Are you a passionate Pastry Chef who loves creating exceptional desserts, developing innovative pastry menus and leading a talented culinary team? We're looking for a creative and experienced Pastry Chef to oversee pastry production, baking operations and dessert menu development across our restaurant portfolio at Parq Casino! If you have a strong background in pastry arts, food cost management, team leadership and high-volume hospitality, we want to hear from you!
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Blau & Associates oversees the Food and Beverage operations at Parq Casnio, including Honey Salt, The Victor, and D/6 Bar & Lounge.
Located in downtown Vancouver, Parq Casino is a premier hospitality and entertainment destination featuring two luxury hotels, a casino, diverse restaurants and lounges, and a 30,000-square-foot rooftop urban park. Our culinary teams deliver distinctive dining experiences that celebrate quality ingredients, creativity, innovation and exceptional guest service.
At Blau & Associates, we believe great hospitality starts with great people. Join our culinary team and contribute your passion, technical expertise and creativity to an exciting collection of restaurant and hospitality concepts.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Pastry Chef is responsible for leading pastry kitchen operations, overseeing pastry production and baking, developing creative dessert menus, managing inventory and controlling food and labour costs. This role requires a combination of advanced pastry skills, culinary creativity, operational management and strong leadership experience within a restaurant, hotel, resort, catering or high-volume hospitality environment.
The Pastry Chef will oversee the preparation and presentation of desserts, plated desserts, cakes, pastries, breads, baked goods and specialty pastry items while maintaining exceptional standards of quality, consistency, food safety and presentation.
Working closely with the Culinary Director, Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs and restaurant management teams, the Pastry Chef will lead and develop the pastry team, implement efficient production systems, manage purchasing and inventory, monitor financial performance and create innovative, seasonally inspired dessert offerings that enhance the guest experience and support business growth.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Competitive compensation and generous gratuities where applicable
- Comprehensive health, dental and vision benefits
- Flexible scheduling and work-life balance
- Paid vacation and statutory holiday pay
- Career development and internal advancement opportunities
- Associate recognition events, including our legendary Holiday Party
- Associate dining and retail discounts at Parq Vancouver and participating local businesses
- The opportunity to develop creative pastry concepts across a diverse restaurant portfolio
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Pastry Production & Baking Operations: Lead daily pastry kitchen operations, including baking, dessert preparation, pastry production planning and the preparation of cakes, tarts, cookies, breads, viennoiserie, plated desserts, chocolate work, creams, custards, doughs and other specialty pastry products as applicable to the menu.
- Dessert Menu Development: Design, develop and implement innovative dessert menus, seasonal pastries, signature desserts and contemporary pastry offerings that reflect culinary trends, guest preferences and individual restaurant concepts.
- Recipe Development & Standardization: Create and maintain standardized recipes, production sheets, preparation procedures, portion specifications and plating guides to ensure consistency, quality and efficiency.
- Pastry Presentation & Quality Control: Establish and maintain high standards for flavour, texture, appearance, portion control, plating and presentation across all pastry and dessert offerings.
- High-Volume Production Planning: Coordinate pastry production for restaurant service, catering, special events and commissary operations, ensuring production schedules meet business demands and service deadlines.
- Team Leadership & Development: Recruit, hire, train, schedule, coach and evaluate pastry cooks, bakers and other pastry team members while building a collaborative, accountable and high-performing culinary team.
- Kitchen Management: Oversee daily workflow, staffing requirements, production priorities, equipment needs and kitchen organization to ensure smooth and efficient pastry operations.
- Food Cost & Recipe Costing: Manage food costs, ingredient yields, recipe costing, portion sizes and product utilization to meet financial targets, improve margins and minimize food waste.
- Labour Cost Management: Monitor staffing levels, scheduling, labour productivity and production requirements to maintain appropriate labour costs while meeting quality and service expectations.
- Inventory & Purchasing: Oversee ordering, receiving, storage, stock rotation, inventory counts and supplier coordination to maintain appropriate product levels and ensure ingredient quality.
