Baked Goods
Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts
The Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts is where many budding Toronto bakers have turned a love of sweets into full fledged businesses. This private career college offers varying levels of courses, from a six-week cake design program, to a confectionary arts diploma, as well as individual continuing education courses for those looking to learn about pastry arts on a more personal interest level, or gain experience with a particular type of confection.
My sweets-loving photographer and I were invited to participate in the school's Cake Pops and Whoopie Pies course, a one-day course dedicated to learning how to make these trendy treats from start to finish.
Before class, a quick chat with Bonnie Gordon, founder of the college and a highly successful cake designer in her own right, reveals her vision for the school. With her own path beginning in art school and leading to education in various fields from fashion design to a Masters in Museum Education, Gordon finally found a creative outlet in the world of pastry.
After studying at George Brown, she set out for New York to train with Colette Peters, one of the city's top cake designers, eventually making a name for herself in the field of cake design as well. Gordon's accomplished work in the pastry industry and background in education made for an easy transition into teaching others. Wanting to bring artisinal baking and confectionary creativity to a new level in Toronto, she opened her own school, giving her the opportunity to help other artists find an outlet for their creativity in the world of pastry arts.
At 9:30 a.m. sharp, we take our seats in the main kitchen as class begins. The school believes in small classes - no larger than ten to twelve people - and the group ranges in experience from beginners like us, to those training for careers in the pastry industry. Bonnie explains earlier that the inexperienced are the norm at this school, and those completely new to the craft should feel welcome.
We watch as our instructor, Marissa, a Red Seal chef who found her focus in pastry arts and cake design, demonstrates the first project. Using beautiful, high quality ingredients (no artificial vanilla extract here, people), we make chocolate buttermilk cakes, which are later pulverized and mixed with our creamy homemade chocolate ganache and rolled into truffle-like balls for cake pops.
We learn how to make a red velvet cake batter, and pipe it into little rounds to be baked into the outer layer of a red velvet whoopie pie, complemented perfectly with an excellent cream cheese frosting. Once the little cakes are cool, we pipe the icing into the centre, secure the top layer of cake, and voila! Delicious whoopie pies that made me a hero at work the following day.
As the day progresses, after our cake pops have been secured onto little sticks with a quick dip of white chocolate, we begin the more challenging part of the class. Unaware of the amount of detail and effort that go into these little treats, Taralyn and I are humbled by the intricate and challenging process of creating beautiful cake pops.
Dipped in chocolate we colour to our preference, rolled in sprinkles and hand-dyed sugar, these beautiful treats are not as easy to make as they might seem. Each individual piece requires patience and attention to detail, but after a few mishaps our work is looking much better.
Marisa demonstrates the more advanced decorating techniques, from flowers piped with royal icing, to a rose-shaped pop with petals made of modeling chocolate. Some of these techniques require a lot of skill, but as students around us practice and experiment, technique improves and beautiful desserts are produced.
Though our treats were nowhere near as beautiful as our instructors, we leave with valuable information on recipes and technique, and definitely some new skills as well. The treats we made were impressively delectable, a reflection of excellent ingredients and great recipes.
The Bonnie Gordon School offers a wide variety of one-day courses, with intriguing options like a full day devoted to the art of the French macaron, and an evening entitled 'Pies With Wanda,' a pie-making course with Wanda of Wanda's Pie in the Sky. Full programs include a comprehensive range of courses, from designer cakes to tarts and petit fours, with a focus on French patisserie style desserts.
From the aspiring industry professional wanting to leave with the artistic skills and business savvy to open their own business, to someone who simply wants to spend a day learning how to make impressive confections, the Bonnie Gordon School of Confectionary Arts has all kinds of options. We definitely enjoyed our day in the life of a pastry chef, and for myself, the ability to make fantastic whoopie pies at home is an invaluable skill that will be long appreciated.
For the full whoopie pie recipe and instructions, check out this post.
Writing by Meaghan Binstock. Photos by Taralyn Marshall.
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I attended 2 courses here before I gave up. BAD experiences and others in the class came away feeling they tried to over promise and under deliver.
This "college" - I'm still understanding how this place is called that way - doesn't have the sufficient space for accommodating that amount of student involved in the program. There are not enough equipment for everyone and you'll pass most of your time struggling for supplies among the classroom. Just a few teachers have the knowledge and expertise to manage big groups of students - being a cake decorator doesn't make you a college teacher and that's exactly what you will found here...
