Personal chef vs pastry cook

The differences between personal chefs 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 personal chef, becoming a pastry cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a personal chef has an average salary of $47,681, which is higher than the $34,858 average annual salary of a pastry cook.

The top three skills for a personal chef include plan menus, in-home and culinary. The most important skills for a pastry cook are culinary, cleanliness, and food handling.

Personal chef vs pastry cook overview

	Personal Chef	Pastry Cook
Yearly salary	$47,681	$34,858
Hourly rate	$22.92	$16.76
Growth rate	15%	16%
Number of jobs	30,092	136,754
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	6	4

Personal chef vs pastry cook salary

Personal chefs and pastry cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Personal Chef	Pastry Cook
Average salary	$47,681	$34,858
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $72,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Sailfish Club of Florida
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between personal chef and pastry cook education

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

	Personal Chef	Pastry Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Drexel University	Cornell University

Personal chef vs pastry cook demographics

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

	Personal Chef	Pastry Cook
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%	Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 11.1% White, 54.4% 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%

Differences between personal chef and pastry cook duties and responsibilities

Personal chef example responsibilities.

Travel and manage additional kitchens & staff at estates in Hamptons, NJ & NYC.
Cook and manage daily household functions for a large extend family in the Amagansette and NYC.
Manage the kitchens, purchase groceries, supplies and equipment; prepares invoicing, and handles receipts receivable.
Control food and payroll costs to achieve maximum profitability.
Prepare and package scratch-made, healthy meals, while consider allergies and personal taste.
Shop for client's groceries, and prepare weekly meals in the clients home while maintaining ServSafe health standards.

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.

Personal chef vs pastry cook skills

Common personal chef skills

Plan Menus, 19%
In-Home, 18%
Culinary, 16%
Food Preparation, 6%
Meal Planning, 6%
Meal Prep, 4%

Common pastry cook skills

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

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Personal Chef
Personal Chef vs Pastry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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