Choose your course
Whether it's niche patisserie, your own business, or a retail-baking role, training in this career area is commonly through an apprenticeship which combines on-the-job training with your course. You may also be able to explore specific skills from basic to advanced to make sure your career is working for you.
There are skills shortages in exciting careers with freedom to innovate, travel and expand. TAFE NSW courses in commercial cookery range from the basics of kitchen operations in our flagship apprenticeship-level Certificate III courses, to more specialised and high-level courses that can put the finishing flourishes on your cooking career.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our commercial cookery qualifications prepare you to become a chef, cook or caterer.
- Get hands-on training in commercial kitchens
- Learn how to prepare and cook dishes within industry timeframes
- Have the knowledge to safely satisfy the dietary requirements of customers
- Learn crucial food hygiene and WHS principles, practices and regulations
- Receive an industry recognised trade qualification
TAFE NSW has a range of patisserie and baking courses to help you enter the baking industry as a baker or pastry chef.
Get a taste for baking and learn the basics with the Certificate II, then turn your passion into a career with a trade qualification in Baking, Bread Baking, Cake and Pastry, or Patisserie.
Learn the art of creating exquisite, show stopping desserts, cakes, petit fours, chocolates and confectionery with a TAFE NSW patisserie course.
Develop the technical skills you need to work as a qualified pastry chef, pastry chef or patisserie chef and be inspired to create five-star dessert centre pieces fit for an international stage.
Our commercial cookery graduates go on to roles such as:
- Cook
- Caterer
- Chef
- Chef de partie
- Executive chef
- Head chef
- Sous chef
Our baking and patisserie graduates go on to roles such as:
- Baker
- Assistant baker
- Pastry cook or chef
- Pastry sous chef
Begin your foodie career with the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery at TAFE NSW. This course gives you the foundational skills and knowledge you need to start your career as a chef.
Complete your chef training with the Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery and get the skills needed to work as a head chef or sous chef.
TAFE NSW also offers a range of short courses and speciality qualifications in kitchen operations, Asian cooking, catering operations, food handling, kitchen skills and food safety supervision. These courses round out your skills and so you can achieve your commercial cooking goals.
Get started today!
There are over 24 million people in Australia, and we eat out two to three times a week on average. The food services industry is strong and expected to grow over the 3 years to 2023.
At the same time, demand for trade qualified and experienced bakers continues to set growth records. The number of people working as bakers and pastry cooks has grown strongly over the last 5 years and this growth is expected to continue.
Now is a great time to enter the food industry and become a chef or baker.
CHECK OUT OUR SPECIALIST SCHOOLS
TAFE NSW Australian Patisserie Academy
TAFE NSW Sydney Wine Academy
Get a free course guide
Enter your details to receive your free Commercial Cookery information pack, and a consultation with an enrolment advisor.
What job opportunities could a commercial cookery course lead to?
If you're looking to turn up the heat on your culinary career, do like celebrity chef and restaurateur, Matt Moran, did: enrol in a cooking course at TAFE NSW. Our culinary courses can help you become a chef,baker, or pastry apprentice, with courses that cover everything, from basic skills to more advanced techniques.
TAFE NSW cookery course duration varies from 3 months to 3 years depending on your study purposes and career goals. Commercial cookery and baking qualifications can launch your career as a:
- Cook
- Chef de Partie
- Executive Chef
- Sous Chef
- Baker
- Pâtissier
- Caterer
- Chef.
Chefs are expected to not only cook food, and depending on the chef’s level of seniority, to also be responsible for the functionality of the entire restaurant. Some chefs are specialised in a specific cuisine or in certain specific aspects of cooking or baking. To become a chef in Australia, you will need to complete a relevant chef qualification, such as the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery or the Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery.
Whether you're just starting out in your career, want to gain more qualifications, add to your previous experience or simply broaden your horizons, TAFE NSW offer a wide variety of culinary courses at a level to suit you. We have courses in everything from cake and pastry baking to Asian cooking and certificates in commercial cookery.