Sokanu: The Blog

What Is a Pastry Chef?

A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked  goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, and some cafés.

The pastry chef is a member of the classic brigade de cuisine 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. Bakers may also be members of the pastry department in bakeries and larger establishments such as hotels.

What Does A Pastry Chef Do?

Pastry chefs create pies, candies, chocolates, cookies, cakes, ice cream, custards and breads.  They not only create desserts, but also order ingredients, keep inventory, deal with wholesalers, develop new recipes and provide input on menu-planning. The job demands abundant testing and sampling of new creations, which can be both rewarding and delicious.  Nearly every restaurant, cafe, market and grocery store chain sells sweets and there is no doubt that people will always have a sweet tooth.

Some responsibilites of a Pastry Chef:

     * Creating, testing and evaluating new pastry and dessert recipes

    * Keeping a budget for the pastry department

    * Buying fresh fruits and berries and ordering supplies from various vendors

    * Supervising chefs in training in the pastry kitchen

    * Discuss menu planning with the other chefs in the restaurant

    * Keeping the kitchen organized

 What It Takes To Be A Pastry Chef

There are a couple of options when thinking about becoming a pastry chef.  You can either start your own business (by opening a store or working out of your home), or join the staff of a restaurant.  Joining the staff of a high end restaurant or 5 star hotel will offer the highest pay and give you the exposure necessary to become famous in the culinary arts world.

Being a pastry chef involves attention to detail.  Small changes in a recipe can make a big difference, so pastry chefs need to pay attention to what they're doing, even while performing routine tasks.  You will also need to have artistic ability and creativity to produce pastries and desserts that look as good as they taste.

Pastry chefs need people skills in order to establish a successful business and reputation.  Whether it's working with staff, other chefs, vendors or customers, developing people skills is imperative.

It goes without saying that a strong work ethic is necessary as well.  A pastry job often requires long hours on your feet performing repetitive tasks, and can be more physically demanding than most people realize.  It can be exhausting, as most pastry chefs start early in the morning, around three or four o'clock am!  You will need to be strong physically, as there may be some lifting involved.  Being mentally prepared is important too, as the day to day responsibilites can become overwhelming.

There are a number of degree programs that can train an aspiring chef to become a pastry chef. Degree programs cater to many different specialties. Some focus on cakes, others on other types of desserts, and some on baked goods, such as rolls and breads. These types of programs are generally for chefs who want to work at high-end restaurants and hotels. Pastry chefs who want to work more casually can often go to more simple culinary schools or, in some cases, train themselves.

If you are looking to become an executive pastry chef in an elite establishment, you probably want to take your education very seriously. Take some basic classes to make sure you have a basic understanding of the art, and that it is something you want to do for a career. After that, you should apply to all of the elite pastry chef schools around the country, or even some of the most famous ones around the world.  These schools will allow you to perfect your skills, as well as give you the credentials that will allow you to get some of the top jobs in the industry. While it will be your skill and creativity that will make you a known commodity, it will be the degree from the elite school that gets your foot in the door. It may also allow you to get a pastry chef apprentice position with some of the top chefs in the world.

Workplace

If you work at a high end establishment, the pastry kitchen or pastry section is usually slightly separate from the main kitchen.  Pastry chefs often have other assistants to assist them.

There are many different types of bakeries and pastry shops to work from as well.  Mom-and-pop shops that do their own baking and pastry making, franchise bakeries and industrial bakeries. Many bakers and pastry chefs work in small retail bakeries or big wholesale suppliers of baked goods. They also work in department stores, at 'in house' bakeries in supermarkets, food store chains, hotels, restaurants, bistros, cruise ships, resorts and casinos.

Salary

The high end food industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 10 years, and is one of the fastest growing industries.  The average pastry chef salary has shared that upward trend, and is at one of the highest points it has ever been.  Even in harsh economic times, the food industry is one of the industries that has the highest rate of employment.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Pastry_Chef/Salary/by_Industry   (United States)

http://www.pastrychefguild.net/events.html (Canada)

List Of Pastry Chef Schools

http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/baking_pastry_chef_schools.htm (United States)

http://www.ehow.com/list_6532376_bakery-pastry-chef-schools.html (United States)

http://www.learn4good.com/schools/french_pastry_programs.htm (France)

http://www.frenchculinary.com/course-classic-pastry-arts.htm (New York)

http://www.picachef.com/baking_pastry_arts.html (Vancouver, Canada)

http://www.georgebrown.ca/Marketing/FTCal/chefschool/H113.aspx (Toronto, Canada)

What Is An Accountant?

An accountant is one of the main players in any business that he or she works for, whether it is a large corporation or a small business.  The accountant monitors and records the flow of money through a business or organization.  It is the responsibility of the accountant to verify the accuracy of all money transactions and to make sure that all these transactions are legal and follow current guidelines.  It may be that the accountant works for a company on a contractual basis to do the books or tax returns.  Or they may also choose to work for private individuals and help them with their financial decisions, tax returns, or other money related issues.

What Does An Accountant Do?

