Head pastry chef to head chef
A head pastry chef already meets 76% of what the head chef role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
34.5/ 100
1 How much of what a head chef is expected to do is already part of a head pastry 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 chef role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A head chef role treats 27 of its required skills as things a head pastry chef already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist customers
- compile cooking recipes
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- develop food waste reduction strategies
- ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment
- estimate costs of required supplies
What stands in the way is 5 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 chef role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a head pastry 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 compile cooking recipes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held set prices of menu items information skills
- 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 27 the head chef role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 8 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 use food preparation techniques required
- still to learn use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality required
- optional, not held cook pastry products optional
- optional, not held prepare flambeed dishes optional
- still to learn control of expenses required
- optional, not held forecast future levels of business optional
- optional, not held manage inspections of equipment optional
- still to learn manage hospitality revenue required
- optional, not held identify suppliers optional
- still to learn food waste monitoring systems required
- optional, not held think creatively about food and beverages optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held negotiate supplier arrangements optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
- optional, not held attend to detail regarding food and beverages optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a head chef role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 food waste monitoring systems study this
- 02 use food preparation techniques practise this
- 03 use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality 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 assist customers skill
- already held compile cooking recipes skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held develop food waste reduction strategies 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 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 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 train employees skill
- already held train staff to reduce food waste 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 check deliveries on receipt 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 manage medium term objectives skill
- already held plan medium to long term objectives skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
- optional, not held execute chilling processes to food products optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held attend to detail regarding food and beverages optional
- optional, not held cook pastry products optional
- optional, not held execute chilling processes to food products optional
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
- optional, not held prepare flambeed dishes optional
- optional, not held think creatively about food and beverages optional
- optional, not held forecast future levels of business optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
- optional, not held identify suppliers optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held manage inspections of equipment optional
- optional, not held negotiate supplier arrangements optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
13 held skills the head chef role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role bake pastry for special events skill
- not needed by the target role create innovative desserts skill
- not needed by the target role decorate pastry for special events skill
- not needed by the target role handle surveillance equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature skill
- not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- not needed by the target role manage revenue skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role prepare bakery products skill
- not needed by the target role prepare canapés skill
- not needed by the target role prepare desserts skill
- not needed by the target role store raw food materials skill
- not needed by the target role use food cutting tools skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn food waste monitoring systems required
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
Other moves recorded from head pastry chef
Common questions about this move
Can a head pastry chef become a head chef?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A head pastry chef already covers 76% of what a head chef is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 27 of which the head chef role treats as required.
What skills does a head pastry chef need to become a head chef?
5 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is food waste monitoring systems.
How hard is the move from head pastry chef to head chef?
Its learning distance is 34.5 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.