to ice creams, sorbets, gelatos, to stunning dessert centerpieces and decorations.

Who Is a Fit for This Program?

Almost anyone can attend baking school and learn to bake incredible pastries, cakes, breads, and more with Lincoln’s International Baking and Pastry program. Whether you are a beginner with little to no experience baking or have plenty of experience baking in your own kitchen, having the drive to succeed is all that matters. We believe there is no such thing as talent alone. Everything is a skill and can be practiced and perfected. Talent is just the amount of practice that gets put into a skill. The more you want to learn, the more our Baking Instructors are willing to teach you. In this program you quite literally get what you give. Showing up every day eager to learn and eager to work, will likely ensure you learn everything you need to know to graduate from the International Baking & Pastry program.

Hear from a Lincoln Culinary Institute Pastry Chef Instructor

Our International Baking and Pastry Program is extremely hands-on. Our classes put you right there in the kitchen with experienced Pastry Chefs that are skilled field professionals. You will experience live demos, instant feedback, and learning with your hands by doing. There is no hesitation, because we get right into the kitchen. Unlike a show on The Food Network or YouTube, or an online course, in our program a Pastry Chef is right there next to you giving you real-time feedback about your skills and techniques. Many of our Pastry Chef Instructors come from many different types of culinary backgrounds and have over 35 years of knowledge and experience in the industry.

Communication Is a Key to Success for Our Students

Our Instructors are always available for their students, even after they graduate. One of Lincoln’s Pastry Chef Instructors, Nick Green, says he has had several of his graduates reach out after they were employed to ask for his advice and he was happy to help. He also said, “We build life-long relationships with our students and want to see them succeed no matter where they are in their career.” Our Chef Instructors are the foundation of our baking program, and are the ones who shape the curriculum to best suit our students' needs. So, no matter what you are looking to do with your baking career, our Pastry Chef instructors have lived it and can help guide you in the right direction.

After Graduating Baking & Pastry School

Our International Baking and Pastry program graduates have a lot of opportunity in the workforce. Being well rounded in the field can open doors that you thought were not possible. If you love cakes, go bake, but don’t forget about bread. You never know what opportunities will be out there so try to be good at all aspects of baking and find your niche. Lincoln graduates are baking all over the country and even other parts of the world in places like bread bakeries, cafes, cupcake shops, food trucks, catering events, theme parks, cruise ships, big and small bakeries, restaurants, and some even in their own homes. We have many connections with local communities, bakeries, area restaurants, catering companies and more that benefit our students by providing externships.

Lincoln Culinary Institute’s Partnership with Disney

Lincoln also has a partnership with Disney. Disney is one of the leaders in the hospitality industry and getting the opportunity to work with them is something a lot of our students strive for. Disney sends a chef representative to interview students for the Disney College Program. We spend weeks preparing our students for a creative luncheon to showcase their skills. “I love watching (our) students succeed, and (I) jump for joy and cry with them when they get the acceptance letter,” says Briana Quirk, Chef Instructor at Lincoln.

Baking & Pastry Chef Job Outlook

The baking industry is projected to grow at a rate of 5%, with 33,800 annual job openings by 2032¹. With over 1,000 hours of course training, our program will teach you everything you need to know to enter the workforce confidently and successfully. Although baking sounds like a piece of cake, no pun intended, you get what you put into it. If you come to class prepared and willing to learn you can graduate from our International Baking and Pastry Program to become a talented baker and pastry chef and finally have the culinary career you have always wanted!

Lincoln Culinary Institute (LCI) in Shelton, CT is a division of Lincoln Technical Institute. LCI in Columbia, MD is a division of Lincoln College of Technology.

¹ National Center for O*NET Development. National Employment Trends: 51-3011.00 - Bakers. O*NET OnLine. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from https://www.onetonline.org/link/localtrends/51-3011.00

Important information about the educational debt, earnings, and completion rates of students who attended this program can be found on this consumer information page.  

Campuses that currently offer training in this program area are listed below, as well as links to exact program informational fact sheets: