Certificate & Advanced Certificate · 10 weeks each
A 10-week chocolate & pastry course: 180 hours at the bench
The short route into pastry, chocolate and bakery: a professional pastry chef course with chocolate work built in, no year-long commitment, in Lucerne.
Two blocks
Foundations, then technique
Both certificates run ten weeks and log 180 kitchen hours. Neither includes an internship — that is what the year-long programmes are for.
Block one
Certificate in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery
Practical labs
- Pastry & Bakery Foundations
- Classic Patisserie
- Boulangerie & Viennoiserie
- Chocolate Work Foundations
Academic
- Food Safety
Block two
Advanced Certificate in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery
Practical labs
- Ice Creams & Plated Desserts
- Advanced Chocolate Pralines
- Petit Fours & Petit Gâteaux
Academic
- Small Business Management
- Supervisory Development
CHF 23'025 breaks down as tuition CHF 17'500, operating costs CHF 950, living expenses CHF 3'075, application fee CHF 1'000, uniforms and equipment CHF 500.
Honestly
Who these are actually for
Gap years
Ten weeks that leave you with a skill and a certificate rather than a photo album.
Career-changers
Test whether the kitchen is genuinely for you before committing a year and CHF 40'200.
Working cooks and bakers
Structured pastry technique you never got on the job, compressed into one block.
If you already know you want the full pathway and the degree, apply straight to the Diploma — it is the cleaner route and it includes the paid internship.
Weighing a career change? Read how to become a pastry chef, what the job pays in our pastry chef salary guide, or where the craft comes from in Swiss chocolate: history and names to know.
Going to Paris this autumn? Our guide to Salon du Chocolat 2026 lists the competitions and demonstrations worth watching if you're weighing a career in pastry.
Admission
What you need
Entry requirements
- Minimum age 17
- High school diploma or equivalent
- English at IELTS 5.0 level or equivalent
- No prior pastry experience required for the Certificate
Intakes
November 2026 · February 2027 · August 2027
Visa processing can take up to 12 weeks — apply around four months ahead even for a ten-week block.
Start your applicationQuestions
Straight answers
Is this a chocolate making course?
Partly, and on purpose. The Certificate includes Chocolate Work Foundations next to pastry, patisserie and bread. The Advanced Certificate goes further with Advanced Chocolate Pralines. Neither is a chocolate-only course: chocolate is taught the way a professional pastry kitchen uses it.
Is it a chocolatier course or a pastry chef course?
It is a pastry chef course with a strong chocolate component. If chocolate is your main interest, the Certificate gives you the foundations and the Advanced Certificate the praline work; the one-year Diploma adds a six-month paid internship in a professional kitchen.
What is the difference between the two certificates?
The Certificate is the foundation block: pastry and bakery foundations, classic patisserie, boulangerie and viennoiserie, and chocolate work foundations, plus Food Safety. The Advanced Certificate is the next level of technique: ice creams and plated desserts, advanced chocolate pralines, and petits fours and petits gâteaux, plus Small Business Management and Supervisory Development. Both are ten weeks and 180 kitchen hours.
Do the certificates include a paid internship?
No. The six-month paid internships belong to the year-long programmes — the Diploma, Higher Diploma and bachelor path. The certificates are ten concentrated weeks of kitchen work with no placement attached.
Who are they actually for?
Three groups, in our experience: people on a gap year who want a real skill rather than a tour; career-changers testing whether the kitchen is genuinely for them before committing a year and CHF 40'200; and working bakers or cooks who want structured pastry technique they never got on the job.
Can a certificate count towards the diploma?
The certificate modules overlap substantially with Semester 1 of the Diploma, but credit transfer is decided by admissions against your specific record — ask before you assume it. If your intention is the full pathway, applying directly to the Diploma is usually the cleaner route.
Watch
See it for yourself
Next step
Three intakes a year. One decision that pays you back.
Next intakes: November 2026 · February 2027 · August 2027 · Lucerne, Switzerland
Every programme year pairs a taught semester with a six-month paid internship — CHF 2'404/month gross minimum in Switzerland under the national hospitality labour agreement. How the internship model works