A.A.S. in Baking and Pastry: Turn Your Passion Into a Career
Train in Chicago's world-class culinary environment with 700+ hands-on hours, a real industry internship, and faculty who have built careers at the highest levels of the pastry world. Graduate with an ACF-accredited degree, and a path to your next one.
- ACF Accredited (Exemplary Since 2007)
- 700+ Professional Kitchen Hours
- 92% of Graduates Employed
- James Beard Alumni
Request More Information
Program at a Glance
What You'll Learn
- Execute fundamental through advanced pastry techniques
- Laminate doughs, temper chocolate, and build plated desserts
- Apply baking science and kitchen business skills
- Complete a three-month industry internship
- Build an industry network in Chicago's food scene
- Stack your credits toward a Kendall bachelor's degree
Full Course List
Next start: September 21, 2026 — seats filling fast.
Admissions Requirements
- High school diploma or GED
- Online application at nl.edu (no application fee)
- An advisor schedules a campus tour and reviews financial aid
- Uniform and tool kit required (about $870)
- In-person at Kendall's Chicago campus
I've always been passionate about baking and decorating desserts!
700+ applied hours of lamination, tempering, and plated dessert work in a professional kitchen, plus an internship.
Graduates include James Beard Award winner Mindy Segal and other acclaimed pastry chefs.
Transfer into Kendall's B.A. in Culinary Management or Hospitality Management, two degrees in under four years.
Where Will Your Degree Take You?
Kendall baking and pastry graduates work as pastry chefs, bakers, cake decorators, chocolatiers, and pastry cooks, in bakeries, restaurants, hotels, and food manufacturing, on a path toward head pastry chef. Alumni include James Beard Award winner Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate Bakery.
Entry-level bakers earn a median of $36,650, and advancement to chef and head cook roles raises the median to $60,990 (BLS, May 2024). Ninety-two percent of Kendall graduates are employed after graduation, in the nation’s second-largest job market for bakers.
How to Apply in 3 Simple Steps
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Request Information
Submit the form above. A Kendall College advisor will reach out within one business day.
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Connect With an Advisor
Your advisor walks you through the application, financial aid, a campus tour, and the path to internship placement.
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Apply and Start Classes
Submit your application at nl.edu with no application fee. Next start: September 21, 2026. Your advisor guides you from enrollment to orientation at the Chicago campus.
Take the First Step
No commitment required. A Kendall College advisor will reach out within one business day to schedule a campus tour and map your path into a pastry career.
Take the First Step- ACF Accredited (Exemplary Since 2007)
- 700+ Professional Kitchen Hours
- 92% of Graduates Employed
- James Beard Alumni
*Salary and growth: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bakers (SOC 51-3011) and Chefs and Head Cooks (SOC 35-1011), May 2024.
**Outcomes, accreditation, and alumni: Kendall College of National Louis University program materials; American Culinary Federation (ACF) exemplary accreditation since 2007.