- Financial Reporting & Budgeting: Monitor sales, operating expenses, labour costs and financial forecasts, using budgets and profit-and-loss reports to support decision-making and business performance.
- Menu Engineering & Sales Growth: Evaluate dessert performance, identify opportunities for profitable menu offerings and collaborate with restaurant teams on promotions, seasonal features and initiatives that increase dessert sales.
- Cross-Department Collaboration: Work closely with the Culinary Director, Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, Food & Beverage management and other departments to coordinate menu launches, special events, catering requirements and operational initiatives.
- Food Safety & Sanitation: Ensure compliance with FoodSafe requirements, applicable Vancouver Coastal Health regulations and workplace safety standards, including proper food handling, allergen management, sanitation and temperature control.
- Inventory Efficiency & Waste Reduction: Implement effective production planning, batch preparation, stock rotation and portion-control practices to minimize spoilage, waste and unnecessary costs.
- Equipment & Resource Management: Monitor kitchen equipment, tools, ingredients and supplies, ensuring appropriate maintenance, safe operation and efficient resource utilization.
- Guest Experience & Product Knowledge: Maintain detailed knowledge of pastry ingredients, preparation methods and menu offerings to support accurate communication regarding dietary restrictions, food sensitivities and allergens.
- Operational Compliance: Ensure all pastry operations follow company policies, established procedures, applicable legislation and health and safety requirements.
- Perform all other duties as assigned by the Culinary Director or their designated representative.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Professional Pastry Experience: Proven experience as a Pastry Chef, Head Pastry Chef, Pastry Sous Chef or in a comparable senior pastry leadership role within a hotel, restaurant, resort, catering operation, bakery or other high-volume hospitality environment.
- Pastry Arts & Baking Expertise: Strong technical knowledge of professional baking and pastry techniques, including cakes, tarts, pastries, breads, doughs, creams, custards, chocolate, plated desserts and specialty desserts.
- Dessert Menu Development: Demonstrated ability to create innovative, visually appealing and commercially successful dessert menus, seasonal pastries and signature pastry offerings.
- Culinary Creativity: A passion for contemporary pastry arts, culinary innovation, flavour development, dessert presentation and emerging food trends.
- Leadership & Staff Management: Experience recruiting, training, supervising, scheduling and evaluating pastry cooks, bakers and culinary team members.
- Food Safety Certification: A valid FoodSafe Level 2 certificate. A Red Seal certification in Baking or Pastry, or another relevant professional culinary qualification, would be considered an asset.
- Food Costing & Menu Engineering: Strong understanding of recipe costing, food cost percentages, ingredient yields, portion control, menu profitability and product pricing.
- Financial & Business Acumen: Experience managing food and labour costs, operating budgets, inventory, purchasing, sales performance and profit-and-loss reporting.
- Kitchen Operations & Production Management: Experience managing daily pastry production, preparation schedules, stock levels, purchasing and quality-control procedures in a fast-paced kitchen.
- Administrative Skills: Proficiency in scheduling, payroll administration, ordering, inventory tracking, production planning and operational reporting.
- Organization & Time Management: Excellent organizational skills and the ability to prioritize multiple production requirements, meet deadlines and maintain consistent quality during busy service periods.
- Communication & Collaboration: Excellent spoken and written English, with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with culinary leaders, restaurant managers, suppliers and other departments. Knowledge of a second language would be an asset.
- Problem-Solving & Decision-Making: Strong analytical skills and the ability to respond effectively to changing business needs, staffing challenges and production issues.
- Food Quality & Allergen Awareness: Detailed product knowledge and the ability to manage food sensitivities, dietary requirements and allergen-related inquiries appropriately.
- Licensing Requirements: Ability to obtain and maintain the applicable Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) registration or licence, as required for the position.
- Physical Requirements: Ability to stand for extended periods, reach, bend and stoop repeatedly, and frequently lift and carry up to 44 pounds.
Apply today and become part of our culinary team. We look forward to hearing from you!
