Overview of Pastry Chef Job Description

---

The Early Riser

Waking up before the crack of dawn may not be everybody’s ideal for starting the day, but for the pastry chef, those hours are ideal. By noon, the bulk of the work is finished. The pastry chef has been up for hours; mixing batter, kneading dough or boiling sugar mixes into candies. The aroma of freshly baked items fills the air, stimulating appetites and drawing in customers who suddenly want a bite to eat to go with their coffee. In the windows of the bakeries, restaurants and bistros are beautifully decorated cakes, a variety of pastry items, pies, cookies and candies.

The pastry chef job description not only calls for a person who is willing to rise early, but one who is physically fit. The pastry chef must be able to move around heavy bags of flour, sugar and other bulk ingredients. The mixing bowls are much larger than in a home kitchen, and much of the mechanical equipment is large and heavy.

A Taste of the Divine

Making desserts is fun. Anybody who has spent time in the home kitchen has a favorite cake recipe, a chocolate brownie or a fruit pie they can whip together for a family dinner or a community potluck. Making perfect desserts with smooth creamy fillings, firm egg-white toppings or lighter-than-air breads is challenging. Pastry making is a science that involves exact temperatures, specific techniques for folding, mixing and blending ingredients, and precise measurements.

The pastry chef job description may sometimes be for a specialized area of dessert making or as the chef of the desserts station. The baker may be a specialized chef, overseeing his or her own crew, as is a chocolatier who learns the extremely fine arts of cultivating and processing chocolate. Five star restaurants and hotels often have several specialized chefs, as do bistros and bakeries.

The professional pastry chef is knowledgeable in all of the dessert stations. In many establishments, the pastry chef is also the baker and the role is to add as much variety to the dessert menu as possible. The pastry chef is expected to explore new recipes and deliver exciting new dessert dishes. The pastry chef may also be responsible for the selection of wines that will compliment the savory dishes, cocktails, juices and mixed drinks.

Responsibilities of a Pastry Chef

In restaurants, the pastry chef’s job description is similar to the executive chef as the two work closely together. The chef consults with the pastry chef for new menu items that will compliment main courses with desserts. The pastry chef prepares and submits the dessert budget, orders food and supplies, and trains and supervises others who work in the dessert station. Some pastry chefs, however, use the management skills they learned to open their own bakery or confection shop.

Pastry chefs on cruise ships learn how to work within teams very well. Each person hired to work on cruise ships must exhibit good hospitality skills and be able to cooperate with others.

Pastry chefs for cruise ships must use excellent planning in developing a dessert menu that includes exact quantities in foods and supplies, and a careful eye for measurements, down to the size of the portions to put on a plate. Cruise chefs must be consistent in their quality and their timing. They must appear professional at all times, but friendly. The cruise chefs are expected to circulate among their guests and settle any issues with their services.

Pastry chefs are hard workers. Their day starts very early in the morning, with responsibilities that can last well through the day, but it’s an enjoyable occupation. Pastry chefs carry around their own little secrets for divine recipes, that small, extra ingredient or special technique. Their knowledge comes from an observation of textures, chemical reactions and artistic design. For a pastry chef, it isn’t just a job, it’s an artistic skill that’s hard to duplicate.