The baking schools in Florida are worth attending because the bakery industry is a huge business that caters to people’s weaknesses for tasty bread, cakes, pies and sweet rolls. According to the American Bakers Association, bakery products make up 2.1 per cent of the gross domestic product of the United States. That’s really a lot of people eating baked things.
The baking industry generates more than $30 billion dollars in revenue each year. The industry includes 6,000 retail bakeries and nearly 3,000 commercial bakeries.
While the market of retailers is highly fragmented, three producers account for 55 per cent of the total commercial bakery revenue.
The American Bakers Association reports the economic impact of baked goods produced and sold in the U.S. totals $423 billion.
Retail bakeries generate around $3billion in revenues and $31 billion in profits. Sixty-five per cent of all bakeries have less than 10 employees; 44 per cent have one to four employees, and most small retailers only have one facility.
All in all, the baking industry employs nearly 800,000 people, generating more than $44 billion in direct wages. So you see, the industry is a profitable one and choosing to attend the baking schools in Florida is definitely worth it.
Some of the baking schools in Florida
By baking schools, we mean schools where you can attend and learn the art of baking. They don’t necessarily don’t offer only baking programs alone. The following baking schools in Florida are not arranged in order of the best.
- Charlotte Vocational Technical Center – Port Charlotte
- FSCJ Culinary Institute
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts – Miami
- Miami Culinary Institute
- Florida Academy of Baking
- Mariano Moreno Culinary Institute
- Publix Aprons Cooking School
- Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy
- The Art Institute of Tampa
- Biltmore Culinary Academy Miami
- Truffles & Trifles
- Amelia Island Culinary Academy
- Young Chefs Academy – Seminole FL
- The Kids Cooking Connection
- Orlando Culinary Academy
- Florida Culinary Institute
- Johnson and Wales University
- Atlantic Vocational Technical Center – Coconut Creek
- Bethune Cookman College – Daytona Beach
- International Culinary Schools at the Art Institutes of Fort Lauderdale
Let’s further look at these baking schools in Florida.
Charlotte Vocational Technical Center – Port Charlotte
This institution offers a baking program that offers the relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and baking careers in the Hospitality & Tourism career cluster. Visit their Website.
FSCJ Culinary Institute
The Culinary Arts Technical Certificate (T.C.) program is designed to provide career-oriented students with basic culinary arts, foodservice management principles and training for supervisory and management positions in the foodservice industry and hospitality industry through management and culinary classes. Visit their Website.
Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts – Miami
Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami is located in Miramar, FL, but also offers classes online.
This school offers training in 21 qualifications, with the most reviewed qualifications being ServSafe Certification, Associate’s Degree and Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts.
Time to complete this education training ranges from 2 hours to 2 years depending on the qualification, with a median time to complete it of 22 months.
The cost to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami ranges from $20 to $48,000 depending on the qualification, with a median cost of $35,000. Visit their Website.
Florida Education Institute
FEI’s baking program focuses on giving students hands-on instruction and practice on the basics and fundamentals of pastry and baking.
This allows students to develop the right skills, techniques, speed, agility, tools and equipment knowledge, work ethic, and overall preparation to start their new career in pastry and baking arts. Visit their Website.
Florida Academy of Baking
The Florida Academy of Baking is one of the baking schools in Florida that offers students of all skill levels a variety of options to take their baking and decorating skills to the next level.
Learn everything from how to bake bread like grandma used to make, to the tips and tricks of decorating a cake like a professional- and best of all you get to take home whatever tasty treats you make! Visit their Website.
Mariano Moreno Culinary Institute
This is also one of the baking schools in Florida with a baking program that includes hands-on teaching of techniques such as different pastry dough elaborations, basic pastry creams, basic cake production and bread production.
As students grow more confident, they build upon skills they have mastered in earlier classes to create increasingly complex cakes and desserts dishes and eventually, full dessert menus. Visit their Website.
