Head chef to head pastry chef
A head chef already meets 75% of what the head pastry chef role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
35/ 100
1 How much of what a head pastry chef is expected to do is already part of a head chef’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the head pastry chef role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A head pastry chef role treats 24 of its required skills as things a head chef already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment
- estimate costs of required supplies
- food storage
- handle customer complaints
- handover the food preparation area
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A head pastry chef role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a head chef background worth leading with.
- already held monitor the use of kitchen equipment assisting and caring
- already held keep up with eating out trends information skills
- already held set prices of menu items information skills
- already held compile cooking recipes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise guests on menus for special events communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held estimate costs of required supplies information skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 24 the head pastry chef role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn create innovative desserts required
- still to learn decorate pastry for special events required
- still to learn order supplies required
- still to learn maintain personal hygiene standards required
- still to learn manage revenue required
- still to learn bake pastry for special events required
- optional, not held prepare canapés optional
- optional, not held prepare desserts optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- still to learn maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature required
- optional, not held prepare bakery products optional
- optional, not held use food cutting tools optional
- optional, not held store raw food materials optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a head pastry chef role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create innovative desserts practise this
- 02 bake pastry for special events practise this
- 03 decorate pastry for special events practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 skills that carry over
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment skill
- already held estimate costs of required supplies skill
- already held food storage knowledge
- already held handle customer complaints skill
- already held handover the food preparation area skill
- already held keep up with eating out trends skill
- already held maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage medium term objectives skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held manage stock rotation skill
- already held monitor the use of kitchen equipment skill
- already held perform procurement processes skill
- already held plan medium to long term objectives skill
- already held plan menus skill
- already held plan shifts of employees skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held set prices of menu items skill
- already held supervise food quality skill
- already held types of whisks knowledge
- already held use cooking techniques skill
- already held use culinary finishing techniques skill
- already held use reheating techniques skill
- already held advise guests on menus for special events skill
- already held assist customers skill
- already held check deliveries on receipt skill
- already held compile cooking recipes skill
- already held conduct research on food waste prevention skill
- already held create decorative food displays skill
- already held design indicators for food waste reduction skill
- already held develop food waste reduction strategies skill
- already held train employees skill
- already held train staff to reduce food waste skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held prepare bakery products optional
- optional, not held prepare canapés optional
- optional, not held prepare desserts optional
- optional, not held use food cutting tools optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- optional, not held store raw food materials optional
18 held skills the head pastry chef role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role attend to detail regarding food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role cook pastry products skill
- not needed by the target role execute chilling processes to food products skill
- not needed by the target role food waste monitoring systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role forecast future levels of business skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role identify suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role manage contract disputes skill
- not needed by the target role manage hospitality revenue skill
- not needed by the target role manage inspections of equipment skill
- not needed by the target role molecular gastronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role negotiate supplier arrangements skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flambeed dishes skill
- not needed by the target role think creatively about food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role use food preparation techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality skill
Common questions about this move
Can a head chef become a head pastry chef?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A head chef already covers 75% of what a head pastry chef is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 24 of which the head pastry chef role treats as required.
What skills does a head chef need to become a head pastry chef?
7 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is create innovative desserts.
How hard is the move from head chef to head pastry chef?
Its learning distance is 35 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.