Pastry cook vs sous chef

The differences between pastry cooks and sous chefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a pastry cook, becoming a sous chef takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sous chef has an average salary of $48,716, which is higher than the $34,858 average annual salary of a pastry cook.

The top three skills for a pastry cook include culinary, cleanliness and food handling. The most important skills for a sous chef are culinary, food handling, and food preparation.

Pastry cook vs sous chef overview

	Pastry Cook	Sous Chef
Yearly salary	$34,858	$48,716
Hourly rate	$16.76	$23.42
Growth rate	16%	15%
Number of jobs	136,754	22,393
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 51%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	38	42
Years of experience	4	6

What does a pastry cook do?

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.

What does a sous chef do?

A sous chef is responsible for directing food preparation and general kitchen tasks with the supervision of an executive chef. A sous chef duties also include customizing healthy menus, maintaining quality check for foods, adhering to the highest sanitation procedures and standards, monitoring food and equipment supplies, suggesting new specialties, assisting customer's inquiries, and managing client's complaints. A sous chef must have excellent communication and decision-making skills, as well as updated with the current food trends to provide the best services for the customers.

Pastry cook vs sous chef salary

Pastry cooks and sous chefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pastry Cook	Sous Chef
Average salary	$34,858	$48,716
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $44,000	Between $33,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Atlantic City, NJ
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	Sailfish Club of Florida	RH
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Government

Differences between pastry cook and sous chef education

There are a few differences between a pastry cook and a sous chef in terms of educational background:

	Pastry Cook	Sous Chef
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 51%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	Drexel University

Pastry cook vs sous chef demographics

Here are the differences between pastry cooks' and sous chefs' demographics:

	Pastry Cook	Sous Chef
Average age	38	42
Gender ratio	Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 11.3% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between pastry cook and sous chef duties and responsibilities

Pastry cook example responsibilities.

Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
Clean steamers, hot @ cold line.
Serve customers ordering at the bistro.
Work in dining room during Sunday brunch and buffets serving desserts.
Engage in meetings including an annual board presentation of USDA budget.
Focuse on maintaining budget while meeting USDA and BSA nutrition requirements.

Sous chef example responsibilities.

Manage FOH duties, along with customer relations.
Train, mentore, manage and discipline lead chefs, associate chefs, prep cooks, pastry assistants and dishwashers.
Manage a staff of 45 union personnel in preparation of meals for hospital patients and cafeteria patrons for three meals daily.
Control food and payroll costs to achieve maximum profitability.
Manage people and oversee production of high-volume establishment for this upscale restaurant specializing in Mexican cuisine.
Train and manage all culinary personnel, supervise and coordinate all culinary activities, estimate food consumption and manage food cost.

Pastry cook vs sous chef skills

Common pastry cook skills

Culinary, 17%
Cleanliness, 10%
Food Handling, 10%
Quality Standards, 7%
Fine Dining, 6%
Food Safety, 6%

Common sous chef skills

Culinary, 15%
Food Handling, 8%
Food Preparation, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Service, 5%

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Pastry Cook vs Sous Chef

Updated January 8, 2025

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