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Retail Bakers of America + The Bake Fest Present

BAKING BASICS BOOTCAMP

Skill up. Get certified. Grow your business.

Virtual Prep Course | Oct. 13, 2025 – Jan. 25, 2026

*We’ll be taking one week off for Thanksgiving and two weeks off for Christmas, so this 12-week course will instead last for 15 weeks.

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We'll let you in on a little secret:

Baking certifications aren’t just for people who went to culinary school.

If you are a home baker who is turning their passion into a business, getting certified through the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) is a great way to sharpen your skills and gain credibility in the eyes of your customers and community.

Introducing Baking Basics Bootcamp!

A virtual course designed to fully prepare you for the Certified Journey Decorator (CJD) exam, taught by RBA’s Executive Director, Marissa Sertich Velie

Baking Basics Bootcamp will focus on preparing you for the Certified Journey Decorator (CJD) exam. The 12-week virtual program includes a comprehensive study guide, a 1-Year RBA Membership, and we’ll cover your test fee ($100)!

The CJD certification is, as its name suggests, all about honing your decoration skills. Though classes will cover the science of baking, the course as a whole emphasizes the art of decoration—and these skills can give you an edge in both your business and baking career.
  • Freshen up your skills
  • Fill gaps in knowledge
  • Learn from others
  • Take your exam with confidence
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Journey Decorator (1)

Why get RBA Certified?

If you’ve been involved in The Bake Fest, have taken other workshops, or have even started your own home business, an RBA certification is a great next step to:

  • Gain a competitive advantage
  • Increase your earning potential
  • Update your knowledge and skills
  • Build professional credibility

Learn more about RBA certifications on their website.

Who is this bootcamp for?

Our bootcamp is designed for bakers with a year or more experience baking, and who are current or aspiring business bakers! And, since bootcamp participants will be reading RBA-recommended materials, taking classes and participating in class discussions, the standard 2,000 hours experience requirement for certification is waived for cohort members going from bootcamp to CJD exam.
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About the Bootcamp

Baking Basics Bootcamp is a three (3) month virtual certification prep program.

This upcoming Baking Basics Bootcamp cohort will prepare you for the Retail Bakers of America Certified Journey Decorator (CJD) certification exam. Therefore, learning modules will focus heavily on decorating skills!

Course Details

Unit 1 (Weeks 1 – 6): Equipment, Recipe Formulation & Baking Ingredient Function

In this unit, you’ll learn how to work with standard electric scales, covering topics like volume, weight and temperature. You’ll explore various types of thermometers, basic equipment and smallwares. Finally, you’ll learn about basic ingredients in order to understand the science behind recipe formulation!

Unit 2 (Weeks 7 – 12): Basic Cake Techniques

An evenly and cleanly filled and frosted cake is the foundation of any stable, well-constructed cake creation. In this course, you will sharpen their frosting skills and decorating techniques. You’ll learn to efficiently split, fill, frost, border and write an inscription on an 8” round cake. You’ll also explore various types of cake decorating equipment and smallware, including piping tips and piping skills.

Each course is broken down into 5-6 modules to ensure deep learning. Click here to view the full course overview.

REGISTRATION OPENS FEBRUARY 18, 2025.

BOOTCAMP RUNS OCTOBER 13, 2025 – JANUARY 25, 2026.

Let's break it down...

or

Prepping on Your Own

  • You’re on your own to find your strengths and weaknesses
  • You don’t have any accountability partners
  • You have limited studying resources
  • You don’t have someone knowledgeable to critique your practice videos
  • You pay your test fee out of pocket
or

Joining the Bootcamp

  • You’ll be prepped by the RBA Executive Director
  • You’ll have the support of your fellow cohort members
  • You’ll get a custom study guide
  • Your instructor will watch and critique your practice videos
  • Your $100 test fee will be waived
  • You'll get a free 1-year membership to RBA ($100 value)

...That’s a total value of $1,500 for just $350!

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Format & Resources for Success

Classes will be posted on our learning platform, Circle, each week for the twelve (12) week course duration. The best part? You can watch the classes on your own time each week! In addition to the planned modules, cohort members will also receive:

  • Group Discussion Questions (Posted in Circle)
  • 1:1 CJD Exam Practice Video Reviews
  • A CJD Exam Study Guide
  • Discounts to RBA Workshops
  • RBA Membership ($100 Value)
  • RBA Test Fee Coverage ($100 Value)

Timeline, Cohort Size & Cost

Our small group classes facilitate deep learning and personalized attention!
  • Bootcamp runs October 13, 2025 - January 25, 2026
  • Bootcamp Cost: $350 per person
  • Cohort size limited to 25 participants
  • RBA Membership ($100 Value)
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Don’t delay! Cohort members are accepted on a first come, first served basis until the program is full (25 participants).

Remember: Spots are limited to 25 total participants! Register now to lock in your spot.

Frequently Asked Questions About Baking Basics Bootcamp

Typically with RBA certifications, training courses are not offered, which makes this new bootcamp completely unique! When bakers come to RBA from the industry to get certified, RBA usually requires 2,000 hours of experience, because these bakers are not taking any prep courses. Since bootcamp participants will be reading RBA-recommended materials, taking classes and participating in class discussions, the 2,000 hours requirement is waived for cohort members going from bootcamp to CJD exam.

Our bootcamp includes two modules: “Equipment, Recipe Formulation & Baking Ingredient Function,” and “Basic Cake Techniques;” you can see a more detailed module breakdown here.

That said, our inaugural bootcamp is designed to prepare you for the Certified Journey Decorator (CJD) exam, which, as its name suggests, is more focused on decorating than the science of baking. If you’re only interested in learning the science of baking (not decorating), we may offer a prep class for the Certified Journey Baker (CJB) certification in the future. If that’s something you would like, let us know by emailing us at hello@thebakefest.com to express your interest!

All information needed to pass the CJB exam is included in the course! We provide a recommended reading list, but none of the books are required. With the video submission portion of the certification, you will need to purchase ingredients necessary to prepare a simple frosted cake. We also encourage students to purchase materials to practice filling and frosting their cakes.

Video lectures are 20-40 minutes per week. As for assignments, there will be group discussion and supplemental materials to complete, but no mandatory requirements. You do not receive a final grade or evaluation for the course. However, to earn your CJD certificate, you must pass the test with a 75% or higher score.

No problem. If you miss a lecture, those materials will still be available to you, and you can review them on your own time as you catch up.

We love this question – and we hope there will be! We intend to offer additional courses in the future if interest is there. Stay on our email list to get updates.

Yes! You can take the course and subsequent certification exam, and enjoy the benefits of an RBA membership (included in the cost of the bootcamp), but bear in mind that RBA certifications may not be as meaningful outside of the US and Canada. RBA is closely partnered with the Baking Association of Canada. One organization will often provide discounts for the other’s courses, and vice-versa.

This upcoming Baking Basics Bootcamp will run from October 13, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

You’ll register for this course online here.

Meet your instructor, Marissa Sertich Velie!

Marissa Sertich Velie is a super-talented pastry chef and the Executive Director at Retail Bakers of America. Her career began when Marissa graduated from the Culinary Institute of America’s Baking and Pastry Arts program, then worked her way through the sweet side of kitchens in Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York. This included a year at Joanne Chang’s Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston. She earned a MA in food studies at New York University, where she researched the performance of gender in the professional kitchen.

Marissa is so excited to kick off this certification prep bootcamp in collaboration with our team at The Bake Fest!

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Questions? Just Reach Out!

Wondering if you’re the right candidate for this course?

No questions are off-limits! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Stefani Pollack at hello@thebakefest.com with any questions.