Pâtisserie & Boulangerie Diploma

Paris

The Combined Pâtisserie and Boulangerie Diplomas are oriented towards the progressive learning of the fundamental techniques of French pastry and traditional bakery. They are composed of the three pastry levels (basic, intermediate, superior) and the two boulangerie levels (basic, advanced). Students learn to master contemporary desserts, bread baking techniques and the bread-making stages.

Because the pastry and boulangerie professions combine rigor, passion and excellence, our programmes prepare students to work in this artisanal sector that is as exciting as it is complex. Throughout the year, our trainers are keen to pass on all their know-how to them, through workshops, theoretical courses and numerous educational projects.

General objectives and intentions of the combined diplomas:

Gradually learn all the fundamental techniques of traditional French pastry
Acquire professional working and organizational methods
Master the preparations of pastry and bread baking
Explore the complexity of contemporary desserts
Acquire professional techniques for working with sugar and chocolate
Enforce health, safety and hygiene regulations for professional kitchens
Acquire a repertoire of traditional and modern boulangerie recipes
Master the main techniques used in artisan boulangerie
Acquire a mastery of the rules and materials used in French baking
Support the student to find the style and techniques that suit them
Learn how to organize production and to work as part of a team
Develop a complementary approach to pastry and bakery

This training is for people who seek to:

Have a career in a professional kitchen (restaurant or hotel)
Master French culinary techniques
Embark on a career change and learn pastry and bread baking

Cette formation ouvre des possibilités professionnelles dans les domaines de la cuisine professionnelle, notamment pour agir en tant que :

Chef Entrepreneur
Private Chef
Chef instructor
Caterer, Pastry Chef of a restaurant
Chef de partie "Pastry"
Chocolatier

Key Information

Prerequisites

All applicants must be aged 18 years or older
The programmes are open to beginners, experience or practical knowledge is not required
Applicants must possess a baccalaureate or equivalent
Having a B2 level in English or an A2 level in French Accepted language tests and score/level correspondence

Intake: January, April, July, October
For late registrations (less than a week before the intake date), please contact our recruitment department at the following email address: paris@cordonbleu.edu.

Teaching Method: Demonstrations, practical classes & theory classes. Continuous assessment throughout the program. Practical and written exams.

Languages: The courses are taught in French and consecutively translated into English.

Diploma awarded: The Diplôme de Pâtisserie and Diplôme de Boulangerie are delivered by the Fondation Internationale Le Cordon Bleu.

Confectioner
Teacher
Food critic or journalist

Programme details

Programme content
The Diplôme de Pâtisserie is composed of the three levels, basic, intermediate, and superior:

Basic Le Cordon Bleu Paris Pastry Certificate

This certificate introduces you to the basic techniques of French pastry, including:
- Organisation of the workstation in compliance with health and safety rules
- Become familiar with the terminology of French pastry
- Adapt to your new professional environment: working with products, using pastry equipment
- Acquire professional techniques: Poaching, icing, making different pastes, creams and mastering cooking
- Preparation of traditional French pastries: Pithiviers, Saint Honoré, Paris-Brest, éclair au chocolat, strawberry, macaroons...
- Introduction to baking techniques (viennoiseries)
- Discovery of decoration techniques: highlight your productions
- Theory course on products and visit of the vegetable garden on the roof of the institute: Introduction to sustainable environment
Intermediate Le Cordon Bleu Paris Pastry Certificate

Prerequisite: Basic Pastry Certificate
- Reinforcement of the techniques taught in the basics and mastery of associations of colours and flavours
- Contemporary pies: Personal creation and file writing
- Introduction to the artistic work of sugar: Pulled sugar, gestures, decorations (flowers, leaves...)
- Chocolate processing: crystallization, molding, candy, dipping fork, nutmeg and truffles
- Sketch and sketch workshop
- Realization of classic confectionery products
- Preparation of desserts on the plate
- Small restaurant ovens (sweet and savoury)
- Entremets: Control of poaching and decorations, assembly, frozen desserts
- Theory courses: ice cream and sorbets, chocolate, awareness of the world of beekeeping
Superior Le Cordon Bleu Paris Pastry Certificate

Prerequisite: Intermediate Pastry Certificate
- Improvement in the production of chocolate candies
- Realization of an artistic piece in chocolate
- Chocolate sculpture workshop
- Sugar artwork: Work with cast, drawn, blown sugar, decorations and gestures
- Workshop "my first showcase": making of luxury revisited petits fours
- Personal project: Creation of a modern dessert and writing of a portfolio
- Restaurant desserts, desserts and contemporary cupcakes
- Educational visit to Rungis Market, the largest market in Europe
- Introduction to cost and waste management (cost control)
- Chef in the spotlight: visit of a Chef from a prestigious establishment
The Boulangerie Diploma is composed of two levels, basic and advanced:

Basic Le Cordon Bleu Paris Boulangerie Certificate

To begin their boulangerie training, students familiarize themselves with bread baking equipment. After an introduction to hygiene and cooking rules, students learn:
- To work on the different flours used in France
- Manual kneading as well as three methods of mechanical kneading
- The manufacture of breads and pastries and are introduced to decorations
- Work on fermented dough and poolish (a type of pre-fermentation)
- Students will also benefit from an introduction to the art of decorations, and will have a course on the Chef's surprises (breads and pastries). Finally, in this level the students will also carry out an educational visit to a professional environment (mill and bakery).
Advanced Le Cordon Bleu Paris Boulangerie Certificate