Is this place a school or a cake business? Whereas they run multiple programs at the same time, with just 1 kitchen and 2 decoration rooms, they are operating under the same space, baking cakes and doing decor with the same supplies and in the same rooms!!! unbelievable, no respect for the students..
Don't think you're going to experience a great deal of detail on their classes, the instructor sits in one corner of a big table to demo a technique and pretends that a room full of people will see what she/he is doing... Not a projection equipment, not even a mirror atop the teacher to magnify their work... very bad.
In other words, these people are cheap, they don't invest on the school, lack of supplies, equipment, resources and most of all qualify instructors.
Time will bring this school down.
I have just read 1 specific comment written by "carol", and I am going to have to disagree with absolutely everything she has stated. I have been attending the Bonnie Gordon College for 2 years now, I completed the CAP program and various other courses at the school and in 2 years my business has bloomed! My company and I owe so much to this school. The teachers are fantastic, and not to mention some of the TOP leading cake designers known all over Canada,USA and other parts of the world. Bonnie's teachers are some of the leading designers in this industry and they try everything to bring upon their knowledge on the students which enter the school in whatever way they can. I don't really understand why you would want MORE then 10 people in a class room. Having this amount of people enables the teacher to work one on one with the student(s) and enables your technique as a student to become much more refined as they have more time to spend teaching you how to learn. As a student continuing to attend the school I wouldn't recommend you going anywhere else to learn how to design cakes because the technique learned at BGS is the best techniques, your work will always be Clean, Creative & Unique. It is well worth the money and well worth the hard work! So again, as per the negative review a few comments above I am going to strongly disagree with you, as BGS has proven to be the Leading Cake School in T.O and is being recognized all over the country and beyond with it's amazing teachers, and of course Bonnie herself. Personally, I would never go anywhere else for cake advice because everyone is ALWAYS willing to help, share and make you prosper in such a competitive industry.
This is just a student point of view, who invested a big deal of money on a program that didn't meet the expectations nor even the level that the school praised about.
It would be smart to listen the bad reviews, which are completely true, and implement a strategy to improve the school system. Anyone who has gone to a real college, or university has the ability to make a simple comparison, and the truth is that there is a long of list of items to be fixed, modules to be re-designed and teachers to be changed...
A good advice that will help BGC to become a better teaching institution, because cake schools are all over the world...
Nausheen
I would have to admit one thing though. N yes BGC does not look like your average college or doesn't even teach like the average college, because this college actually cares about the future of its students, and how else would one learn to bake if it doesn't feel like home. The best baking is always done at home. And BGC has that feel. A college that feels like home and teachers that teach you like your parents.
Bonnie and all the staff and teachers, You will always have my support and for all you haters, that our hating on this college... I think you guys need to find another profession, cause if you cant learn from such AWSOME teachers than its best you leave the baking to US.... BONNIE GORDON ALUMANI of 2010 forever!!!
N if you need to check if this is real come look for me in St. Maarten... i have my BGC certificate big and bold in my store!!! PEACE....
I remember once having a particularly difficult time covering a square cake (cakes are not my area of strength!), and one of the instructors stayed with me during break time to help me fix it up, and she was so lovely about it – she helped me feel better about being new (and not very good lol) at it! It’s easy to feel intimidated in ANY class, whether it’s George Brown College or the Bonnie Gordon College, and I think it’s important to remember that we’re all learning, we all have different strengths, and that going to school is about the learning process. The important thing is the information being taught.
From my experience, I 100% stand behind the quality of the information being shared at Bonnie Gordon’s. Bonnie and her instructors are passionate about the subject matter, it shines through in everything they do; they are continually on the cutting edge of new cake tools, techniques etc. and take pride in their work and sharing with their students. I love George Brown (my father taught there for 28 years), and respect their pastry program, however, when I recommend schools to my students (I teach Culinary Arts at the high school level), I recommend the Bonnie Gordon College for students interested in pursuing a career in cake etc. decorating. The curriculum for a Culinary Arts College is much different than Bonnie’s tailored Confectionary Arts program. If you want a specialized education in improving your cake (cupcake, cookies, sugar flowers etc.) skills, the Bonnie Gordon School is the way to go.
