Baking and Pastry Arts, part of Ivy Tech Community College Northeast’s Hospitality Administration program, has received national accreditation from the American Culinary Federation this summer. The federation is a professional organization for chefs and cooks and serves as the nation’s culinary leader. By receiving this accreditation, Baking and Pastry Arts is elevated to the ranks of nationally recognized schools like the Culinary Institute of America in New York and Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island.

Brittney Todd, who graduated with her degree in hospitality administration in December 2014, plates desserts for last year’s Chancellor’s Scholarship Dinner, which honored Ivy Tech Northeast fall 2014 scholarship recipients. Ivy Tech Northeast’s Baking and Pastry Arts concentration, part of Hospitality Administration, has received national accreditation.

“It’s saying that we are up to those schools’ standards,” hospitality administration program chair Sarah Hughes says. “It means that we’re keeping up, and we’re on the same platform as they are.”

To receive accreditation from the federation, a school must meet a strict set of guidelines and standards, even detailing what kind of shoes students wear in class (non-slip) and how far all food must be stored off the ground (at least 6 inches).

New students and those who are currently studying Baking and Pastry Arts at Ivy Tech Northeast will graduate with this accreditation tied to their degrees.

It is a five-year accreditation, which also speaks to the program’s excellence; most first-time accreditations are only three years, Hughes says.

The Culinary Arts concentration, also in Hospitality Administration, has been an accredited program from the federation since 1991. Hospitality administration students have the choice to specialize in Baking and Pastry Arts and/or Culinary Arts.

Learn more about the concentration at IvyTech.edu/hospitality-admin.