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Pastry chef assistant vs chef de cuisine

The differences between pastry chef assistants and chef de cuisines can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a pastry chef assistant and a chef de cuisine. Additionally, a chef de cuisine has an average salary of $51,926, which is higher than the $42,896 average annual salary of a pastry chef assistant.

The top three skills for a pastry chef assistant include kitchen equipment, customer service and culinary. The most important skills for a chef de cuisine are culinary, fine dining, and kitchen operations.

Pastry chef assistant vs chef de cuisine overview

Pastry Chef AssistantChef De Cuisine
Yearly salary$42,896$51,926
Hourly rate$20.62$24.96
Growth rate15%15%
Number of jobs19,00018,300
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 56%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

What does a pastry chef assistant do?

Typically, a pastry chef assistant provides help in the daily operations of the pastry kitchen or bakery. Assistant chefs work with the head baker and schedule and supervise kitchen staff and other pastry chefs in their day-to-day tasks. The chefs ensure the availability of all ingredients for the preparation of pastries and any other desserts. Their responsibilities involve the maintenance of food item inventory, handling safe refrigerated and non-refrigerated item storage, and rotating stock.

What does a chef de cuisine do?

A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally. Moreover, a chef de cuisine leads and empowers staff to reach the kitchen's daily goals while implementing health standards and regulations.

Pastry chef assistant vs chef de cuisine salary

Pastry chef assistants and chef de cuisines have different pay scales, as shown below.

Pastry Chef AssistantChef De Cuisine
Average salary$42,896$51,926
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $66,000Between $36,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityAtlantic City, NJUrban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyCatholic Health EastTPC Group
Best paying industryConstructionHospitality

Differences between pastry chef assistant and chef de cuisine education

There are a few differences between a pastry chef assistant and a chef de cuisine in terms of educational background:

Pastry Chef AssistantChef De Cuisine
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 56%
Most common majorCulinary ArtsCulinary Arts
Most common collegeStanford UniversityCornell University

Pastry chef assistant vs chef de cuisine demographics

Here are the differences between pastry chef assistants' and chef de cuisines' demographics:

Pastry Chef AssistantChef De Cuisine
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 55.0% Female, 45.0%Male, 89.6% Female, 10.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 51.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 11.2% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between pastry chef assistant and chef de cuisine duties and responsibilities

Pastry chef assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage plating and garnishing for all dishes.
  • Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
  • Control and prevent food waste following HACCP.
  • Review daily stock of case items to determine items to refill using date, texture and FIFO standards.
  • Do all the ordering for the bakery, help with the scheduling, do the HACCP for food safety.
  • Maintain and practice FIFO systems at all times as well as date, label, initial and rotate all necessary items.
  • Show more

Chef de cuisine example responsibilities.

  • Manage the staff to insure the consistency and quality of this Chicago style bistro.
  • Manage BOH operations for this Michelin recommend restaurant in silicon valley
  • Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
  • Train and manage kitchen personnel for both locations, supervised/coordinate all relate culinary activities; purchasing, inventory, butchering.
  • Work all stations; responsible for mise en place, quality of product, and maintaining sanitation standards.
  • Train and mentore local staff, hiring, scheduling maintain HACCP and production charts.
  • Show more

Pastry chef assistant vs chef de cuisine skills

Common pastry chef assistant skills
  • Kitchen Equipment, 18%
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Culinary, 11%
  • ServSafe, 7%
  • Meal Preparation, 5%
  • Steamers, 5%
Common chef de cuisine skills
  • Culinary, 15%
  • Fine Dining, 7%
  • Kitchen Operations, 6%
  • Food Preparation, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Quality Standards, 5%

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