Executive Pastry Chef

Raffles Dubai We invite you to join the world of luxury hospitality at Raffles Dubai as our new Executive Pastry Che f. You are responsible for the overall Pastry leadership, operational performance, financial management, and quality standards of the hotel's Pastry, Bakery, Chocolate, Confectionery, and Dessert operations. The role leads the development of exceptional pastry experiences across restaurants, afternoon tea, banquets events, weddings, IRD, VIP amenities, and seasonal celebrations, while ensuring consistency with the hotel's luxury positioning, brand standards, and commercial objectives. KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES Quality Standards, Culinary Direction & Product Innovation Ensure consistency and highest quality in food taste, temperature and presentation Ensure the quality and cleanliness of all food displays with maximum creativity Establish the overall pastry and bakery vision and culinary direction for the hotel. Develop innovative and distinctive pastries, desserts, cakes, chocolates, confectionery, breads, viennoiserie, and plated desserts. Create signature products that reflect the hotel's luxury identity and culinary positioning. Lead seasonal menu development, afternoon tea concepts, festive collections, and special culinary promotions. Develop bespoke products and presentations for VIP guests, weddings, private events, and special occasions. Maintain a balance between classical techniques, contemporary trends, local influences, and operational practicality. Conduct regular product tastings, menu reviews, benchmarking, and innovation sessions. Ensure all products meet defined standards for taste, texture, presentation, portioning, and consistency. Operations Direct the daily operation of all pastry and bakery production areas. Develop production plans based on occupancy, forecast, outlet requirements, events, and business levels. Maintain appropriate par levels and ensure timely supply to all hotel outlets. Check all set-ups for restaurant and banquet functions. Responsible for the correct timing during service and that food served is always of the highest standards Coordinate all Restaurant / Banquet / food production, and all specific duties to chefs and other staff under his/her supervision Monitor and implement portion control established with the recipe cards and the butcher test; minimize waste and spoilage Establish and maintain standardized recipes, specifications, production procedures, and presentation standards. Ensure pastry displays, afternoon tea, buffets, plated desserts, amenities, and event products reflect five-star luxury standards. Maintain readiness for LQA, brand, internal, and external quality assessments, where applicable. Monitor guest feedback and implement improvements that enhance the overall pastry experience. Ensure seamless coordination with restaurants, banquets, room service, events, stewarding, stores, purchasing, and other culinary departments. Ensure effective communication among the kitchens and with other departments. Work closely with receiving and storeroom to ensure received goods meet Hotel’s quality standards specifications Supervise food tasting sessions and guide chefs for new menu implementation Attend meetings with Executive Chef to discuss future business strategy and review ongoing action plan progress, and other departmental meetings as required Update menu recipe cards and menu planning for promotions Training/ Development Conduct staff training and on-the-job training on kitchen skills and new menu items Lead, motivate, coach, and develop the pastry and bakery team. Establish clear performance standards, responsibilities, and accountability. Manage staffing requirements, production schedules, and departmental organization. Conduct regular briefings, training, demonstrations, performance reviews, and development discussions. Identify high-potential talent and establish succession and career-development plans. Build a culture of creativity, discipline, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement. Support recruitment, onboarding, and retention of pastry talent. Encourage participation in competitions, masterclasses, supplier demonstrations, and professional development opportunities. Guide employee orientation for new hires Ensure staff adhere to hotel regulations re: fire, safety and emergency procedures Financial, Commercial & Resource Management Own the pastry department's food-cost performance and contribute to overall culinary financial targets. Maintain accurate recipe costing, yields, portion control, and theoretical food-cost calculations. Monitor actual versus theoretical food cost and investigate variances. Control inventory, purchasing, production quantities, waste, and high-value ingredient usage. Develop commercially viable products without compromising luxury standards. Participate in menu pricing and profitability reviews. Prepare annual operating CAPEX planning. Evaluate new equipment and t

What will you bring to this role?  QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE Minimum 8 years experience in an International Class Hotel with at least 2 years experience in a similar capacity Diploma or degree in Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or equivalent professional qualification. Minimum 10 years of progressive pastry experience, preferably within luxury five-star hotels or high-end restaurants. Previous experience as Executive Pastry Chef, Executive Sous Pastry Chef, or equivalent senior leadership position. Proven experience managing multicultural pastry and bakery teams. Strong expertise in French and international pastry, bakery, chocolate, confectionery, viennoiserie, and plated desserts. Strong understanding of luxury hospitality standards and guest experience. Demonstrated experience in food costing, budgeting, inventory control, menu development, and commercial management. Strong knowledge of HACCP, food safety, and allergen management. Experience with LQA, or equivalent luxury hospitality quality standards is highly desirable. Embrace the Raffles brand promise and luxury in your role and in all your interactions.  Foster an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued and respected  Create an environment where colleagues are empowered, supported and recognized  Drive top performance to achieve exceptional results  CULINARY & QUALIFICATIONS Luxury quality audit performance Guest satisfaction and feedback Product consistency and presentation Menu innovation and signature-product development Afternoon tea and pastry experience standards Solid Culinary Knowledge Culinary Related Certificates Apprenticeship or any other culinary certificate/diploma an advantage FINANCIAL & COMMERCIAL Food-cost performance Waste percentage Inventory variance Product profitability Purchasing efficiency OPERATION Production efficiency Outlet and banquet satisfaction Par-stock accuracy Food safety compliance Equipment efficiency   PEOPLE Employee engagement and retention Training completion Internal promotions Succession planning Team productivity SUSTAINABILITY Food-waste reduction Responsible ingredient utilization Sustainable sourcing Energy and resource efficiency PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES Physically fit Oral and written fluency in English Knowledge of other languages and basic understanding of local language preferred  Must have strong culinary experience (international preferred)   Excellent leadership & supervisory skills with a “hands-on” approach Positive attitude and high energy level Motivator , displays initiative & creativity Team player and team builder Flexible & adaptable to different working locations Finance knowledge