What Is a Pastry Chef?
Pastry chefs are the professionals who create the desserts we enjoy in a variety of places. They work in upscale bakeries, restaurants, hotels, private clubs and catering companies. There is even a pastry chef in the White House.
Other People Are Reading
-
Function
-
Pastry chefs create dessert menus from conception through the finished product. They meet with an establishment's owner or manager to decide what to put on the menu and then create samples before final decisions are made. Many restaurants or hotels will have signature desserts that will be carried forward from one chef to the next. Pastry chefs are also required to work with seasonally available produce and products and determine the cost of items. Fresh fruits are often featured in season and holiday-specific items are created to please diners. Special dietary needs must also be taken into consideration when it is a requirement for a particular party or event.
Types
-
Pastry chefs can be involved in all kinds of baking and desserts or specialize in baking or pastries. Baking concentrates on breads, rolls, muffins and simple cookies. Pastry focuses on cakes, pies, tarts, ice cream, sorbet, creamy desserts and all other confections. Pastries can also include candy desserts such as truffles or pulled sugar creations. Pastry chefs may specialize in regional or cultural specialties, and some are experts in French, Viennese, Italian or another world culture with an identifiable dessert tradition. A large kitchen can have an executive pastry chef with pastry chefs working for them, assistant pastry chefs, cooks and bakers. Pastry chefs may also work alone in perfecting and presenting their craft.
-
Geography
-
Pastry chefs work all over the world. They are employed in hotels, restaurants, cafes, bistros, private clubs, resorts, colleges, catering companies and museums. Experienced chefs work in test kitchens for magazines and corporate offices of large hotel or restaurant companies. They even tour the seas on cruise ships to create those fabulous dessert buffets. Prestigious or highly rated restaurants are more likely to have their own pastry chef. To move up in the ranks to larger kitchens and more senior spots, chefs often have to relocate to gain the experience they need.
Considerations
-
Culinary schools have separate courses and curriculum for individuals interested in pastry and baking. Not all pastry chefs have formal culinary school training. Some work their way up or start in other areas of the kitchen and move around. The first step in most careers is to be a baker or pastry cook working for a pastry chef or assistant pastry chef. If this job is after culinary school, it will be a time for refining skills and gaining the timing and speed needed to operate successfully in a busy kitchen where desserts are made to order. Without culinary school, bakers or pastry cooks will need more time to develop their talents before moving up. While many jobs and careers value stability, the culinary field is characterized by more frequent job changes. New skills and techniques are learned under new and different chefs; with small staffs, it is usually necessary to accept a new job to move up.
Potential
-
With the wide range of job environments, a career as a pastry chef can have a great deal of opportunity. As long as individuals have the talent, skills and willingness to keep learning, they will be a valued part of a kitchen staff. Keeping up with food trends is essential for a pastry chef because culinary styles and fashions change quickly. The job is a popular career change choice for people who like to bake at home and dazzle friends and families with great desserts. Before leaping into the kitchen, career changers should fully understand the long, often very early, hours that this field requires. A full-day class will be a good introduction to what it's like to work eight hours or more standing in a kitchen.
-
