Also called: Pâtissier, Head Pastry Chef
Creates and runs the dessert and bread program for a restaurant, hotel, or bakery.
You design the dessert menu, develop recipes, and lead a small pastry team that starts work before the savory cooks arrive. At a hotel you might make wedding cakes, breakfast pastries, and plated desserts in one day. Your creations are often the most photographed food in the restaurant.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree or certificate in baking & pastry, plus years of experience.
Ways in: 2-year college, Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Baking & Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Grouped with chefs and head cooks.
Low risk for 10 years. AI may suggest flavor pairings; creating and running a dessert program stays hands-on and creative.
Classes: Culinary arts CTE, Chemistry, Art.
Official data: O*NET occupation 35-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.