Whipping up the next generation of pastry chefs

Two-and-a-quarter cups of flour. One teaspoon of baking soda. One cup of butter. Three-quarters cup of sugar. Two cups of chocolate chips. Sound familiar? It should. These are the basic ingredients for making classic chocolate chip cookies. Although this may be the extent of many people’s baking abilities, it is far from it at North Monto’s Technical Career Center (NMTCC).

For decades, NMTCC’s Bakery and Pastry Art has been a unique program that allows aspiring pastry chefs to gain experience and knowledge in the industry.

“We are training culinary and baking professionals for entry-level jobs in the industry. My program is based on the curriculum passed down from the state,” Pastry Instructor Chris Polos said. “Many teachers come together to create the Duty Task List, or POS, which touches on everything we have to go over during the three or four years students are in our program.”

While the students are training for the “real world” it’s nearly impossible to get there without building a foundation.

“We start with basics such as brownies, cookies, cupcakes, pies, and bread, and then we go into more advanced things like enriched doughs, breakfast pastries, cake decorating, and working with chocolate. We also learn to make things like cream puffs and eclairs. It’s a lot of European-based pastries as well as African and Asian. We pull from everywhere,” Polos said.

Because NMTCC is much more specialized than the average public school, each student must complete the application process and be accepted into the program of their choice.

“Every year in January, all middle schools and some of the high school students come here and take tours. They go around the entire school to different programs and each takes a couple minutes to discuss what is expected in each program. From there, they can apply [as long as] discipline, attendance, and grades are not an issue. Once accepted, they can become part-time or full-time depending on what they decide to do,” Polos said.

One’s experience in the program can differ depending on their public school, grade, and year they joined.

“When a student starts is dependent on the sending school. For example, North Penn usually starts in ninth grade, but other schools, like Wissahickon, only send tenth-grade students on. With that being said, a junior can enroll, but that’s the latest,” Polos said. “The minimum amount of time you have to be here is two years”

“Students are in different sessions depending on age and skill. Freshmen and sophomores are usually in the first session and juniors and seniors are in the afternoon classes or the 3rd session. The only reason this would differ is if someone joined as a junior. Then that student would be in the first session for their first year, and then move to the third session as a senior,” Polos continued.

Since these students are training for something completely different from their peers, their school day looks different as well.

    Third-session students working diligently on their daily tasks (Credit: Maddie Cimino/The Knight Crier, North Penn High School)
  

“Our classes range anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. We usually come into the classroom and have theory for about fifteen minutes. It might be a PowerPoint, a video, or a discussion. Then we will go out [to the kitchen] and demo something, usually how to make/use the method we learned about. After that, they produce it,” Polos said.

Having gone through pastry school himself, Polos finds much enjoyment in sharing his expertise with his students, hoping they will follow in his footsteps.

“I love the fact that I can pass down my skill set and show other people that. I especially love it when [my students] are in the kitchen and I don’t have to do much. That sounds crazy but when I can see everyone with their heads down and working diligently, that is ideal for me.”

Along with learning pastry techniques, the Bakery and Pastry Arts students experience running a pastry display inside the NMTCC restaurant.

“Chef Cole runs the restaurant itself. We are open on Wednesdays and Thursdays for breakfast and lunch. [My students] have a pastry case over there so we load up the pastry case for those days for all of the people to come in,” Polos said.

“There is everything in there. We do cookies, cupcakes, brownies, mousse, everything goes into the case for the public to come in and purchase,” Polos said. “ I let my students have a lot of creative freedom. For example, we are doing Halloween stuff this week. One of my students wanted to make Funfetti cupcakes with caramel buttercream and frost them to look like monsters, so they tested it out. We were happy with the results, so they will be doing that for the case this week. That said, whatever we make that week will go into the case. If we are making pies, there will be pies in there. It is based on whatever curriculum is happening that week,” he said.

Other than the pastry case, the culinary and institutional cooking programs at NMTCC run the restaurant where the public can come in and eat lunch.

    Bakery and Pastry Arts case in the NMTCC Restaurant (Credit: Maddie Cimino)
  

“The bakery is run by a two-week cycle rotation. It might be two of my students and then two from each of the other classes, but it rotates every two weeks,” Polos said.

Although many students can’t purchase from the case because it is during the school day, they have huge support from others in the community.

“A lot of administration, teachers, bus drivers, the police force, student parents come in to see their kids and buy some pastries,” Polos said. “Whatever is left over on Friday, I have my students who work the restaurant that week go around the building and sell.”

“All of the money that is made goes directly back into the program so we can buy more ingredients and equipment or whatever else we may need to produce more,” Polos said.

Once graduated, many of the students that attend the Baking and Pastry Arts program pursue a career in the field or even continue their culinary education and some of the top culinary institutes in the country.

“Some of my students will go to entry-level jobs like bakeries, restaurants, or grocery stores. Others also go off to culinary schools like The Culinary Institute of America or we have had a couple attend Johnson and Wales or even MONTCO,” Polos said.

This article appears courtesy of The Knight Crier, the student newspaper of North Penn High School in North Penn School District.