Using numbers and financial statements, accountants describe the health of a company, organization or individual, by using their skills in math, accounting, law and finance.  They analyze profits and losses, providing information that investors and business owners need in order to evaluate how a company is doing over a period of time.  This information forms the basis of a company's report and legal filing reports.  The following are some of the duties that an accountant may have to perform:

• Determines payroll requirements; maintains payroll data; prepares and processes monthly payrolls.
• Interact with internal and external auditors in completing audits.
• Explain billing invoices and accounting policies to staff, vendors and clients.
• Prepare and review budget, revenue, expense, payroll entries, invoices, and other accounting documents.
• Analyze and review budgets and expenditures for local, state, federal, and private funding, contracts, and grants.
• Prepare profit and loss statements and monthly closing and cost accounting reports.
• Analyze revenue and expenditure trends and recommend appropriate budget levels, and ensure expenditure control.
• Compile and analyze financial information to prepare entries to accounts, such as general ledger accounts, and document business transactions.
• Supervise the input and handling of financial data and reports for the company's automated financial systems.
• Resolve accounting discrepancies.
• Establish, maintain, and coordinate the implementation of accounting and accounting control procedures.
• Recommend, develop and maintain financial data bases, computer software systems and manual filing systems.

What It Takes To Be An Accountant

You will need a four year business degree to get a job as an accountant.  It is imperative that you like numbers and are good in math as you will need to have a lot of math courses under your belt.  Exceptional organization and communication skills are a must, as well as operating a computer efficiently.  Most all accountants now use a computer, very few still use a spreadsheet to do business.  You will need to be qualified and certified as a CPA (Certified Public Accountant in the US, or Chartered Accountant in Canada) by taking an exam, at which point you will get a license.  If you pass your first attempt at the exam, then you can be licensed.  If not, then you may have to go back for another year of school (Masters in Accounting) in order to attempt the exam again.  After that, you can try as many times as you need to pass.  A company may also require you to take even more training to be an accountant at their place of business.  You can also become a member of the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) or the IFAC (International Federation of Accountants).

Types of Accounting

Public Accounting - This would be an accounting service to the general public, and is considered to be more professional that private accounting.  Certified and non-certified public accountants can provide public accounting services.

Private Accounting - This would be accounting that is limited to only a single firm, where an accountant receives a salary on an employer-employee basis.  This term is used even if the employer is in a public corporation.

National Income Accounting - Rather than the usual business entity concept, national income accounting uses the economic or social concept in establishing accounting.  This type of accounting is responsible in providing the public estimates of a country's annual purchasing power.  The GNP (gross national product) refers to the total market value of all the goods and services produced by a country, usually within a calendar year.

Fiduciary Accounting - This type of accounting is done by a trustee, executor, administrator, or anyone in a position of trust.  The accountant's job is to keep the records and prepare the reports, which may be authorized by or under the jurisdiction of a court of law.  The fiduciary accountant will control all property subject to the estate or trust.

Fund or Governmental Accounting - This type of accountant will work for a non-profit organization or a branch or unit of any level of government.  The double-entry system of accounting with journals and ledgers is used, the same as conventional accounting.  The services of private or public accountants can be used,  like any business entity.  Special funds accounting is used for control, since profit motive cannot be used as a measure of efficiency.

Forensic Accounting - Forensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accountancy  that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. "Forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law", and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally have to work. Forensic accountants, also referred to as forensic auditors or investigative auditors, often have to give expert evidence at the eventual trial.  All of the larger accounting firms, as well as many medium-sized and boutique firms, have specialist forensic accounting departments. Within these groups, there may be further sub-specializations: some forensic accountants may, for example, just specialize in insurance  claims, personal injury claims, fraud, construction, or royalty  audits.

Investment Accounting - Investment accounting, portfolio accounting or securities accounting - all synonyms describing the process of accounting for a portfolio of investments such as securities, commodities and/or real estate held in an investment  fund such as a mutual fund or hedge fund.

Workplace

There is no typical workplace for an accountant in the sense that just about any business has an accountant or uses the services of one. A bigger company may have an accounting department that employs many accountants, and would have a hierarchical structure. Or, there may be only one accountant at a branch office, who might report to a supervisor at the regional or head office. Obviously, the accountant would have access to the company's computer systems, as well as software. The software can be proprietary as well as bought off the shelf.

Salary

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_narrowbrief_fa01.html (United States)

http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Chartered_Accountant/Salary (Canada)

http://sampleresearchproposals.blogspot.com/2010/02/uk-accountant-salary.html (England)

http://hk.hudson.com/documents/Hudson-Asia-Accounting-Finance-Salary-Informat... (Asia)

List of Accounting Universities

http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2008/11/top-accounting-schools-in-usa.html (United States)

http://www.topaccountingdegrees.com/ (United States)

http://www.canadian-universities.net/Universities/Programs/Accounting_and_Acc... (Canada)

http://www.canadian-universities.net/MBA/Accounting_and_Finance_MBA.html (Canada MBA Programs)

http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-accounting-schools-in-asia.html (Asia)

http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-accounting-schools-in-australia.... (Australia)

http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2009/08/top-professional-accountancy-bodies.... (Top Accountancy Bodies In The World)