Pastry Products - Introduction

This course is designed to introduce you to professional cookery in specific pastry skills.

A short 8-week practical course for preparing and cooking tarts, tartlets, quiches, flans, pies and pastries.

All applicants must have an initial assessment and interview to confirm that the course suits them.

The course includes ongoing practical assessments, and upon successful completion, learners will receive a certificate from Westminster Kingsway College.

Adults - Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2

If you will be aged 19+ on 31st August prior to the start date of your course, up to Level 2, then your study with us will be free. You must have lived for 3 years within the EU/EEA/UK prior to the start of your course, you must have lived in the UK before 1st January 2021 and you must have permission to live in the UK for at least 12 months from the first day of learning. Please see here for the documents you will need to show us.

Some courses will have other associated costs, such as for specialist materials and trips. Many of our students are eligible for financial support, see here for details.

You are expected to buy the necessary uniform and equipment for the program, which meets industry standards and safety requirements. These must specifically adhere to Westminster Kingsway College standards and cost approximately £350; more details will be provided upon enrolment. Many of our students qualify for financial support while studying at college.

Applicants may continue their career as a cook or chef in the hospitality sector, with opportunities for promotion, and may advance to a Level 2 course.

Michael is the UK’s first Master Chef and was awarded the Master of Culinary Arts in 1987, when he was Executive Sous Chef at The Connaught. He had returned from his homeland, South Africa, where he worked as a Training Sous Chef and Hotel Manager. He has been Sous Pâtissier at Roger Vergé’s Moulin de Mougin and worked directly under Yves Thuriés. He joined Albert Roux as Chef Pâtissier and ran the House of Albert Roux. He also worked directly for Royal Families and UNHW individuals as a private chef.

Michael has been actively involved in teaching and training. He set up training programmes at The Royal Hotel in South Africa, where he also taught Cookery at M L Sultan Technikon, KwaZulu Natal. He continued to develop and hone apprenticeship programmes whilst at The Connaught Hotel, as Chef Pâtissier, under the remarkable Michel Bourdin, Founder of the Académie Culinaire. In 1990, Michael together with Peter Taylor set up the Academy of Culinary Arts as a teaching institution, designing the first UK wide Apprenticeship Register and Programme. This Academy became the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. After working at Eurostar Michael moved to Switzerland his home for the last 23 years.

Michael continued developing his skills and education completing his MBA at the famous Glion School in Switzerland. He has worked at Swissair’s Gourmet Nova, Nuance, Le Pain Quotidien and Flemingo Group, in business development, and in hospitality valuation and tourism modelling for Credit Suisse, Bank Austria, Swiss Railways.

For his support and activism to protect European food and culture, securing laws of protection at the EU and the French Culinary Tradition Michael was the first UK Chef to be awarded the Ordre de Mérite Agricole.

The teachers listed may change, these shown are an example of the teachers who teach on these programmes.