Entry Level Qualification 

10

Career Fields 

Hospitality, Tourism & Transport Services

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

No Entrance Exam

About Career 

1. Before you start reading about this career, you might be thinking about what the difference between a Craft Baker and a Bakeris? Well, the difference is quite subtle actually. A Craft Baker typically works at a small size artisan bakery, creates innovative recipes, and prepares various bakery food items and savouries. Bakery food items include breads, cakes, pastries, cookies, sweet pies, sweet tarts, etc. Savouries are also mostly baked food items but they are not sweet in taste - such as paneer puff, chicken patties, meat pie, chicken quiche, vegetable tarts, etc. Craft Bakers may make chocolates too.

2. Many of the Craft Bakers own their bakeries and sell food items prepared in their own kitchen. Typically, such bakeries have a sell counter. They might have a few branches in a city but all are in a small scale. For example, The Baker’s Dozen and The Rolling Pin in Mumbai; L’Opéra and Orphic Artisan Bakery in New Delhi; Amandé Patisserie and Warm Oven in Bangalore.

3. A Craft Baker typically works in a small scale bakery and is responsible for creating new and unique recipes. On the other hand, a Baker can either work in a small/medium scale or in a large scale bakery which supplies baked food items to a large number of cafes, restaurants, star hotels, and to people’s homes. Most 4 and 5-star hotels have their own bakeries.

4. The difference is very thin or subtle and, in any case, both Craft Bakers and Bakers are trained in the same way, having the same or similar qualifications, and either of them can change roles, depending upon the place of work.

What an Artisan Bakery is?

Artisan Bakery is a type of bakery, where a craft person or a craft baker is trained to the highest level for creating various handcrafted or machine crafted bakery products such as hand loaf bread, customized cookies, customized tea cakes, personalized wedding or birthday cakes, etc. in small quantities.

So, as a craft baker, what you will be doing?

As a Craft Baker, you will be responsible for preparing various types and quantities of bread, cakes, pastries, savouries, and a variety of other baked food items. These baked food items are sold by bakeries, grocers, wholesalers, restaurants, and food retailers. You will be responsible for preparing baked products such as puffs, cookies (also customized cookies), cakes, personalized or customized cakes for birthday parties/weddings, or pastries specialty baked products, etc. in artisan bakeries and patisseries.

You will be responsible for measuring raw materials and ingredients, mixing, kneading, fermenting, shaping, and baking the various baked items to achieve the desired quality and quantity of the product.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

As a Craft Baker, you will be engaged in all or some of the following key roles and responsibilities:

1. You will be checking the quality of the ingredients and the number of items required.

2. You will be responsible for creating a new product or bakery item, inventing new recipes, modifying old recipes to give them a new taste, etc.

3. You will be required to measure and weigh the flour and other ingredients and then mix the measured ingredients in mixers or blenders.

4. You will be kneading, rolling, cutting, and shaping the dough and then placing the dough in pans, moulds, or sheets.

5. You will be required to set oven or griller temperatures and placing and baking items in hot ovens or on grills.

6. You will be required to observe the color and state of the food items being baked.

7. You will be required to apply glazes, icings, or other toppings using spatulas or brushes.

8. You will be operating large, automated machines, such as commercial mixers, ovens, and conveyors.

9. You will be required to prepare budget and order supplies, set prices, and know how much to produce each day.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 8 in school – Obtain NSQF Level 4 qualification in Craft Baker

After class 8, you can obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 certification in Craft Baker from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies– Apply for any Craftsmanship Certification Course in Food Production & Patisserie or in Food & Beverage Service or in Bakery & Confectionery

After completing class 10, you can apply for any Craftsmanship Certification Course in Food Production & Patisserie or in Food & Beverage Service or in Bakery & Confectioneryfrom any vocational institution or other similar institutions.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies– Apply for Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery/ Diploma in Food and Beverage Service / Diploma in Food Production

After completing class 12, you can apply for Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery / Diploma in Food and Beverage Service from any Food Craft Institution or other similar institutions. These courses are usually 1 to 2 years of duration.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies – Apply for Bachelor course in Hotel Management/Hotel & Catering Management with Specialization.

After completing class 12, you can apply for Bachelor (B.Sc. in Hospitality and Hotel Administration) /diploma (in Food Production, Food, and Beverage Services) /degree course in Hotel Management/Hotel & Catering Management with specialization in Food Production Management, Food and Beverage Management.

Class 8 in school – Apply for a Certification course in Bakery and Confectionery from NIOS

After class 8, you can apply for a Certification course in Bakery and Confectionery from any NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling). This course is usually 1 year of duration and you need to be 15 years of age before enrolling for this course.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies – Obtain NSQF Level 5 qualification in Plant Baker

After completing class 11-12, you can obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 5 certification in Plant Baker from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. Plant Bakers are responsible for preparing or supervising the production of baked products such as bread, cakes, biscuits, etc. in industrial units.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

1. After completing Class 8 in School, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 certification in Craft Baker or you may apply for a Certification course in Bakery and Confectionery from NIOS.

