The Australian Patisserie Academy (APA) is now up and running and, starting in September, will offer a series of niche programs for professional bakers and pastry chefs looking to master their culinary skills.

Located at the Northern Sydney Institutes’s Ryde Campus, specialised courses will cover chocolate, patisserie, sugar, bread and cake design and decoration.

A handful of award-winning chefs are on board to teach, including Hervé Boutin – the only Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsman of France) patisserie chef in Australia – as well as André Sandison, Vivek Angre, and Joseph and Angelo Roche. André, who is also head teacher culinary at Le Cordon Bleu Sydney Culinary Arts Institute, said course categories are broken down into targeted classes to accommodate a range of experience levels from beginner and intermediate, through to advanced and master.

“We want to equip everyone with the skills they need to produce a light and dainty filo pastry right through to an exquisite entremet, petit gateau or verrine,” he said.

“We have highly experienced chefs who are excellent in sharing their knowledge, skills and talents with everyone from people simply passionate about food, through to industry professionals.

“We all see those chefs on TV making intricate cooking techniques look so easy and the APA’s aim is to train and mould the budding cook, absolute beginner and seasoned chef into a patisserie master,” the APA said in a statement.

Classes range from five hours to three days, depending on the series level and category.