Prerequisite: Basic Boulangerie Certificate

This level allows you to approach the work of different types of fermentation and the development of bread aromas. In this level, students learn:
- The use of natural yeast, hard yeast and liquid yeast
- The production based on traditional French flour
- The work of the puff pastry
- The production of various breads, pastries and snacks with long fermentation
Duration & Tuition Fees
Duration:
- Standard: 12 months
- Intensive: 9 months (including 3 months with 6 to 12 class hours per day, 5 or 6 days a week)
Tuition Fees: €42,500. These fees include the application fee (€1,500), learning material, equipment including the Sabatier knife kit uniform and all activities
Diplôme de Pâtisserie with Internship Pathway and Diplôme de Boulangerie

Le Cordon Bleu has designed a Diplôme de Pâtisserie with Internship Pathway and Boulangerie Diploma programme to give you the opportunity to work in a professional kitchen environment after your studies.

More details
Diplôme de Pâtisserie and Diplôme de Boulangerie with Culinary Management

Students interested in starting a culinary business after the diploma, can onsider registering today for the integrated diploma: "Diplôme de Pâtisserie and Diplôme de Boulangerie with Culinary Management ".

More details

Term Dates & Prices

Select a date

2025

Jan 6, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 ( Standard )

42,500.00€

Jan 6, 2025 - Sep 19, 2025 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

Mar 31, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

Mar 31, 2025 - Mar 27, 2026 ( Standard )

42,500.00€

Jun 30, 2025 - Jun 26, 2026 ( Standard )

42,500.00€

Jun 30, 2025 - Mar 27, 2026 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

Sep 29, 2025 - Sep 25, 2026 ( Standard )

42,500.00€

Sep 29, 2025 - Jun 26, 2026 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

2026

Jan 5, 2026 - Dec 18, 2026 ( Standard )

42,500.00€

Jan 5, 2026 - Sep 25, 2026 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

Apr 6, 2026 - Dec 18, 2026 ( Intensive )

42,500.00€

Testimonials

As well as having had the opportunity to study in a multicultural environment, Le Cordon Bleu has given me the tools and the motivation to be able to achieve my future goal: Opening my own pastry store

Georgios Papavgoulis
My internship at Pierre Herme was an amazing experience for me. I sharpened the skills that I developed at the school during the 2 months I spent there. I worked in every department, from base production to dessert dressing and I also had the chance to meet and work with very strong and capable chefs.

Ozge Gultekin, Pastry Diploma alumna
The time I spent studying at Le Cordon Bleu exceeded all my expectations. I was taught by the best Chefs, working with the best possible raw materials and experiencing life in Paris, the world’s pastry capital.

David Laor, Pastry Diploma Alumni
In 2016, I decided to retrain to enable me to move into a sector about which I am passionate: boulangerie. In order to be able to master the techniques for making traditional French bread and freshly baked pastries, it was essential for me to learn with an Institute which specialized in this field : Le Cordon Bleu. I want to reach the very highest levels of excellence in my aim to become a baker, and the quality of Le Cordon Bleu programmes is renowned around the world. The training and the instructors are recognized in their field, the infrastructure, the working conditions, the equipment, and the training programme, are better than those you find when preparing for a CAP boulangerie.

FRANCESCO GIRALDI, Boulangerie Diploma 2015 - 2016
I feel I had excellent training from some of the best chefs in the world and have excellent techniques. It wasn’t easy, and I appreciate the level of excellence that is expected to achieve the certificate for each course. I’m able to understand recipes and techniques written by any chef. The school had a tremendous reputation, and that is something I’ve very proud of.

Susan Holding, Diplôme de Pâtisserie 1998
There is so much that Le Cordon Bleu taught me. The Chefs at school helped me understand the foundations of French Pastry through detailed explanations. Most importantly, we were taught the importance of creativity. The skill to move away from traditional recipes and create our own. The practical classes drove us to put our knowledge to test and perfect our techniques. Along with the technical knowledge, Le Cordon Bleu taught me the importance of teamwork, attention to detail and most of all perseverance and patience because baking as they say is both an art and a science!

Christina Washington, Diplôme de Pâtisserie 2016
Before going to culinary school, I only knew American pastries, such as cakes and cookies. This is not pastry. By going here, I loved how the program was set up because each semester we focused on certain types of cake and I found myself doing the recipe several times to where I really knew it and what to do with it. When I returned to the US, I found that my level of expertise was very high based on what I had learned, and it was easy to find a job.

Molly Wilkinson, Diplôme de Pâtisserie 2013
Le Cordon Bleu Paris gave me a comprehensive understanding of the building blocks of pastry. It gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams and gave me the skills to enter high-level professional kitchens immediately after graduation.

Amanda Bankert, Diplôme de Pâtisserie 2004
My experience at Le Cordon Bleu was positive and successful. The institute has a prestigious reputation around the world, and I was able to learn everything I needed to start my culinary career. Thanks to the Chefs Instructors I acquired the know-how of French boulangerie, which I continue to utilize in my business today.

Nevin Gabr, Diplôme de Boulangerie 2019

Last page update in May 2024

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Pâtisserie & Boulangerie Diploma

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