Wherever people enjoy fine dining and exquisite desserts, pastry chefs will be in demand. That said, there are some cities that offer exceptional employment opportunities for pastry chefs, especially classically trained or highly experienced applicants. While Paris open-air cafés will always be considered the home of modern pastry-making, there are many cities closer to home that offer pastry chefs the chance to hone their skills and practice their art for an admiring public.
New York
Exclusive restaurants throughout the city of New York offer employment to pastry chefs, who are responsible for designing and creating pastry confections and desserts to tempt the palates of the rich and famous. New York pastry chefs are known for their innovative methods and creative use of spice and color to produce desserts and pastries that look as good as they taste. Decadent chocolate cakes, tortes, and rich cream desserts are popular in this northern city, and New York pastry chefs are traditionally the first to try new techniques and methods in pastry-making.
Las Vegas
The demand for brilliant culinary minds might be greater in Las Vegas than any other city in the world. This is due to the fact that there are so many high end restaurants in such a relatively small area. The amount of jobs available, combined with the high average salary, makes Las Vegas one of the ideal U.S cities for someone trying to become a pastry chef. It is much easier to break into this industry here than almost any other city in the country. Someone just starting out can work their way up to the 5 star establishments via the smaller restaurants and hotel buffets. The buffets located in the high end casinos are always looking for up and coming pastry chefs who are willing to work hard and come up with new creations regularly.
San Francisco
Known for its eclectic selection of restaurants and fine dining establishments, San Francisco is off the beaten path when it comes to pastry-making. Seasonal fruits and berries, rice-based pastry dough and unique twists on old favorites are commonplace in the San Francisco culinary world. Pastry chefs in San Francisco tend toward the experimental, and the fresh, healthy ingredients available in the area help make those experiments pay off for chefs and diners alike.
Napa Valley
Home of some of the most exclusive wineries in the United States, Napa Valley pastry chefs concentrate on the sweet and savory flavors of harvest in the area. Desserts tend to include grapes or wine as an homage to the main agricultural product in the area, and brioche and crostini are common bread products created by the pastry chefs in the Napa Valley area. Bite-sized pastries are popular in the region as accompaniments to wine and cheese, and tiny tarts filled with fruit or chocolate are always a hit after dinner.
Chicago
Solid Midwestern fare predominates in the Chicago area; pies, cakes, and tortes are among the most popular offerings in fine dining restaurants. Pastry chefs in Chicago are called upon to create desserts that hold their own against the meat-and-potatoes entrées so popular in the Windy City. Delicate pie crusts with unique fillings are often touted as the house specialty, but fine dining restaurants in Chicago offer the traditional mix of light pastry concoctions and sweet desserts found in exclusive restaurants throughout the country and the world.
Atlanta
Down-home Southern cooking is to be expected in Atlanta, but the fine dining establishments in this Georgia city may surprise guests with the high quality of pastries and desserts. In recent years, Atlanta has become a culinary destination offering numerous employment opportunities for pastry chefs and exceptional restaurants in which to practice their talents. Gone are the days of shoo-fly pie and apple-pan dowdy; today, Atlanta restaurants can hold their own against fine dining establishments anywhere in the world.