SAVANNAH — Savannah Technical College’s Culinary Institute of Savannah has created a new culinary baking and pastry program.

Last week, the culinary baking and pastry arts associate degree and diploma received final approval from the Technical College System of Georgia. Based on curriculum from the American Culinary Federation, the new program will offer students a second culinary associate degree or diploma option.

“We have developed this unique baking and pastry program especially for our culinary students. There is nothing like it from Atlanta to Charleston,” STC culinary arts department head and instructor Chef Jean Vendeville said.

The program includes foundation culinary courses like fundamentals of culinary arts, culinary safety/sanitation, principles of cooking, baking principles and principles of culinary leadership. Courses specific to the new program include baking science, European cakes and tortes, artisan/specialty bread, hot/cold-plated desserts, cake design/decorating, confection artistry, chocolate artistry and dessert/bread retail production with nutrition in baking.

Payscale.com reports that the average salary for pastry bakers is more than $40,000 per year. In 2008, specialty chefs represented more than 8,900 jobs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job opportunities will increase by nearly 15 percent in the coming decade, adding 138,000 jobs by 2016. In addition, the BLS indicates highly skilled bakers should be in demand because of growing demand for specialty products. In Georgia, bakers earned a median annual salary of $23,190 in 2011, according to the BLS. Based on Department of Labor statistics, the mean average salary in the Savannah area is $22,830.

The ACF-accredited culinary arts program has been described as the “best in the U.S.A.” by its ACF accreditation review board.