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Baking & Pastry Arts

School of Hospitality
Hager Lifelong Education Center, Rm. A125B · (570) 327-4505

2009 Cake Competition Display

Friday, March 6, 2008 - Cake Competition Display brochure (PDF)

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology's Baking and Pastry Arts major are preparing for careers in the growing hospitality industry, and can expect to find positions in hotels, resorts, and restaurants. Examples of these positions include:

This fast paced industry offers many opportunities for advancement.

Program Highlights:

Baking & Pastry Arts News [Newsletter (PDF)]

May 2009

Two Penn College students were selected to attend the National Restaurant Association’s Salute to Excellence, scheduled in Chicago on May 16. The event kicks off the National Restaurant Association’s 90th annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. Students Ashley M. Wolfe, of South Williamsport, and Kyle Kishbaugh, of Nescopeck, were chosen to attend following a rigorous selection process by faculty and staff in the college’s School of Hospitality. Both students plan to graduate this month: Wolfe, with an associate degree in baking and pastry arts, and Kishbaugh, with a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts and systems.

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April 2009

Some of the day's student trade-show vendors - from left, Kathleen A. Garrison, of Flanders, N.J.; Allyson J. Roan, of Pennsylvania Furnace; Carrie L. Taylor, of Hughesville; Akacia Klick, of Kingston; and Hillary E. Reitz, of Williamsport - await their public An all-star roster of enterprising pastry chefs Ashley M. Wolfe, of South Williamsport, serves up pina colada sorbet, a perfect antidote for a sweltering pre-summer day Hillary E. Reitz, of Williamsport, displays her Nocturnal Bread jewelry for Chef Monica J. Lanczak The Baking and Pastry Applications Class, the students responsible for the popular campus bake sales throughout the year, completed a semester-ending "trade show" project in the Susquehanna Room from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The show was a presentation of pastry product development, merchandising and marketing techniques, according to Chef Monica J. Lanczak, instructor of hospitality management/culinary arts, who said the students created a fictitious business and spotlighted a product they developed for sale. They had to develop fliers, business cards and packaging, and provide a table display of their featured product ... all within a 3-foot area. The students talked with "customers" about their products as they give samples. This was an ongoing research project that started with a Madigan Library presentation of search engines with librarian Judy F. McConnell at the beginning of the semester. The students since learned about job descriptions, hiring techniques, employee evaluations, job orientation and motivational techniques that tie into their business and product, Lanczak said, adding that mock job interviews were held in class last week.

April 2009

More than 30 Penn College students have been selected to prepare high-end food at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2. The annual tradition attracts more than 150,000 to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., to watch the esteemed horse-racing event and take part in the surrounding festivities. Penn College students, accompanied by Chefs Paul Mach, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, and Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, will arrive in Louisville April 27. In recent years, the Penn College students have been responsible for feeding more than 25,000 guests in the village.

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March 2009

The winners of the CalJava Wedding Cake Competition, held March 6 at Penn College, have been announced. For the fourth year, students in an advanced cake-decorating class, taught by Sue L. Major, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, were challenged to design three-tiered cakes inspired by wedding wrapping paper. The Grand Prize was awarded to Erin E. Brown, of Lock Haven, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts and systems.

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March 2009

The grand-prize winner, by Erin Brown First-place design by Akacia Klick Hundreds of handmade pink roses decorated this rustic cake Painstaking lettering Participating students are joined by judges and instructor Sue Major, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts Judging for the CalJava International Wedding Cake Competition was held Thursday morning in the PDC. Ten intricate cakes designed for the competition by students in an advanced cake decorating class were displayed the following day, attracting cash votes to determine the People’s Choice Award. The funds raised through voting were given to the YWCA’s Liberty House.

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