Gastronomic maestro Albert Adria is a shining example of how far you can go on the pastry chef career path.

He started his career working with pastries in his older brother’s world famous restaurant, elBurri. When elBurri shut its doors, Albert went on to open a series of cutting-edge, fine dining restaurants in Barcelona.

Now, he’s considered one of the most important chefs in the culinary sphere and has been repeatedly voted the world’s best pastry chef by his peers.

In fact, he’s so dedicated to dessert as a sensual experience that he built an entire room for it. 

At his Michelin star restaurant, Tickets, after being blown away by the tasting menu, a server escorts you next door. You then enter a room that is totally different from the main dining room. Once inside, rich, vibrant colors and whimsical decorations transport you into another world. 

Now, you are ready for dessert.

What does a pastry chef do?

The bottom line is a pastry chef makes people happy. 

They’re the ones that provide that sweet and decadent treat at the end of the meal that makes you want to lick the plate clean. They’re also the people running those cute little cupcake shops with all the funky flavors or the doughnut shops with the sweety & salty combos. 

The pastry department provides pure pleasure and joy in the form of food.

In professional kitchens, this department usually operates on it’s own, while collaborating with the other parts of the kitchen on big picture ideas about the menu.

Normal duties of a pastry chef or baker include the following:

• managing the pastry section of the kitchen and collaborating with other chefs
• creating fun, new items that will engage and delight the customers
• preparing a wide range of baked goods such pies, cookies, cakes, bread and more.
• ensuring that the pastry department is following health standards and regulations
• monitoring the supply of baking ingredients and placing orders
• cleaning and maintaining all equipment related to the pastry department

What is the career path of a pastry chef?

The easiest way to start a career is to take a specific course in pastry and baking to get certified. After you receive your certification, you should seek out an apprenticeship with a local mentor or an entry level position in a bakery or pastry department of a kitchen.

These beginning jobs will give you the experience you need to be able to excel in the pastry world. You might have to work at the entry level for a while before you are able to make the step up in the career path, but pastry gives you options. 

You can work at boutique bakeries, artisan bread spots, restaurants, hotels, super markets–basically, anywhere they bake things, there’s a job for you. 

The range of environments you can work in makes it an incredibly exciting career no matter what level you are at.

After gaining many years of experience, you will be ready to move into the position of head baker or head pastry chef. There, you will take on a more managerial role in the department. 

A head pastry chef is in charge of hiring and training staff and working closely with the heads of the other kitchen departments. You are also be responsible for coming up with fresh new ideas to make the customers salivate.

Once you’ve built up your baking skills and experience enough, the opportunities are endless. You could even start your own pastry shop where you serve up sweets straight from your heart!

What skills does a pastry chef need to succeed?

Attention to detail

Without a doubt, the most important soft skill a baker or pastry chef can have is a laser-focused attention to detail. Baking is an exact science so there is no room for making mistakes and correcting them later.

If you don’t add enough baking powder to the batter, your cake will come out dense, flat and unservable. All sweets need a little salt in the mix, but add just a bit too much and the whole thing is ruined. 

When cooking on the line, you can fix many mistakes as you go but when you’re baking you have to check and double check the details from the beginning.

Patience

Traditional chefs who cook in professional kitchens might have little tricks or cheats they can use to get the food on the plate faster. Pastry chefs don’t normally have this luxury. 

A delicious cake takes a certain amount of time to cook and getting impatient won’t make the process any easier. You have to have a calm, cool demeanor if you want to make hot, tasty treats.

Creativity

Perhaps more than any other role in the kitchen, a pastry chef must have imagination. You need to be creative and playful when you are coming up with new ideas to amaze the customers and leave them smiling from ear to ear.

If you think you have the combination of skills you need to excel in the exciting world of cakes and cookies, check out Hosco’s job openings in the pastry department today!