Under the direction of a head pastry chef, assistants help create baked goods. They work at bakeries, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and other establishments that offer fresh bread, pastries, and desserts to customers. Hours can be part or full time depending on the employer’s needs. Likewise, various shifts are available, including early morning hours to get products baked before doors open. Pastry assistants are particularly busy around holidays when seasonal and specialty items are in high demand.
At the heart of this career is helping with the creation of pastries and other baked goods. Common actions include measuring ingredients, kneading dough, mixing by hand or with kitchen tools, taking items in and out of the oven, and placing goods on cooling racks.
Whether cupcakes need frosting or cream puffs require filling, pastry assistants add the special and delicious touches that make baked items look and taste wonderful. Decorating especially allows pastry assistants to use their creativity.
Attractive presentation contributes to the appeal of the product. To this end, pastry assistants may artistically arrange desserts on plates at restaurants or set up mouth-watering arrangements in display cases.
No bakery wants to run short on sugar! Pasty assistants monitor the stock of ingredients and other necessary items and place orders to restore inventory.
When new assistants come on board, experienced ones often take the lead in getting them up to speed. Actions might include demonstrating how to use equipment, showing the location of ingredients, instructing on proper procedures, and going over cleaning routines.
Pasty assistants may suggest altering recipes or testing new ones to see what results. Innovative offerings attract customers and can lead to increased sales.
People who are happy with their purchase are likely to return. Thus, pastry assistants work with customers to get orders correct and ensure quality. They may, for example, offer suggestions on how a cake could be decorated to reflect a party’s theme or on which pastries would make a good spread for a morning business meeting.
Minimal education requirements depend heavily on what the specific employer expects of a pastry assistant. For basic tasks such as mixing, measuring, kneading, and frosting, a high school diploma may be sufficient to land a position and undergo on-the-job training. Pastry assistants hired to help with recipe development, intricate decorations, and product quality often possess skills learned in culinary school. In addition to teaching students how to make various pastries, programs leading to a baking and pastry assistant certificate cover topics such as kitchen safety, sanitation, and food handling.
According to PayScale, pastry assistants earn a median yearly wage of $37,000. Workers on the low end of the pay range earn about $27,000, while the highest paid make more than $50,000.
While automation has enabled mass production of many baked goods, consumers still enjoy purchasing fresh specialty breads and pastries. Thus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts employment of bakers and similar professionals to grow 8 percent by 2026.