Publix Aprons Cooking School
Whether you’re looking to raise your culinary cred in a hands-on class or relax with a Wine & Dine Demonstration, their talented chefs are here to educate and inspire you. Visit their Website.
Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy
In addition to preparing food, students learn about nutrition, marketing, the hospitality industry, restaurant designing, catering, and management.
The program features an 11,600-square-foot facility with two teaching kitchens, 48 student cooking stations, a 50-seat teaching kitchen-auditorium, and a 100-seat dining room-restaurant.
Upon graduation, students are prepared to pursue advanced culinary training or start careers in the field of food preparation and restaurant management.
The Art Institute of Tampa
The Baking & Pastry programs at The Art Institute of Tampa, a branch of Miami International University of Art & Design, are focused on helping you grow as both an artist and a technician. Restaurants often call on the creativity of pastry chefs and bakers to help give them an edge. Visit their Website.
Biltmore Culinary Academy Miami
Biltmore’s Culinary Academy is a recreational cooking school operating in North America, the academy has a dedicated learning area and fully-equipped professional kitchen offering a variety of classes, workshops and team-building events. Find out more.
Amelia Island Culinary Academy
The Amelia Island Culinary Academy offers fun-filled cooking classes or baking classes in the heart of downtown Fernandina Beach.
The Academy can host special classes customized to your needs, including anniversaries and birthday parties. Visit their Website.
Orlando Culinary Academy
The Baking and Pastry Management Associate in Science (A.S.) degree at Valencia College is a two-year program that prepares you to go directly into a specialized career within the culinary industry.
If you have an interest in creating visual masterpieces and developing your culinary skills around baking and pastry arts, this is the program for you. Visit their Website.
Florida Culinary Institute at Lincoln College of Technology
If you are interested in preparing creative desserts, then the school’s International Baking and Pastry Diploma present a very good option for focusing your education on the sweet side of the industry.
This program involves general culinary enlightenment, coloured by a dessert-heavy curriculum that illustrates the most important aspects of working as a professional pastry chef.
Johnson and Wales University
JWU’s International Baking & Pastry Institute sets the global standard. In our 2-year Baking & Pastry Arts associate degree program, you’ll learn to master celebration cakes, artisan bread, chocolate confections, classic pastries and sugar showpieces in our pastry and bread labs. Visit their Website.
Atlantic Vocational Technical Center – Coconut Creek
They immerse the future professional in many aspects of the commercial food industry. Students will be taught through hands-on experiences in setting-up banquets and food preparation, including meat and poultry fabrication, soups, stocks and sauces, hors d’oeuvres, smoking meats, charcuterie, along with baking and pastry basics; bread, creams, custards, cakes, pies and cookies. Visit their Website.
International Culinary Schools at the Art Institutes of Fort Lauderdale
This Baking & Pastry School is one of the baking schools in Florida where you will get a well-rounded education—from plating a dessert to preparing confections to manage a commercial kitchen.
You’ll be surrounded and inspired by other talented, creatively driven students. And you’ll be pushed, challenged, and, above all else, supported by experienced faculty* who want to help you find your place in the world. Visit their Website.
Six Steps to become a baker
The requirement to become a baker depends on your career goals. You need a combination of experience and education which you can obtain in the baking schools in Florida. These are the steps to becoming a baker in Floria:
- Finish high school or equivalent
- Consider attending a culinary, technical school, or baking schools in Florida
- Gain experience as an apprentice or baker’s assistant
- Choose a specialty
- Consider getting certified
- Continue perfecting your art
Finish high school or equivalent
You may not need a diploma to do baker’s work, but if you are considering culinary or pastry school, most vocational schools will require that you obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma to start a program.
Additionally, if your high school offers an elective that would allow you exposure to any baking or nutrition, take advantage of having this opportunity to begin building your skillset.
