Overview of Employment Outlook for Pastry Chefs
Job Market Outlook July 21, 2014General Job Outlook
The job outlook for pastry chefs is obviously concentrated around being a good baker. You need to know everything about baking, and you need to have a lot of experience understanding the principles of baking different sorts of dishes involving bread. This can only be mastered through experience.
Furthermore, you have to work at a proficient speed, as required by the executive chef, and pay attention to details, so you can deliver exactly what is asked of you. Apart from your services as an assistant, you need to be able to follow new recipes and direct your collaborators towards the creation of the best meal possible, including safety and taste.
Pastry Chef Job Specifics
The job outlook for pastry chefs will include work locations like restaurant kitchens and bakeries, which compose big worldwide or nationwide chains. Of course, many pastry chefs are working in more modest places like supermarkets and shops.
Usually, as a pastry chef, you will end up working in a restaurant, and this is a noisy, busy, and tense environment, particularly, if you work weekends and holidays. You have to work quickly and sometimes in the most tiring hours – late at night or early in the morning. Most pastry products have to be made in advance.
The job offers some risk that you need to know, for the sake of your own safety, how to handle hot ovens and knives. As any other member of the kitchen, you will be responsible for the healthy, clean nature of the food that you are preparing; therefore, you will have to be mindful of the cleanliness of your working area.
The usual starting salary of a pastry chef is around $25,000, while in bigger cities it could be over $40,000. The 2010 median salary for a casino pastry chef was $47,271, but with a higher range potential of over $80,000.
Pastry Chef Job Requirements
The degrees and courses associated with the profession of pastry chefs are Baking and Pastry Chef Training, but they are not always necessary for you to work as a pastry chef in an entry-level role. The best preparation you can get is experience, so the sooner you start working in a kitchen of any sort, the better.
The more knowledge you have, the better. You must know how to mix different ingredients, and it is absolutely essential for you to be aware of how heating impacts the food. One thing that will give you an advantage to be selected as a pastry chef is the ornamentation and decoration of the food.
In order to become the lead pastry chef in a very expensive restaurant or entertainment venue, you will have to show years of experience on a resume. The American Culinary Federation is capable of providing you with a certificate that will acknowledge your excellence, but even membership with this organization does have a criteria you must meet.
This is a rewarding career for people who love to cook, travel, and embark on new adventures. If you are interested in pursuing this career field, check out the schools listed below to get started in this profession.
