The CAP results are in, and congratulations to all those who have passed (and courage for the others, we’ll keep our heads up and do it again next year!) The grades are starting to arrive in the mailboxes. So I thought it was the perfect time to share with you what it meant to me to have a CAP in pastry-making!
Table des matières
The CAP in pastry-making: a question of grades?
The idea for this article came to me when members of the FB groups to which I belong became aware of the first failures of candidates with less than 10 in practice (but more than 10 overall). A long debate ensued about what it meant to “deserve” the CAP pâtissier. Personally, I didn’t get an excellent mark in practice (11), and I would have felt that I didn’t deserve my diploma if I had scored less than 10.
I’m not going to make any friends, but I don’t think you should get your CAP with less than 10 in practice. Let’s not forget that it’s a national exam that represents professional know-how and indicates a certain level of skill. Getting it because you’ve crammed and got 17 in theory isn’t right in my book. It’s a bit like giving a driving license to someone who’s made 0 mistakes on the code but run a stop sign on the road!
Especially as having a CAP is the “easy” part of a reconversion project. For me, finding a job afterwards is the real challenge. Someone who arrives on the market with a very low level of practical experience completely discredits free candidates (who already have a hard time finding work!).
Having a CAP means being able to join a brigade, hold down a job and be profitable for a boss. Even if it’s obvious that a CAP doesn’t make you a “pastry chef”. You’ll become one with time, humility and learning from the chefs around you (I certainly don’t consider myself a pastry chef). And I think it’s a shame that some people cry foul because they think they deserve a diploma by not having the average in the main subject.
Injustice when you hold us…
This being the case, we’re once again back to the injustice of the CAP pâtissier, because whether or not you get your diploma based on your practical average depends on the académies! And clearly, the rule should be the same for everyone. Another point of debate is that, in some académies, free candidates are clearly being “undercut”. Some very good students have received very average marks in the exam.
Personally, I think my 11 was well deserved (having done everything but without any real panache). But too many free candidates are so disappointed with their marks that they don’t really wonder whether it’s unfair to them. Of course, exam conditions and missing gestures can explain a drop in grade. But people whose work I’ve seen all year via FB groups, and whose test went well, have clearly been under-graded.
Once again, we end up with an examination which, because of all the inconsistencies and injustices it suffers, is rendered meaningless. One wonders whether the CAP pâtissier isn’t becoming a diploma in a surprise pocket! In any case, I think it’s urgent to redesign it to give it back its full meaning.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind you that even if you have a CAP in pastry-making, you are not allowed to sell cakes from your own home. Having a CAP also means adhering to professional know-how and a certain number of hygiene rules. And to sell cakes legally, you need a lab. Yes, it’s complicated, yes, it’s expensive, but many professionals comply with the rules every day in terms of lab rental and charges. I think it’s a shame that some people don’t (even more so when they make it their main activity).
And as far as I’m concerned, if you’re one of those people who get up in the morning to make the world a more beautiful place by creating pastries, if you learn from others every day (and share your knowledge in return), if you create in compliance with hygiene rules, then you deserve your CAP and I have immense respect for your work!