2. Alternatively, if you have completed class 10, you can apply for any Craftsmanship Certification Course in Food Production & Patisserie or in Food & Beverage Service or in Bakery & Confectionery.

3. Also, you can apply for Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery / Diploma in Food and Beverage Service from any Food Craft Institution or Bachelor course in Hotel Management/Hotel & Catering Management with Specialization, if you have completed class 12.

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Competencies Required

Interest

1. Realistic - You should have interests for Realistic Occupations. Realistic occupations involve more practical and hands-on activities than paperwork or office work. Realistic occupations often involve physical activities for getting things done using various tools and equipment. 

2. Artistic - You should have interests for Artistic Occupations. Artistic occupations mostly involve working with creative ideas, art,and designs. These occupations involve abstract or conceptual thinking, creative self-expression and often do not follow any set processes or rules for getting things done.

Knowledge

1. Culinary Art and Related - Specialized knowledge about food ingredients, food preparation processes, food serving, and presentation techniques, etc. This includes knowledge about wines, liquors, and other beverages.

2. Food Preparation - Knowledge of various processes, methods, techniques,and tools for preparing food dishes and serving.

Skills

1. Monitoring: Skills in Monitoring and assessing the performance of yourself, other individuals, or other organizations or businesses, to make improvements.

2. Active Learning: Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

3. Active Listening:Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

4. Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

5. Critical Thinking: Skills in analysis of complex situations, using of logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

6. Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

Abilities

1. Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

2. Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

3. Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

4. Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

5. Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or innovative ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Personality

1. You are always or mostly organised in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behaviour.

3. You are always or mostly disciplined in your action and behaviour.

4. You are always or mostly a soft-hearted person.

5. You are always or mostly helpful to others.

6. You are always calm or generally remain calm in most situations.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

Typically, you will start with a bakery as a trainee or as an apprentice or as a Commis Chef and then work your way up as you gain experience and perfect your craft. Many star hotels recruit Commis Chef in their bakery departments. Many small, medium and large scale bakeries recruit trainees and apprentices. 

Career Growth

1. In a small or medium scale bakery, if you start as an apprentice, you will grow to become a Commis Chef. A Commis Chef is responsible for various tasks related to preparing food such as mixing of ingredients, kneading, etc. In a large scale bakery, you will progress as:

2. Commis Chef – Chef de Partie (Line cook or station chef; you will be responsible for a particular part of food preparation, such as mixing of various ingredients, frying, baking, etc.) – Sous Chef (you will be responsible for a few cooing stations or a section of a kitchen) – Head Chef (Bakery) or Chef de Cuisine (Bakery) or Master Baker.

3. In a small scale bakery, however, you can directly become a Baker (equivalent to the position of a Sous Chef) after a few years of experience as an assistant (equivalent to the position of a Chef de Partie). Then you can become a Master Baker.

4. Many of the Craft Bakers leave full-time jobs to set up their own artisan bakeries after a few years of experience.

Salary Offered  

1. Salaries vary according to job profiles and the kind of facilities you get to work at.

2. In the entry-level jobs: You may expect to get about Rs. 7,000-10,000 a month.

3. Salaries increase with your work experience and as you get promoted.

4. In junior-level roles, you can expect to earn about Rs. 15,000-20,000 a month.

5. In the mid-level jobs, with 6-12 years of work experience, you may expect to get about Rs. 20,000-30,000 or even more a month.

6. In the senior-level jobs, with 12-15 years of work experience, you may expect to get about Rs. 25,000 – 1,50,000 or more per month.

7. Alternatively, you may also set up your own business. Initially, you may have to struggle but once your business grows, you can make a lot of money. You may make Rs. 50,000 a month or maybe Rs. 5,00,000 a month depending upon the size of your business.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience.

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience.

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience.

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job).

Famous Personalities 

Not Available.

Work Activities 

As a Craft Baker, you will be involved in the following work activities:

1. Getting Information and learning: Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

2. Inspecting equipment, systems, structures, and materials: Inspecting equipment, systems, structures, and materials to ascertain quality, performance, defects, causes of errors, etc.

3. Identifying objects, actions, and events: Identifying various characteristics of objects; observing and understanding actions and events; understanding changes in actions and events.

4. Organizing, planning and prioritizing tasks: Planning and organizing tasks in order to achieve work goals; prioritizing tasks to achieve goals and making the best use of the time available.

5. Communicating with co-workers and others: Communicating with people in writing, verbally or otherwise inside your workplace and various other people who have professional relationships with your place of work including vendors, customers, etc. or with people at large.

6. Decision making and problem solving: Analysis of data and information; evaluation of alternative decisions and results of decisions; taking the right decisions and solving problems.

7. Coaching and developing: Identifying training and professional development needs of others; coaching and training them to develop skills to perform tasks and improve performance.