Head pastry chefs: booking pastry training for professionals

Run each professional pastry course as its own bookable service, with sessions whose places match your work stations: one trainee per bench, mixer or oven space. Say in the description the level, the techniques covered, what trainees bring and what they take away. Pastry cooks and bakers book a place each, restaurants can book a private session for their team, and every session fills only up to what your kitchen can handle.

A one-day viennoiserie course, a plated desserts masterclass and a chocolate tempering session don't attract the same trainees or need the same set-up. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

Durations, places and prices are examples: set your own.

The capacity of a hands-on course is your number of work stations, not the size of the room. Set each session's places to that number. When the last place is booked, the session leaves your page. Your page doesn't show places left, so if you want room for a late booking from a regular client, set the capacity one lower and add the trainee yourself.

Each slot sits within one day, so a two- or three-day course is booked day by day. Open each day as its own slot and say in the description that trainees book all days, or open the first day only and book the following days yourself for each trainee from your calendar. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter the trainee's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file for every day.

Ask in the booking note for the trainee's current role and anything you should know, such as an allergy to nuts.

A restaurant may want to train its pastry team on a new dessert menu. Offer a private session as a separate service with one place, booked by the head chef or owner, and say how many trainees the price covers. For employers who need an invoice or training paperwork, take the booking by phone and book it yourself, then agree the details, dates and number of trainees by email.

A course with two trainees may not cover ingredients and your day. Say your minimum and when you decide, for example a week before. If the course doesn't run, cancel each booking from your bookings list and contact every trainee yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes, and offer the next date, or keep their place for the following session if they prefer.

Hand out the recipe booklet at the end of the day, with quantities scaled for a professional kitchen. A week later, a short follow-up call can answer questions that come up once trainees try the recipes at work: offer it as a short service, or book it yourself for each trainee. If you give attendance certificates, say so in the description and prepare them before the course.

Pastry cooks working in restaurants may be free on the days their kitchen is closed; ask your trainees which days suit them, and open courses accordingly. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, but one-off dates may suit courses better: open a few a month, and add more when they fill. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars, beside your production schedule.

Trainees can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move them to another date from your bookings list. Book doesn't take payments, so say how and when the course is paid. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.