The Job of Pastry Chef, Bread Baker, Dessert Maker

When you choose a culinary arts program you will usually have two major degree or program tracks from which to choose, one of them is baking and pastry or patisserie and baking. The passion for savory or sweet is pretty clear-cut among chefs and so too are the educations for each.

But don’t doubt the importance of the job of pastry chef in any environment. Cakes, chocolates, pies, tarts, cookies have become a natural part of daily menus and celebrations. Pastry chefs may also find a particular niche in bread-baking.

Job Description for a Pastry Chef

In a formal professional kitchen managed according to the French brigade system, a pastry chef or baker is one of a number of station chefs, sometimes called line cooks. But the job of pastry chef, patissier, is a fairly important one. Besides preparation of particular desserts, a pastry chef may also bake a variety of breads, and even be responsible for developing a comprehensive dessert menu in concert with the executive chef, whose job it would be to mastermind the overall menu.

General requirements and duties of a pastry chef include:

• Responsible for creation of baked goods and desserts applicable to the restaurant menu.
• Able to prepare a wide variety of desserts and bread items from scratch.
• May be required to train or supervise others.
• May be required to assume the role of supervisor in his or her absence.
• Responsible for inventory and cost control.
• Responsible for recipe creation and menu innovation.
• Ability to work in a team-driven environment, take direction, offer direction and assist with problem-solving.

Most new culinary school grads may meet a few of these requirements, but expect to be doing very entry-level work right out of school.

Careers for Pastry Chefs

Pastry chefs work in a diverse array of kitchen and culinary environments including: small and large standalone restaurants, bistros, hotels, convention centers, resorts and spas, cruises, casinos, and as personal chefs and even in the White House.

Keep in mind that when looking for a pastry chef job you could stumble on a few that require quite different levels of experience, such as

• Executive Pastry Chef
• Sous Chef- Pastry
• Pastry Chef

Salaries for Bakers and Pastry Chefs

Salaries in the culinary world for chefs and pastry chefs are very difficult to pinpoint. Many factors figure into the salary you could earn including:

• Type of restaurant or facility in which you may work, for example an upscale casino restaurant in Las Vegas might offer between $50,000 and $70,000 to a management level pastry chef.
• Region of the country and metro area.
• Your experience in the field and your area of expertise.
• Your reputation.
• Your education.

Anticipate average pastry chef salaries to fall between $30,000 and $50,000 * depending upon the above variables.

*source, Payscale.com