The job description of a pastry chef is pretty straight forward. These chefs are skilled at making pastries, breads, baked goods, desserts, and are only responsible for this part of the menu. Most professional chefs make the decision on whether to focus on the main side of the menu, or become a master at making desserts. It is very rare to find one who is highly skilled (when compared to their peers, not your average home cook) at both of these arts. In that case the chef probably spent many years perfecting their talent after attending one of the prestigious pastry chef schools.
Pastry chefs often find employment in major five star hotels, bistros, bakeries and restaurants. A member of the classic brigade DE cuisine, the pastry chef is the station chef who oversees the pastry department in professional kitchens. Pastry chefs, just like other chefs with different specialties, have other chefs as assistants in their department. A pastry chef may also serve the role of a baker, and bakers are known as members of the pastry department in larger establishments, five star hotels and bakeries.
Day to day duties of a professional pastry chef will require the chef to research and try different recipe ideas in order to develop and test their own new original recipes. The pastry chef is normally the one who does all the preparation of planned desserts well in advance of the time when the establishment they are working for beginning seating its dinner clientele. The preparation of the desserts for serving to customers is very often done by the assistants, the Garde Manger, another station chef as the dessert orders come in. The dessert menu is planned and prepared by the pastry chef, the dessert menu often includes a listing of dessert wines or other specialty dessert drinks, traditional desserts, unique very difficult to prepare desserts and gourmet cheese platters.
There are other chefs, besides pastry chefs who specialize in working in the preparation of sweets. A chocolatier is a chef who specializes in making confectionery from chocolate. A chocolatier should not be mistaken for a chocolate maker. The main difference between the two is that a chocolate maker prepares chocolate from using cacao beans and other ingredients. A professional chocolatier studies about the history of chocolate, the most modern techniques used to cultivate and process chocolate. They understand about the chemistry of the different flavors and textures of chocolate. The chocolatier is an expert in the tempering of chocolate, dipping, decorating and molding it. They have a strong knowledge about how to create the confectionery formula for their candy by using sugary syrup, ganache and or fondant. A chocolatier has also taken classes that has helped them strengthen their knowledge in the skills of business management, production and marketing of the products they produce.
When a person who loves to prepare sweets decides that becoming a pastry chef or chocolatier is the right path for them, then they must realize that in order to become the best chef they can be they will need to get a formal education so they will be able to show prospective employers that they are very serious about their skills and have mastered their specialty. If you want to start and build your own business that specializes in sweets then contact school of culinary arts and discuss the possibilities for formal education and training.