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The differences between pastry chefs and pastry chef assistants 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 pastry chef assistant. Additionally, a pastry chef has an average salary of $44,879, which is higher than the $42,896 average annual salary of a pastry chef assistant.
The top three skills for a pastry chef include culinary, food handling and customer service. The most important skills for a pastry chef assistant are kitchen equipment, customer service, and culinary.
| Pastry Chef | Pastry Chef Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $44,879 | $42,896 |
| Hourly rate | $21.58 | $20.62 |
| Growth rate | 15% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 18,844 | 19,000 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| 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.
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.
Pastry chefs and pastry chef assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pastry Chef | Pastry Chef Assistant | |
| Average salary | $44,879 | $42,896 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $78,000 | Between $27,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Atlantic City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | The Culinary Institute of America | Catholic Health East |
| Best paying industry | Media | Construction |
There are a few differences between a pastry chef and a pastry chef assistant in terms of educational background:
| Pastry Chef | Pastry Chef Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | Drexel University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between pastry chefs' and pastry chef assistants' demographics:
| Pastry Chef | Pastry Chef Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3% | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% |
| 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, 10.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 51.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |