What Can You Major In as a Pastry Chef?

Pastry chefs may want to consider majoring in international studies.

Your main love in life might be baking the city's best pastries or creating the perfect cake for a wedding, but many seemingly-unrelated majors can assist you on a life path as a pastry chef. If you have already exhausted all educational routes in pastry making, consider other disciplines. People with immense culinary talent often do not succeed in their industry due to the absence of other important ancillary skills.

Marketing

Advertising fruit tarts and building a brand around brioches are just a few of the things a pastry chef can learn by majoring in marketing. The University of California Los Angeles School of Management lists marketing courses including consumer behavior, product management, marketing communications and quantitative research. You can use these lessons to learn how to identify the best location for your pastry shop based on the population, which advertising campaigns will be most effective and which audience will most appreciate your crème brulee cups. Some colleges offer design courses as well, which may assist you with menu designs proper signage.

Hospitality

If you know how to bake but your weaknesses pertain to customer service and a lack of knowledge about the food service industry, majoring in tourism and hospitality is a viable option. Majoring in hospitality teaches pastry chefs how to attract customers, excel in customer service and manage food delivery in the most visually-attractive yet efficient manner. Boston University outlines classes such as hospitality law and fundamentals of food service. This major may also provide you with connections in the industry; because most major hotels have pastry chefs, these networking connections may lead to job opportunities at some of the highest-rated resorts in the world.

Nutrition

These majors study the correlation between human health and nutrition. Coursework includes studying different diets, dieting trends and healthy eating. Pastry chefs may benefit from studying this discipline by developing healthier recipes and preempting how dieting trends will impact the business. Additionally, learning about restrictive diets such as veganism and gluten-free diets may compel you to design products to cater to customers with these restrictions.

International Studies

Pastry chefs working in bustling, diverse cities may want to study different cultures. Consider learning about different ethnic groups akin to studying potential customer bases. For instance, studying Japanese holidays and rituals may compel you to learn how to make and sell pastries associated with these traditions. Furthermore, international studies majors are usually offered study abroad opportunities. Taking an internship in countries known for their pastries such as Switzerland, Belgium and France could hone your pastry-making skills as you work alongside the natives.

References

• The University of California Los Angeles School of Management: Marketing Courses
• Boston University School of Hospitality Administration: Hospitality Specialization Courses
• University of Wisconsin-Madison: International Studies Major