Frequently Asked Questions

All Maru Expert course videos and materials are in English. Subtitles are also available in English to help you follow along clearly.

Absolutely — courses make a wonderful gift. Head to the Gift a Course section, fill out a short form, and complete your purchase. We'll send a beautifully designed gift certificate to your email right away. You can print it and hand it over in person, or forward it digitally. Either way, it's ready to give.

Yes — and you're in exactly the right place. Maru Expert courses are designed for all skill levels, and most of them are perfectly suited to beginners. You'll find clear, step-by-step instruction, patient mentor support, and a learning environment where there's no pressure and no judgment. Many of our students had never worked with pastry dough before their first lesson.

All Maru Expert courses cover different topics and techniques, so there's no wrong place to begin. Start with whichever course excites you most and feels right for your current skill level. Not sure? Use the course finder on the homepage, or contact us — we're happy to point you in the right direction.

Not at all. Once you purchase a course, you have 12 months to begin and complete it — start whenever you're ready. Mentor feedback is available throughout your access period, so there's no rush.

Your first lesson unlocks right away. New lessons become available on a weekly schedule as you progress through the course. The intervals between lessons are intentional — they give you time to practice what you've learned, build real skill in the kitchen, and move naturally from foundational techniques to more complex ones.

You have 12 months of access from the day of purchase — rewatch any lesson as many times as you like during that period. PDF recipes can be downloaded to any device and kept permanently.

Yes — every course comes with a complete ingredient list, which you'll receive with the very first lesson. This gives you time to source everything you need before the second lesson begins. We also include notes on substitutions wherever possible.

We understand that some specialty baking ingredients aren't available at every grocery store — especially in the US, where European pastry staples may need to be ordered online. The ingredient list includes substitution notes wherever possible. If you're still stuck, reach out to your course mentor — we'll do our best to help you find a workable alternative.

You can reach out to your course mentor at any time during the course and for up to two months after you complete it. We're always available to answer questions, troubleshoot, and help you get a great result.

Homework is optional — you set the pace and depth of your own learning. That said, completing and submitting your practice bakes is where the real growth happens: it's how you get personalized feedback, catch mistakes early, and build the kind of repeatable skill that actually sticks. Students who do the homework consistently get better results, faster.

Each lesson has a submission form directly below the video. Attach a photo of your finished bake, a short description, and any questions you have for your mentor — then hit submit. Your mentor will review it and respond with personalized feedback.

Your mentor needs at least two photos to evaluate your work: one showing the overall finished piece and one showing a cross-section or slice. Photos should be taken in natural daylight, in focus, and with accurate colors — avoid filters.

If your mentor has follow-up questions, they may ask for additional photos of specific stages. For this reason, we recommend photographing or filming key stages of your bake as you go — the more context you can provide, the more specific and useful the feedback will be.

Yes — upon successfully completing your course assignments and submitting your work to your mentor, you'll receive an official Certificate of Completion by email. The certificate is issued in English and is internationally recognized.

Free online tutorials are a great starting point — but they have real limitations. You watch, you try, something goes wrong, and there's no one to tell you why or what to fix. You can't ask a question, get your work reviewed, or receive feedback on your specific bake. And a YouTube watch history isn't something you can add to your professional portfolio.

Maru Expert is a different kind of learning entirely:

• Every recipe is tested and verified by professional pastry chefs — not filmed once and posted.
• You submit your work each week and receive personalized, specific feedback from an experienced mentor. Not a template — real guidance on what you actually made.
• You progress from your first lesson to a certificate of completion with a professional behind you the whole way.
• That certificate is issued in English, internationally recognized, and worth putting on LinkedIn.

We don't just teach recipes. We build skills — the kind that stick, repeat, and earn.

For most Maru Expert courses, basic kitchen equipment is all you need to get started. That said, having the right tools — like a quality stand mixer, a digital kitchen scale, or specific molds — can make a significant difference to both the process and the result.

Every course includes a full equipment list in the first lesson so you know exactly what to prepare. If you have questions about specific tools or where to source them in the US, just ask — we're happy to help.