Challenges of a pastry Chef Being such a fast-paced industry, there is no doubt that there are challenges that will lie ahead for those who seek professions in the food service industry. This, of course, means pastry chefs are no exception. The title of a pastry chef means preparing an array of desserts including, but not limited to, cakes, tarts, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, and puff pastries. Since pastry chefs can work anywhere from a small shop in a small town to a high-end restaurant in NYC, certain expectations such as works hours may differ, but the overall asks remain the same: pastry-making.
While pastry chefs dont work with every kind of food as other food workers would, the challenges faced by pastry chefs are just as diverse as that Of all other food workers in the industry. Challenges faced by pastry chefs include competitiveness, meeting high expectations and coping with long work hours. Competition in the food industry is high, and this can be one of the biggest challenges facing pastry chefs. Creativity and imagination is a must for creating all kinds of sweets, and sometimes, other non-sweet desserts as well.
This being said, this constant need for new, aesthetically pleasing and tasty desserts, where every little detail counts, is what makes competition such a challenge for pastry chefs. This is especially true in large cities, or high end locations, where the pay is strong where there are ambitious people all around, ready to take up every opportunity possible. (BLS, 2014) Also This competitive nature of the food industry is first taught in the school environment just as entrepreneur and author of 21 books, Michael Ruhlman states “… ampling the arduous 81 week regimen the institute employs to oth educate and toughen students for the competitive, frantic environment of cooking in fine restaurants. ” While visiting of the Culinary Institute of America. The competitiveness can be often seen on television, where, whether they seek to improve their skills, or win prize money, pastry chefs are often seen competing in baking competitions. These baking competitions usually consist of bakers or pastry chefs being given certain conditions to follow in a limited amount of time to present to judges, which are usually adept pastry chefs themselves.
For instance, the conditions the pastry chefs may be given are to make a holiday treat using two different types of sugar and three different types of spices. Of course, these competitions are voluntary, but they do not stray far from the actual competitive environments pastry chefs must work in. Though the levels of competition may vary, depending on the location of work, competition is a constant challenge faced by pastry chefs. Albeit completion alone is not the only challenge pastry chefs must face. The life Of a pastry chef is anything but leisurely.
What with a areer full of competition and demand, meeting high expectations from others are yet another challenge that pasty chefs must face. The area in which people have such expectations for pastry chefs are of course, the desserts that are being made. The reason there is so much expectation for this title is because in order to have the title of pastry chef, there has to be some kind of background or education in the field. This conveys that a pastry chef has experience and is ready to deliver a pastry that is pleasing to both the eyes and taste buds.
These high expectations can come from the head astry chef or from the customers whom the food is being made for. Meeting these high expectations surely adds some pressure to the pastry chefs. This applies especially to pastry chefs working at higher-end locations where everything is finer quality. Just one minor mistake may ruin the whole plate, which in turn could cause an inconvenient situation for both the cooks of the restaurant and the customer due to the expectations not having been met.
This is a challenge that is commonly met by pastry chefs, a challenge that really defines the abilities of such pastry chef because in the end, all their ork is to meet the expectations of the people they are serving. Just as former White House Executive Pastry Chef Frederic DeShays states in an interview, “This is a people business, after all. ” This people business, however, can also be one of the most tiring as well. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges many pastry chefs must face are coping with long work hours.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, “Most chefs and head cooks work full time, including early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. Many executive chefs work 12-hour days, because they oversee the delivery of food upplies early in the day and use the afternoon to prepare special menu items. ” This applies to pastry chefs. Because there is such a large amount of prep work and baking and creating that needs to be done, the hours are often very long. Since ingredients must be prepared beforehand and food ready for the customers, preparation is the portion that takes up most time.
This usually consists of staying overnight preparing ingredients as well. Of course there is also the need to putting all the ingredients together and making sure no detail is overlooked. Also, another exhausting aspect of this hallenge is that, there aren’t really any breaks at all, and even when they re sick or injured, it is expected of a pastry chef to keep working. (Lebowitz) As a result, this can be overly exhausting and may also cause bodily pain. It goes without saying that this career requires much stamina.
This can be a very hard change to cope with for anyone entering the culinary industry. In short, working exhausting amounts of hours is a challenge that pastry chefs are bound to face. Essentially, while the career of a pastry chef may seem like a, quite literally, sweet career, it is mostly one of competition and exhaustion. The challenge of facing competitive environments is one that is nearly inevitable. The food industry thrives on competition and gives the drive to succeed.
