Baking exotic desserts and cakes is a beautiful art. And while most people can learn how to bake delicious goodies, becoming a baker or pastry chef is not easy. In this field, talent and skills matter a lot but what is even more important is being trained by the best experts in the field.

But how do you get trained in the food industry?

Well, you start by joining a good bakery school or course where you can train under a professional baker/pastry chef. Here, you will learn all the basics of baking along with a few advanced skills which can help you prepare for this career path well.

However, don’t forget that you would need to practice a lot individually as well. Joining a baking class and learning the required skills is the first step but hard work and dedication are quite important as well.

So, which baking course should you enroll in? Well, there are quite a few top baking institutes in India and one of the most well-renowned baking schools is Chef IICA in New Delhi.

About Chef IICA

International Institute of Culinary Arts (IICA), New Delhi, is the first culinary institutes to be approved and accredited by the World Associations of Chef Societies (WACS) and Indian Culinary Forum (ICF). This globally recognized premier culinary arts school was started in the year 2005 by chef Virendra S Datta. Mr. Datta is an experienced chef in the hospitality industry and has around more than 50 years of experience in this field.

IICA aims to bring culinary arts as a career opportunity in India by training aspiring chefs and bakers. It offers internationally recognized qualifications along with amazing industry exposure which is good to get started in this field. 

Chef IICA offers three courses to choose from: Diploma in Culinary Arts, Diploma in Bakery & Patisserie, and Hobby Chef course. Over the years, IICA has managed to maintain its academic excellence which has resulted in this baking institute being awarded the title of ‘The Best Institute of Culinary Arts in India’ by India News and TIME research.

Why Should you Join Chef IICA?

Chef IICA is definitely a good baking institute for aspiring chefs and bakers due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is recognized by WACS, ICF, and it is also associated with the City and Guilds, the U.K. This ensures that your qualifications will be internationally recognized, allowing you a chance to work abroad in the hotels, restaurants, bakery shops, etc. as well.

Another great thing about IICA is that it offers courses for both professionals and advanced learners along with hobby bakers/chefs. And the hobby chef courses are perfect for all people, regardless of their age. In these hobby courses, you have a 1-month bakery course, a 3-month bakery course, and single baking classes. Also, you can choose to join the entire program or just enroll in one of the classes to learn a specific baking and pastry arts skill.

They also offer two Diploma in Bakery and Pastry Arts courses, one for beginners and one for advanced professionals. Both the courses are 6 months long and involve more practical than theoretical sessions. As a result, students have hands-on experience of baking and pastry arts and can even come up with their unique creations, every once in a while.

They usually have 18-20 students in a batch who are sent for industrial training in a reputed hotel/restaurant brand. A lot of students get selected at these establishments after being properly reviewed and questioned. 

One great thing about IICA is that it has leading experts as their training faculty members. However, they still get professionals to offer the latest insights on the trend being followed in the hospitality industry. Also, since IICA has a good reputation in the industry, students find it easy to complete the 4-month industrial training in a leading hotel/restaurant/pastry shop.

Another thing to note is that IICA has a good campus that boasts of well-equipped training kitchen, amazing food production units, resourceful learning resource center, and a lot more. And for students who wish to start their own bakery or pastry shop, they provide free consultation services and short course programs to help them in their career path.

Overall, Chef IICA is an excellent choice for serious bakers and pastry chefs and has all the means to provide you with exceptional training and exposure.

Drawbacks of Joining Chef IICA

While Chef IICA is a good baking institute, there are a few drawbacks that you might want to consider before joining their program courses.

One of the biggest issues with Chef IICA is that they have big batches that consist of 18-20 students at a time. As a result, students are unable to get personalized training from the chef mentors and often find it hard to keep up and clear their doubts. 

What I have noticed is that Truffle Nation is actually the best choice in such matters as they have a batch of 4-6 students only. So, their students get personalized attention from the mentors which helps them learn and become a professional baker/pastry chef.

Another major issue with their courses is that they are quite expensive for beginners. This is not just the case with the diploma courses but with the hobby chef courses as well. So, if you are not from a well-to-do family, then it might be difficult to pay the entire fees and join the course.

Also, these courses require a lot of time commitment from the students’ end as you have daily classes to attend and learn. And this goes on for 6 months excluding the industrial training period. So, if you are a working professional or don’t have enough time at hand, then Chef IICA might not be the best fit for you.

But keeping aside these drawbacks, Chef IICA is a good choice as it is globally recognized. They do deliver what they promise and will help you become a professional baker/pastry chef after just a year of course learning and training.