Develop professional skills for fine pastry production including foundational baking, plated desserts, cake design, and chocolate and confection work.
This program is under review. This page will be updated when the review is complete and a new start date has been determined.
This program is under review. This page will be updated when the review is complete and a new start date has been determined.
What you will learn
- Health, sanitation, safety
- Use of bakery equipment including scales, mixers, proofers, and ovens
- Knife skills
- Theoretical baking principles and processes
- Ingredients and methodology
- Biscuits and muffins
- Pie dough and straight dough
- Fermentation, leavening, gluten development
- Aeration and emulsification
- Yeast doughs, quickbreads, loaf cakes
- Cookies, pies, tarts
- Croissant, Danish, and puff dough lamination
- Cakes, cookies, sponges
- Buttercreams, glazes, ganaches
- Dessert plating and presentation
- Composition, use of colour and texture
- Pastries, slices, squares
- Deep-fat frying
- Yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts, French crullers
- Use of seasonal fruits and other ingredients
- Crème bru?le?e and ice cream
- Chocolate and confection making
- Chocolate tempering
- Truffles and moulded chocolates
- Aerated confections and fruit jellies
- Caramel and sugar work
- Dessert cakes, layered cakes, entremets
- Mousses and fillings
- Piping skills
- Icings and decorative techniques
- Wedding cake design and assembly
- Flower-making and rolled fondant
- Marzipan figurines and airbrushing
- Consistency and accuracy
- Environmental conditions
- Daily production planning
- Standard math functions
- Retail bakeshop management
- Professional etiquette and personal hygiene
- Troubleshooting and problem solving
- Ingredient and equipment suppliers
- Merchandising, inventory, and cost control
- Waste management
- Menu design
- Catering
- Effective communication
What to expect
- 11 months of full-time study in four terms:
- Introduction to Baking
- Applied Baking
- Pastry
- Capstone
- Classes Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (January and March intakes) or 1 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (April intake) (subject to change)
- Purchase of textbooks and baking tools (available at the VCC Bookstore)
- Purchase of closed-top, non-slip footwear
- Direct instruction
- Interactive instruction
- Demonstrations
- Problem-solving
- Cooperative learning
- Active participation
- A fully operational kitchen and bakeshop environment
- Self-directed learning
Admission requirements
Program-specific
- Successful completion of Grade 10 or equivalent in country of origin
- Successful completion of a Math course at the Grade 10 or equivalent level
- Proof of completion of VCC Lower Intermediate English or equivalent, which includes a Canadian Language Benchmark of Listening Speaking, Reading 5 and Writing 4; TOEFL: 45; or IELTS: overall 4.5, with no band less than 4.0
- Food Safe Level 1 Certificate
Program-specific
- Successful completion of Grade 10 or higher (note that this program is Canadian Language Benchmarked at Listening, Speaking, Reading 7 and Writing 6); TOEFL: 68; or IELTS: Overall 5.5, with no band less than 5.0
- Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 10 or equivalent
- BC Foodsafe Certificate Level 1
For students applying to the Combined Skills with ESL support program, the admission requirements are:
- Successful completion of Grade 10 or equivalent in country of origin
- Successful completion of a Math course at the Grade 10 or equivalent level
- ELSK 0515 and ELSK 0520 each with a grade of ‘S’ or equivalent (Canadian Language Benchmarks of Listening 5, Speaking 5, Reading 5 and Writing 5)
or - English Language Proficiency demonstrated by one of the following:
- BC Foodsafe Certificate Level 1
General
- This program is available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. See program options for international students at VCC International.
- Applicants who self-identify as Indigenous are strongly encouraged to connect with VCC’s Indigenous Education and Community Engagement team to learn more about VCC’s Indigenous Enrolment policy, application preparation/completion, program advising, and a range of other individualized services.
- Applicants must be 16 years of age or older or a graduate of a secondary school. (Some exceptions may apply.)
- Applicants must submit official transcripts and other documents as required by their course or program. Seats are offered to eligible applicants with completed applications, in order of application completion date (except for programs with competitive admissions). A complete application includes an application form, evidence of educational pre-requisites (e.g. transcripts), any required supporting documents (e.g. language proficiency, audition video), and the required deposit or fee payment. If you do not meet the requirements for the term applied, your application may be cancelled.
Missing prerequisites? Learn more about VCC's tuition-free academic upgrading or English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, or discover which university transfer options are right for you.
Recommended Characteristics
It is recommended that applicants have successfully completed English 10 and Science 10 (for those who are not applying for the Combined Skills with ESL support program).
It is strongly recommended that applicants consider the daily tasks associated with working in a professional bakery. These include the following physical and mental characteristics:
- Physical condition and stamina to meet the demands of the baking industry
- Good hand-eye coordination
- Ability to multi-task, with strong and efficient organizational skills
- Artistic ability is an asset
It is also recommended that students bring a digital camera for capturing images of their work. As part of the program involves online learning, a familiarity with computers and basic keyboarding skills are recommended.
Courses
*Program general hours
English component: Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Baking component: Monday to Friday from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The work experience at the end of the 10 months is scheduled by the employer.
Prior learning assessment and recognition
Prior learning assessment and recognition is not available for this program.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BAKG 1142 | Basic Principles | 1 |
| BAKG 1143 | Basic Methodology | 6 |
| BAKG 1144 | Budgeting and Cost Control | 1 |
| BAKG 1145 | Retail Operations | 4 |
| BAKG 1242 | Professionalism & Organization | 1 |
| BAKG 1243 | Fermentation | 3 |
| BAKG 1244 | Lamination | 2 |
| BAKG 1247 | Frying | 1 |
| BAKG 1245 | Aeration & Emulsification | 2 |
| BAKG 1246 | Design and Decoration | 3 |
| BAKG 1347 | Chocolate & Confections | 2 |
| BAKG 1348 | Dessert Cakes | 3 |
| BAKG 1349 | Small Desserts & Pastries | 3 |
| BAKG 1314 | Plated Desserts | 2 |
| BAKG 1350 | Wedding Cakes & Marzipan | 2 |
| BAKG 1345 | Catering & Special Orders | 4 |
| BAKG 1346 | Capstone Project | 1 |
| BAKG 1230 | Work Experience | 3 |
| Total Credits | 44 | |
For the Combined Skills with ESL support program, the additional courses are:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BAKG 1141 | English Intro to Baking | 4 |
| BAKG 1241 | English - Applied Baking | 4 |
Combined Skills Program Total: 52
* This information is intended as a guideline only. Program and course details are subject to change with the approval of VCC's Board of Governors.
Fees and other costs
*| Fee description | Fee Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | 0 | |
| Tuition Tuition | 9222 |
Tuition Breakdown
2838 - Term 1
2838 - Term 2
2838 - Term 3
710 - Term 4
|
| Student union | 256 | |
| College initiative | 148 | |
| Materials | 0 | not including textbooks |
| Campus resource | 369 | |
| Laundry | 0 | |
| Tools (deposit) | 0 | |
| Coverall (deposit) | 0 | |
| Uniform (deposit) | 0 | |
| Medical & Dental | 275 | |
| U-PASS | 531 | |
| Graduation | 45 | |
| Program-specific extra fees | 262 | |
| Total |
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* Fees are approximate and subject to change with the approval of VCC's Board of Governors. Students are required to pay any applicable fee increases. Application and assessment fees are non-refundable. Tuition fees include a $300 non-refundable deposit.
Fees listed are for domestic students. For international programs, visit VCC International.
Any refunds are issued according to VCC's refund policy.
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† B.C. Labour Market Outlook 2018