Sushi chef vs pastry cook

The differences between sushi 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 sushi chef, becoming a pastry cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sushi chef has an average salary of $42,969, which is higher than the $34,858 average annual salary of a pastry cook.

The top three skills for a sushi chef include quality standards, cleanliness and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a pastry cook are culinary, cleanliness, and food handling.

Sushi chef vs pastry cook overview

	Sushi Chef	Pastry Cook
Yearly salary	$42,969	$34,858
Hourly rate	$20.66	$16.76
Growth rate	15%	16%
Number of jobs	17,846	136,754
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	6	4

What does a sushi chef do?

Sushi Chefs mainly work in restaurants, cafes, country clubs, pubs, five-star hotels, grocery shops, etc. A sushi Chef uses various fish-slicing and sushi rolling methods to prepare a huge amount of sushi dishes as per the choice of clients.

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.

Sushi chef vs pastry cook salary

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

	Sushi Chef	Pastry Cook
Average salary	$42,969	$34,858
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $68,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Bridgewater, NJ	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	Sailfish Club of Florida	Sailfish Club of Florida
Best paying industry	Construction	Hospitality

Differences between sushi chef and pastry cook education

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

	Sushi Chef	Pastry Cook
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Drexel University	Cornell University

Sushi chef vs pastry cook demographics

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

	Sushi Chef	Pastry Cook
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8%	Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 26.6% White, 40.1% 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 sushi chef and pastry cook duties and responsibilities

Sushi chef example responsibilities.

Skil at managing kitchen operations and complying with culinary standards.
Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Restock the buffet with the different items as they run low.
Develop variety of menu items catering to customers with food allergies and diet restrictions.
Gain knowledge of all nigiri's, popular rolls, and creation of special rolls.
Mass produce specific sushi rolls as well as specially order individual rolls, hands rolls and sashimi cuts.

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.

Sushi chef vs pastry cook skills

Common sushi chef skills

Quality Standards, 15%
Cleanliness, 14%
Kitchen Equipment, 12%
Food Handling, 10%
Culinary, 8%
Food Storage, 8%

Common pastry cook skills

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

Sushi Chef vs. similar jobs

Sushi Chef related careers

Sushi Chef related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Sushi Chef
Sushi Chef vs Pastry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse food preparation and restaurant jobs