All Hands on Deck! JOBB Cohort 2 Takes the Western-Style Pastry Chef Certification Exam
On June 15th, all 12 students from the second cohort of the JOBB program took part in the written portion of the nationally recognized Western-Style Pastry Chef Certification exam, issued by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
This year’s exam introduced a new and more challenging format, adding pressure to an already intensive schedule. With only two months between their first training class and the official test date, students had to carve out time outside of their regular hands-on lessons to drill theory questions repeatedly—a challenge not only for the students, but also for the entire JOBB teaching team.
Final Week of Exam Prep
In the final week before the test, students immersed themselves in round after round of practice questions and mock exams.
"Doing drills on the subway, at home during breaks, and again in the classroom,” shared student Xiaobu in his weekly journal.
The written exam consists of 200 questions, requiring a score of over 60% to pass. While 70% of the questions come from an official question bank, the remaining 30% are unpredictable and must be answered on the spot.
To ensure success, JOBB instructors stayed late with the students nearly every day, encouraging them to thoroughly memorize key concepts and aim for at least 90% accuracy on known questions.
Faced with a tight schedule and high expectations, students took a grounded approach—copying down every mistake into notebooks and reviewing them repeatedly. Many filled entire notebooks in the process.
Thanks to this hard work, students like Yunyang and Xinjia from Pudong Special Education School consistently scored over 90% in practice exams, with student Xiaopang close behind.
Final Pastry Practice Class
Although the types of products required in the hands-on pastry exam (fancy bread, basic cakes, and cookies) remain largely unchanged, new guidelines now place stricter requirements on shaping and precise weight control.
JOBB instructors promptly integrated these updates into regular training, ensuring students followed every step of the process to standard.
After each weekly session, students were expected to carefully organize and summarize the recipe steps, ingredient lists, and key tips for each product taught—including almond cookies, savory ice cream, butter cake, and apple tarts.
The effort and determination shown throughout this journey are more valuable than the final result itself. To all 12 JOBB students—keep going strong, and best of luck on the path ahead!