Consider attending a culinary, technical school, or baking school in Florida
You might have perfected some recipes of your own, but a culinary or technical school can teach you valuable skills to improve your baking abilities and hone your craft.
Courses cover topics on nutrition and health, diverse cuisines, proper culinary techniques, kitchen management and recipe calculations.
While attending culinary or technical school is not a requirement, it can help you develop more sophisticated culinary skills.
Those looking to open their own bakery may want to consider pursuing an associate degree in baking and pastry arts.
Typically, a culinary or technical school education takes between one to two years to complete, depending on the depth of the program and whether you attend full- or part-time.
Gain experience as an apprentice or baker’s assistant
Becoming an apprentice, trainee or assistant at a local bakery can help you gain hands-on knowledge of the industry.
Training normally takes one to three years, and as you work under a baker, you learn safe food handling, sanitation and other basic baking practices.
Working as an apprentice or assistant also helps you build connections with other bakers, which can help you find a job as a professional baker in the future.
Choose a specialty
After gaining some experience baking, find what type of baking you are most interested in. Depending on the path you choose, you may need to learn certain skills. For instance, plant bakers often use high-volume industrial machines and ovens, which may require additional training to properly operate. Here are a few common types of baking specialties:
- Commercial baker: These bakers work in manufacturing facilities and use equipment to mass-produce baked goods for stores.
- Retail baker: These bakers work in grocery stores or specialty shops and bakeries to produce smaller amounts of baked goods for customers. Some retail bakers own their own bakeries and oversee the management of staff and inventory.
- Pastry chef: Sometimes called a patissier, pastry chefs work in a professional kitchen and are often specifically responsible for the dessert menu. They typically create and choose recipes and manage all aspects of the kitchen as it pertains to pastries.
- Artisan bread baker: These bakers specially craft and shape bread on a small scale, often working by hand and with only the standard bread ingredients of flour, water, yeast and salt.
- Bakery owner: Craft bakers may open up their own bakeries so they can have complete control over things like the menu and store hours.
- Pie maker: These bakers specialize in making pies and use similar culinary skills for fillings and crusts specifically.
- Cake decorator: Decorators make the finishing touches using icing and other accents to elevate the way a cake looks, often for special occasions by custom order.
- Food stylist: Not exactly a baker, these food professionals finesse food, including baked items, to look their best for photography and presentation.
Consider getting certified
Earning a certification can leave a lasting impression on future employers and show that you have the knowledge and skills needed to work in a bakery. The Retail Bakers of America offers certifications for bakers in the following four areas:
- Certified journey baker: You need at least one year of work experience to earn this certification.
- Certified baker: To earn this certificate, you need at least four years of work experience or be a certified journey baker and three years of work experience.
- Certified decorator: You need at least four years of decorating work experience to earn this certificate.
- Certified master baker: To earn this certificate, you need at least eight years of work experience along with 30 hours of professional development training and 30 hours of sanitation coursework.
Continue perfecting your art
Finessing your culinary craft is an ongoing project you will continue throughout your career. Always be on the lookout for new tricks or continue upgrading your recipes. Creativity and vision will of course also give you the tools for becoming a great baker who can continue to improve and grow.
- Practice regularly. Practicing and experimenting with new recipes on your own weekly can help you develop your baking skills. Through trial and error, you learn what works and ways to be more effective in baking.
- Network with others. Having connections with other bakers can help you advance in your career through potential job opportunities and professional recommendations. Attend a baker networking event or join a professional group to meet more people in the industry.
- Continue your education. Since baking practices are always changing, it is important to continue learning. You can do this by earning a certification or taking additional classes online or in your community.
Conclusion:
It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like dessert. It’s not easy to find someone who has the talent, passion, and imagination to turn desserts into works of art.
This is serious stuff—especially in a culinary industry that grows more competitive and demanding every day.
It’s why restaurants often call on the creativity of pastry chefs and bakers to help give them an edge. What is your thought about these baking schools in Florida?