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The differences between pastry chef assistants and pastry cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a pastry chef assistant, becoming a pastry cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pastry chef assistant has an average salary of $42,896, which is higher than the $34,858 average annual salary of a pastry cook.
The top three skills for a pastry chef assistant include kitchen equipment, customer service and culinary. The most important skills for a pastry cook are culinary, cleanliness, and food handling.
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Pastry Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $42,896 | $34,858 |
| Hourly rate | $20.62 | $16.76 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 19,000 | 136,754 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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.
The Pastry Cook's responsibilities include preparing quality pastry items such as breakfast items, desserts, breads, ice creams, creams, simple syrups, amenities, and others. They are also responsible for minimizing waste and maintaining control to attain forecasted food cost.
Pastry chef assistants and pastry cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Pastry Cook | |
| Average salary | $42,896 | $34,858 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $66,000 | Between $27,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Atlantic City, NJ | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Catholic Health East | Sailfish Club of Florida |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a pastry chef assistant and a pastry cook in terms of educational background:
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Pastry Cook | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between pastry chef assistants' and pastry cooks' demographics:
| Pastry Chef Assistant | Pastry Cook | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% | Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2% |
| 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, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 22.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |