First, please pardon me with my limited vocabulary in English because I can’t write very well. I hope to share as much information as possible for all who loves to bake and intending to pick up some skills of baking. Everyone knows, I love pastry and I love baking. Having an opportunity to work together with sharefood, I was encouraged to get a food and hygiene certificate to boost the confidence of my customers.
Let me talk a little about sharefood before I move on. Sharefood will be a new local app that links home bakers/home cooks to people who loves to eat them, together. Be it you love to cook/bake or you love to eat. Busy parents, executives, food lovers can actually order food from the home bakers/cooks within your neighboring area anytime, anywhere! How convenient right?
Sharefood approached me and some other bakers during my live demo baking at TOTTS organized by Singapore Home Cooks (SHC), during their 3rd year anniversary celebration. SHC is one of the facebook page that i’m more active in, where everyone shares photos of daily meals and bakes. Sometimes, it gives us inspiration of what to cook or bake for the day.
I have been searching high and low for pastry classes (cheaper ones), not just any particular pastry class but a class that can let me pick up more fundamentals so I could start creating my own recipes. I think I am pretty blessed and lucky to have found Asian Culinary Institute, where they have pastry courses that provides recognized certificate together with a food and hygiene course! What’s more, you could use your skill future credits for it! However the only thing about it is….. it is a school, it is heavily funded (80%-90% if I’m not wrong) by WDA therefore it is very very strict on the school rules and exams (you are expected to have get like 10/10 for your exams otherwise they will not pass you, which they will try to give u chances and if you still can’t, you may try to appeal to the school (that’s my experience up till today, choi I have done good so far) Due to link with WDA, most of the classes are much related to work in a kitchen, such as how to run the business, safety in the kitchen, managing the kitchen when you are the chef, managing your staffs, procurement , handling clients, services and much much more..
Fundamentals are very important here, for the part time classes. I’m not quite sure for the full time ones as I have work in the day, so the only available time for me are the evening classes. I suggest for people who wants to attend this school to at least have some baking experience because it’s sort of a touch and go thing which they do not have time to really guide you from the basics, besides these course here in school are supposedly for those who are already in this workforce to upgrade their skills.
If you just want to learn how to bake different variety of pastries, i probably would suggest individual classes on different types of bakes becasue for the classes here, They have more theory classes than hands-on classes. So for those who are looking at full hands-on baking class, you might be disappointed becasue for my first basic certificate that i am attending now, more than 1/2 of the modules are theory classes. However, it is compulsory to start with a basic cert before you can move on to the higher basic cert which will have more hands-on. You might be able to skip the basic cert if you have already other basic pastry certificate that you have gotten from another school. However, do take note, not all certificate can be accepted by the school, remember that i mentioned this is heavily funded by WDA? Yea~ So everything is pretty strict here. The good thing is, the certificate you get from this school will be well recognize in this industry.
Ok, if you are still interested in this course,this is the procedure that i went through for application:
Go to their website under courses –> http://www.aci.edu.sg/courses. Here you will see a list of courses available in this school. Depending on which course you are interested in, for general enquiries, feedback or registration of course, you can contact them at: (+65) 6417 3318 or email them at info@aci.edu.sg.
In their reply, they will indicate the class date and an application form to fill in. You will need to reply and attach together with your highest qualification certificate, and after which they will call you to arrange a date for interview. There are a few reasons to this. The kitchen is not a halal kitchen, it is not vegetarian, you are require to taste your food whenever possible. There may be exceptional cases thou, but i can’t understand how can we learn if we don’t taste our food. 
School is really strict. They work in a way of how an organisation in a real restaurant or hotel kitchen. We are ” striped” clean (No jewelries, accessories, hair bun up, finger nails cut till no white part to be seen, no heavy makeup like eye liner, lashes or lip stick, no contact lens). Safety boots and uniform are ONLY allow to be changed at the premises. These are all for safety and hygiene reasons. If you are not able to accept this, you most probably can’t enroll to the school becasue the trainer will be so strict that you will be send out of class if you do not comply. Any other special reasons, you will have to appeal with the school.
Fees and material cost for PART TIMERS
Course Fees: $436.03
Admin fees: $50
Starter Kit : Safety Boots $34.20 / Uniform – $83.50
Baking Tools: $130
Payment Terms: CASH (So remember to bring enough cash down)
If you have still have the $500 skill future credits you could use to off-set the courses fees of $436.03, but the rest will still be payable by cash.
So, after the interview, payment for the fees and starter kit will be paid on the spot. As for the tools, it will be payable when the supplier comes.
In my 3rd module yesterday (the printouts are getting thicker and thicker each time) our trainer introduced her textbook when she was studying for her diploma in pastry at Sunrice. As my trainer mentions, this book has quite a lot of comprehensive fundamentals and science of baking, along with many basic recipes. It can be found in Amazon website here –> https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Textbook-Pastry-Fundamentals-2nd/dp/0131579231
You may want to consider getting this if you really want to go in depth in baking. I’ll most probably get mine soon.
My chef uniform came yesterday! I am so excited and happy to receive my very first uniform with a name embroidery on the uniform, Judy Bakes. I seriously love this name so much that i had it on my uniform.
I can never work in a kitchen, standing for long hours, due to my severe slip disc problems, but that doesn’t kill the love I have for baking. I hope to inspire more ladies to cook and bake, put your heart and soul into the food, share the product of love to your family and love ones 🙂
and of cos to open a little comfy cafe when opportunity arrives 🙂
Skills are for life!
Keep learning!
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