What’s it like to work as a pastry chef?

Pastry chefs or Pâtissiers enjoy creative freedom in their careers despite the challenges that comes with being a chef. They work with other staff within the kitchen to plan dessert menus to accompany the rest of the menu pleasantly, they also use their experience to make and test new desserts and pastries.

Job Duties of a Pastry Chef

Pastry chefs regularly work early mornings and spend some time sourcing ingredients, keeping track of supplies as well as ensuring the kitchen abides by the health and safety regulations. Pâtissiers use a range of kitchen equipment and ingredients to bake and make desserts to meet customer needs on a daily basis. They also use their scientific skills to ensure the right chemical reactions take place during the process of baking and making pastries. Pastry chefs often communicate with their customers in order to come up with suitable desserts for special occasions such as wedding cakes. There are different types of pastry chefs, some work in diverse industries such as bakeries, cafés, events and hotels, also some experienced Pâtissiers may have the role of training and supervising staff members.

Some responsibilities of a Pastry Chef

• Creating, testing and evaluating new pastry and dessert recipes. The pastry chef will often consult the executive chef to ensure the desserts are in line with all other menu items. Depending of the business, the pastry chef will also be in charge of the preparation of all baked goods including all type of breads.
• Keeping a budget for the pastry department as well as being responsible for inventory and cost control.
• Ordering food and supplies for the creation of his/her dessert menu items and for running the kitchen.
• May be required to train or supervise other kitchen workers who may be involved in the preparation of dessert items.
• Ability to work in a team-driven environment, take direction, offer direction and assist with problem solving.
• Continuously develop and research recipes to keep the dessert menu appealing to customers.

There are many skills and qualities that pastry chefs need to have in order to be skilful in their career path. They have a very good eye for detail to ensure the desserts and pastries are aesthetically pleasing for consumers and meets the brief for the occasion. What’s more pastry chefs are good at making measurements to ensure the right chemical reactions are taking place. Below, we will discuss just three of the many qualities pastry chefs possess.

• Creative
  Pastry chefs are creative individuals, they have the opportunity to make up their own decorative designs with a range of resources such as using icing or marzipan. Pâtissiers must be open to incorporating new food items into menus, and improving older recipes. Creativity and imagination will keep customers coming back. Chef Julie Walsh, Head Pâtisserie Chef at Le Cordon Bleu London advises that “whether you’re a Michelin-starred chef or a kitchen porter, you’ll never stop learning. Pastry chefs are always looking for the next inspiration to fuel their creativity.”

• Physically fit
  Pastry chefs tend to have good stamina as they stand on their feet for long hours developing recipes and preparing desserts, some typically work 12 hour days. In order to succeed at their job they keep a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.

• Patient
  Patience is a quality that pastry chefs need to possess as it takes a while to prepare and wait for the desserts to cook fully. Preparing a multi-tiered wedding cake, or a soufflé, requires patience. Becoming irritable or frustrated may cause to rush the process and compromise the integrity of the food. It is important for pastry chefs to remain calm and confident in any situation. They also have to be good at multitasking to ensure the pastries have the right tastes and textures.