An excellent pastry chef is a master magician. They can take simple ingredients and transform them into the most decadent and beautiful treats on the planet.
What abilities are needed to become a pasty chef?
First and foremost, you must possess the desire to bake. Baking in your kitchen is all fun and pretty. However, most bakeries open at 6 a.m. All of those little pastries and loaves of bread are ALREADY baked, by the man who came in at 4 a.m. to bake them. The day doesn’t end at 6a.m., when the bakery opens, either. He is now on his feet, lifting heavy pans out of the ovens. You have to be able to be on your feet for hours. Most pastry chefs work 55 hours a week or more. You really must have an intense passion for this job.
Perhaps you think you’re just going to be a pastry chef for the dinner/dessert crowd. You want to be an “independent contractor” pastry chef of sorts. This leads to the next point. Everybody needs to start somewhere, and it usually isn’t at the top.
Even if you have the opportunity to attend the best culinary institute in the world, you will still need to have on the job training. This can be done in the form of an internship, if you attend a culinary or pastry chef school. If you already work in a bakery, you are meeting this requirement.
A pastry chef is different from a baker in that the word “chef” means “boss” or “chief”. Therefore, another skill that you will need to possess is that of a manager. You will be managing those who work for you, modeling your craft and instructing them in daily tasks.
You will also be a customer liaison, filling custom orders and developing relationships. Customer service is extremely important. Every service business depends on customer loyalty as a solid foundation. Customer opinion and feedback is key to growing a successful business. You must be able to listen and handle constructive criticism, as well as accept accolades with grace.
Pastry chefs spend hours experimenting with a recipe until the ingredients come together just right. This requires a lot of knowledge when it comes to the science of ingredients. Exact measurements and formulas are often used by pastry chefs in their kitchens. As much as their profession is an art , it can become an exact science. It requires patience and skill. As previously noted, this can only be attained through culinary art education, or on-the-job training.
Being a pastry chef requires the ability to continually maintain delicate balance: the balance of science and art, and the balance of self discipline and self indulgence. Being a pastry chef is a true labor of love.