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Pastry chef assistant vs culinary chef

The differences between pastry chef assistants and culinary 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 culinary chef. Additionally, a culinary chef has an average salary of $49,417, 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 culinary chef are culinary, fine dining, and food service.

Pastry chef assistant vs culinary chef overview

Pastry Chef AssistantCulinary Chef
Yearly salary$42,896$49,417
Hourly rate$20.62$23.76
Growth rate15%15%
Number of jobs19,00020,066
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

Pastry chef assistant vs culinary chef salary

Pastry chef assistants and culinary chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

Pastry Chef AssistantCulinary Chef
Average salary$42,896$49,417
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $66,000Between $34,000 And $70,000
Highest paying CityAtlantic City, NJ-
Highest paying stateNew Jersey-
Best paying companyCatholic Health East-
Best paying industryConstruction-

Differences between pastry chef assistant and culinary chef education

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

Pastry Chef AssistantCulinary Chef
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 46%
Most common majorCulinary ArtsCulinary Arts
Most common collegeStanford UniversityBoston University

Pastry chef assistant vs culinary chef demographics

Here are the differences between pastry chef assistants' and culinary chefs' demographics:

Pastry Chef AssistantCulinary Chef
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 55.0% Female, 45.0%Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 11.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between pastry chef assistant and culinary chef 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

Culinary chef example responsibilities.

  • Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
  • Provide informative culinary instruction and product knowledge to create exceptional customer experiences.
  • Balance emerging trends and culinary creativity with cost, utilization and operational execution.
  • Develop seasonal menus focusing on classical French cuisine with consideration to customer base, product availability and cost.
  • Develop and open a USDA inspect production facility.

Pastry chef assistant vs culinary chef skills

Common pastry chef assistant skills
  • Kitchen Equipment, 18%
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Culinary, 11%
  • ServSafe, 7%
  • Meal Preparation, 5%
  • Steamers, 5%
Common culinary chef skills
  • Culinary, 30%
  • Fine Dining, 10%
  • Food Service, 8%
  • Cuisine, 7%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 6%
  • Recipe Development, 4%

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