A pastry chef or pâtissier (; feminine pâtissière, ) is a station

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

in a professional

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

, skilled in the making of

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

s and other

baked Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is gradually t ...

goods. They are employed in large

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s, bistros,

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

bakeries A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

, by

caterer Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major service ...

s, and some cafés.

Duties and functions

The pastry chef is a member of the classic ''

brigade de cuisine The kitchen brigade (, ) is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, commonly referred to as "kitchen staff" in English-speaking countries. The concept was developed by Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935). Th ...

'' in a professional kitchen and is the station chef of the pastry department. Day-to-day operations can also require the pastry chef to research

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish (food), dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main r ...

concepts and develop and test new recipes. Usually, the pastry chef does all the necessary preparation of the various desserts in advance, before dinner seating begins. The actual

plating Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderab ...

of the desserts is often done by another station chef, usually the '' garde manger'', at the time of order. The pastry chef is often in charge of the dessert menu, which, besides traditional desserts, could include

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

s, specialty dessert beverages, and gourmet

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

platters. They are responsible for the creation and execution of dessert courses, as well as the menu's overall presentation. Pastry chefs must have a solid grasp of flavor profiles, baking processes, and food styling in order to create desserts that are both delicious and aesthetically pleasing. In addition to their technical abilities, pastry chefs must be able to work swiftly and effectively under pressure, as they are sometimes required to meet strict deadlines. Pastry chefs are also expected to fully understand their ingredients and the chemical reactions that occur when making fine pastries. Precise timing and temperatures are critically important. It is generally preferred to weigh the ingredients (i.e., with a kitchen scale) as opposed to measuring by volume (e.g., with a

measuring cup A measuring cup is a List of food preparation utensils, kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 millilitre, mL (approx. 2& ...

), as weighing inherently offers far more consistent baking results. In larger kitchens, the pastry chef may have a number of other chefs working in their station, each responsible for specific types of pastries: * (baker): responsible for breads, cakes, and breakfast pastries * (confectioner): responsible for candies and '' petits fours'' * (decorator): responsible for specialty cakes and show pieces * : responsible for cold and frozen desserts Job requirements * Proven experience as a pastry chef, baker, or relevant role * Great attention to detail and creativity * Organization and leadership skills * Willingness to replenish professional knowledge * Thorough knowledge of sanitation principles, food preparation and cooking techniques, and nutrition * Working knowledge of baking with ingredient limits (gluten-free, sugar-free pastries, etc.) * Certificate in Culinary Arts, Baking, Patisserie or relevant field

References

External links

Pastry Chef Education & Career Guide
{{Authority control Baking industry Culinary terminology Restaurant terminology

Duties and functions

See also

References

Further reading

External links