What is the difference between culinary and pastry

Are you into cakes, cupcakes, and desserts or do you prefer to make a juicy prime rib? Your own interests will be your best guide in making this decision. Try some cooking. Pick some recipes that interest you and try them. Be sure to pick a number of recipes for both meals and desserts.

Offer to prepare some dinners for friends or to make some desserts for a party. Maybe you find dealing with meats and main courses uninteresting. Or you might find the precise measurements required for baking really frustrating. Your meals might thrill your guests, but your desserts are a flop.

Actually doing some cooking will help you discern whether culinary arts or baking is the best choice. Take some classes. There are many local organizations and community colleges that offer inexpensive cooking and baking classes. Many craft stores offer classes in cake decorating. Try a few classes to see which pique your interest.

Interview professionals. Identify local bakers, chefs, and caterers to interview. Ask them questions about how they got into cooking as a career.

Find out what their work is like. Ask about the things they like and don't like about their careers. Be sure to ask what advice they would give to a person getting started. Do your homework. Find out all the information you can about culinary arts as well as baking and pastry arts. Investigate educational programs for each field. Be sure to look at all the potential employment possibilities in each area.

This is a branch of the culinary field and involves making bread, pastries, pizzas, quiches, cakes, and pies. However, this branch relies mainly on the use of an oven to bake the food. Unlike chefs, bakers can make both sweet and savory dishes and can specialize in certain areas. They can become patissier if they're interested in making pastries and desserts.

A pastry chef is someone who is schooled and skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, bread and other baked goods. Some pastry items may include cakes, cookies, cupcakes, pies, tortes and ice cream. A pastry chef is typically found in a professional kitchen and is the station chef of the pastry department. As with other station chefs, the pastry chef may have other chefs or assistants within their department.

To those outside the culinary world, the difference between a baker and a pastry chef may seem negligible. After all, you don't need to know the title of the person creating your hearty breads and delicate desserts—just as long as they keep making them.

However, to those who work in the industry, or are thinking about entering the field, there is a marked difference between a baker and a pastry chef.

While these terms may sometimes seem interchangeable, they actually describe different roles. So what's the distinction?