Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between pastry chef assistants and cooking chefs 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 cooking chef. Additionally, a pastry chef assistant has an average salary of $42,896, which is higher than the $34,973 average annual salary of a cooking chef.
The top three skills for a pastry chef assistant include kitchen equipment, customer service and culinary. The most important skills for a cooking chef are food service, food handling, and kitchen equipment.
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Cooking Chef | |
| Yearly salary | $42,896 | $34,973 |
| Hourly rate | $20.62 | $16.81 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 19,000 | 136,558 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
A cooking chef oversees all people performing kitchen duties under their mandate. These professionals oversee timeliness, sanitary issues, ingredient preparation, meal preparation, and final presentations. Besides engaging in menu planning and creating recipes, a cooking chef also performs several administrative tasks from one day to another. They place supply orders, track inventory, calculate payroll, calculate costs, and handle complaints from the employee or customer. Moreover, a cooking chef trains the kitchen staff to ensure they perform their duties correctly.
Pastry chef assistants and cooking chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Cooking Chef | |
| Average salary | $42,896 | $34,973 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $66,000 | Between $24,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Atlantic City, NJ | Teaneck, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Catholic Health East | Memphis Country Club |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pastry chef assistant and a cooking chef in terms of educational background:
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Cooking Chef | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Drexel University |
Here are the differences between pastry chef assistants' and cooking chefs' demographics:
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Cooking Chef | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% | Male, 76.3% Female, 23.7% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |