Pastry Sous Chef / Senior Pastry Sous Chef – Desserts

Role Overview We are seeking technically strong, hands-on pastry chefs to join our growing multi-brand F&B portfolio, focused on the development, preparation, plating, and consistent execution of restaurant desserts. We are open to candidates across a range of experience levels. This is a restaurant-pastry role focused specifically on plated desserts and dessert development for premium casual, upper-upscale, hotel, and fine-dining-style restaurant environments. The successful candidate must understand the realities of restaurant service: structured mise en place, speed, timing, consistency, pass communication, and the ability to deliver refined desserts during high-pressure service periods. The role is not primarily for a cake-shop or bakery-production specialist. It is for a chef who can create modern, commercially viable plated desserts, develop strong flavour and texture combinations, standardise recipes, contribute to (or lead) a pastry team, and ensure every dessert leaves the pass with consistent taste, temperature, presentation, and quality. Key Responsibilities Responsibilities scale with the level of appointment. Core responsibilities apply to all candidates; items marked (Senior) carry greater independence and ownership at Senior Pastry Sous Chef level, and are supporting/contributing responsibilities for stepping-up candidates. Plated Dessert Development • Prepare, plate, and finish restaurant desserts to agreed recipes and standards across our restaurant concepts. • Contribute to the creation and testing of modern, commercially viable plated desserts for permanent menus, seasonal updates, promotions, and pre-opening launches. • (Senior) Lead dessert development - designing menus that reflect each brand concept, cuisine, guest profile, service style, price point, and operational capability, and taking recipes from concept through to approved launch. • (Senior) Own detailed recipe packs, method sheets, component lists, plating guides, allergen information, costings, and yields. • Support trials, tastings, and product reviews before recipes are approved for launch. • Ensure desserts are practical for service, executed consistently, and protect margin without compromising guest experience. Dessert Production & Technical Execution • Produce hot and cold plated desserts, composed desserts, and restaurant pastry items to standard. • Prepare and (at senior level, supervise) soufflés, mousses, crémeux, custards, creams, panna cotta, crème brûlée, cheesecakes, set desserts, tarts, choux pastry, meringues, parfaits, ice creams, sorbets, frozen desserts, and chocolate desserts. • Prepare sauces, coulis, gels, curds, fruit preparations, garnishes, chocolate elements, and decorative components. • Apply pastry techniques across chocolate work, sugar work, moulding, piping, glazing, tempering, baking, freezing, setting, and finishing (breadth and complexity scaling with experience). • Ensure all components meet expectations for flavour, texture, temperature, appearance, portion control, and consistency. • Maintain modern restaurant presentation, clean plating, garnish placement, and final-pass quality. Mise en Place & Service Execution • Prepare and maintain daily pastry mise en place, ensuring components, garnishes, sauces, frozen elements, tools, and plating equipment are ready before service. • (Senior) Plan prep according to reservations, forecasted covers, menu mix, special events, and dietary requirements. • Deliver dessert service to standard during peak periods, with speed, precision, and clear communication. • (Senior) Lead the dessert pass, coordinating with the Head Chef, Sous Chefs, CDPs, and front-of-house to manage timing and service flow. • Ensure hot desserts are served at correct temperature, frozen elements stay stable, and plated items reach the guest as intended. • Respond calmly to service changes, high-volume periods, and guest requests while protecting dessert quality. Recipe Standardisation & Quality Control • Follow and help maintain standardised recipes, portion sizes, and plating instructions to ensure consistency across every service and site. • (Senior) Standardise dessert and component recipes, preparation methods, and plating references, and keep version-controlled documentation current. • Carry out quality checks on ingredients, preparations, finished components, and plated desserts. • Monitor critical technical points (chocolate tempering, mousse setting, custard consistency, pastry texture, frozen-dessert quality, soufflé rise, bake quality, sauce consistency). • Identify quality issues, take corrective action, and ensure sub-standard products are not served. Commercial, Stock & Waste Control • Follow portioning, recipe yields, and batch quantities to control usage and wastage. • (Senior) Cost plated desserts and components accurately to meet agreed gross-profit and food-cost targets. • Handle high-value pastry ingredients (chocolate, dairy, fruit, nuts, vanilla, specialist garnishes, frozen and decorative materials) with care. • Support ordering, stock checks, receiving, and stock rotation. • (Senior) Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and improve margin without compromising quality. • Maintain accurate production, wastage, yield, and stock records. Team Leadership & Training • Work collaboratively within the pastry brigade, supporting daily prep and service deadlines. • (Senior) Supervise, coach, train, and develop pastry team members; allocate tasks and manage workflow. • (Senior) Train the team on recipes, plating standards, portion control, food safety, hygiene, and service execution, and provide constructive pass feedback. • (Senior) Support recruitment trials, onboarding, performance reviews, and progression of pastry team members. • (Senior) Take responsibility for the dessert section in the absence of the Head Pastry Chef / Executive Pastry Chef. • Contribute to a calm, clean, disciplined, and accountable pastry culture. Hygiene, Food Safety & Compliance • Maintain strict compliance with HACCP, food safety, allergen control, sanitation, labelling, date coding, temperature control, and storage standards. • Ensure correct storage, rotation, handling, and labelling of raw ingredients, work-in-progress, chilled items, frozen products, and finished desserts. • Maintain clean, safe, organised pastry workspaces, refrigeration, freezer storage, equipment, and service areas. • Use pastry equipment safely, clean thoroughly, and report maintenance needs. • Support internal audits, kitchen inspections, and corrective actions. • Maintain accurate temperature logs, production, wastage, allergen, and quality-control records. Show more