In terms of the classroom spaces, there may not be mirrors or television screens hanging above the tables, but no amount of mirrors or screens will improve the teacher or subject matter. I found that we were all able to gather around observe the instructor, and it made for an intimate environment more conducive to communication and engagement/asking questions.
We are extremely fortunate to have a cake entrepreneur like Bonnie in the city of Toronto; she has built the school out a love for her craft, and so many people, including myself, have benefited from it.
Attending The Bonnie Gordon school has completely transformed my skills and has made me an artist. It's not just a school, it's a community of like minded individuals with similar goals. The free flowing creativity in the classes is amazing. The classes are small so the teacher to student ratio is great. I felt comfortable talking to the teachers and they all seemed happy to teach. This is completely different to GBC, where I was just a number in a class of 60 students watching demos in a huge auditorium, it's so impersonal.
I gained such confidence in my cake designs thanks to Bonnie Gordon and her team. I now work full time as a Cake Designer and love every minute of it. It was definitely one of the best things I have done for myself.
Aspiring pastry chefs and cake designers, save your money forget about GBC and go directly to Bonnie Gordon.
Can anyone in the school please comment on the concerns expressed.
And to refute comparisons to other schools: Living four hours from Toronto, I attended university full time as a biochemistry student. I wanted to satisfy my love to bake, so I took a part-time continuing education course at my local college. I learned more in the 7 hour workshop at BGC than I did taking a 12 week, 60 hour course at my college. What I appreciate most about Bonnie Gordon College is its small class size and its refusal to cut corners. Yes, the classes are expensive, but well worth it, when you learn invaluable skills.
All this being said, I am excited to say, that I am putting my university degree on hold to go to Bonnie Gordon College full time, for four months to complete their new diploma program. My experience so far at BGC was so positive, hopefully it is a foreshadow of my four month experience with them. No one can refute the amazingly talented alumni that come from this school. I am so blessed that such an amazing school is available so close to home!
con·fec·tion·ar·y
[kuhn-fek-shuh-ner-ee] Show IPA noun, plural -ar·ies, adjective
noun
1.
a candy; sweetmeat.
2.
a place where confections are kept or made.
3.
confectionery (def. 3).
Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts is a private career college offering professional programmes for those interested in pursuing a career in the confectionary arts. We also offer fully hands-on weekend & evening classes for baking and decorating enthusiasts. While Bonnie no longer teaches, she is the Dean of the college and works closely with our highly skilled instructors to develop our programmes. With the feedback we receive from our students, we continue to refine our curriculum to ensure that we’re providing the best student experience possible.
The success of our students is the greatest testament to the quality of our programmes. Please visit the student success stories section of our website to see what some of our grads have been up to since completing their programme at Bonnie Gordon College - http://www.bonniegordoncollege.com/w_student_success.aspx?
We invite you to come in for a tour or to call for more information about the college. Call today to register for one of our evening and weekend classes and mention our blogto listing. For any classes from now until March 31st, 2012 you’ll receive a 10% discount (this discount does not apply to our career programmes and is limited to one class per person).
Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts
www.bonniegordoncollege.com
416-440-0333
I would sign up for their career program in an instant if they weren't almost a 2.5 hr drive.
If you were not accepted you obviously didn't meet the admissions requirements. It really is that simple.
I have read some negative comments on here about "snobby" staff, although I feel that is untrue. All of the ladies had proper baking etiquette, I felt like I was in Paris at a pastry school. Truly amazing! If you feel they are snobby you should go take a course at a less prestigious school.
Overall, I loved the school :) !!! So did my boyfriend :)
Anyways, all in all a great learning experience and I look forward to attending another class in the near future.
At our last day of classes, they didn't even went to the classroom to tell us goodbye or anything.. me and my classmates all think the same.. except for Nadia, she's the best teacher in there..and Bonnie is nice too..
However, on last Saturday, I decided to join their classes which will be held in the coming Thursday. One of the staff picked up the phone and promised me that someone will get back to me on that day. Ended up, I didn't hear anything. Then, I left messages on both Sunday and Monday. Still, no one called me back. I m quite frustrated and I'm not sure if that's the normal practice of BGC. I really don't want to spend another trip there before Thursday as I live far away from their school. Also, I've a high expectation from this school because of its price. Hopefully, everything will turn out smoothly.
I hope I could hear from them tomorrow.