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The differences between pastry chefs 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 and a chef de cuisine. Additionally, a chef de cuisine has an average salary of $51,926, which is higher than the $44,879 average annual salary of a pastry chef.
The top three skills for a pastry chef include culinary, food handling and customer service. The most important skills for a chef de cuisine are culinary, fine dining, and kitchen operations.
| Pastry Chef | Chef De Cuisine | |
| Yearly salary | $44,879 | $51,926 |
| Hourly rate | $21.58 | $24.96 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 18,844 | 18,300 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Pastry chefs are culinary artists specializing in the creation of desserts, bread, and sweets. They order supplies and ingredients for the restaurant, aside from creating, decorating, and presenting pastries. They are in charge of recruiting employees to aid in pastry goods production and other enterprise aspects. The skills required for this job are attention to detail, experience as a baker or any relevant role, knowledge about sanitation principles, creativity, and leadership skills.
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 chefs and chef de cuisines have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pastry Chef | Chef De Cuisine | |
| Average salary | $44,879 | $51,926 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $78,000 | Between $36,000 And $74,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | The Culinary Institute of America | TPC Group |
| Best paying industry | Media | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a pastry chef and a chef de cuisine in terms of educational background:
| Pastry Chef | Chef De Cuisine | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Drexel University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between pastry chefs' and chef de cuisines' demographics:
| Pastry Chef | Chef De Cuisine | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3% | Male, 89.6% Female, 10.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 10.7% White, 54.7% 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |