Job Purpose
Piglets Pantry is an established production bakery in the heart of West Sussex, supplying a wide range of high-quality sweet and savoury bakery products to customers and venues across the UK.
We are looking for an experienced Senior Patisserie Chef with a passion for baking and patisserie to join our pastry team and support the day-to-day running of our busy production bakery.
Our pastry team produces a wide range of cakes, muffins, brownies and high-end dessert and patisserie products. We combine volume production with hand finishing, so we are looking for someone who can bring strong technical skills, attention to detail and a passion for producing consistently high-quality products.
Working closely with the Head of Pastry, you will play an important role in supporting the pastry team, coordinating daily production and helping to maintain high standards across the department.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the Head of Pastry with the day-to-day running of the pastry department.
- Produce a range of pastries, cakes, desserts and other patisserie products to a consistently high standard.
- Maintain high standards of quality, consistency and presentation across all products.
- Bringing enthusiasm and passion to the team and working closely with Head of Pastry with the creation of new patisserie products across the team.
- Support the training and development of pastry chefs and bakers within the team, sharing knowledge and helping to develop technical skills.
- Help monitor stock and ingredient requirements, highlighting any shortages or issues.
- Support the implementation of HACCP procedures and ensure food safety and hygiene standards are consistently followed.
- Identify opportunities to improve production processes, efficiency and product quality.
- Keep up to date with pastry and baking trends and contribute ideas for new products and techniques.
Essential Skills
- Previous experience working as a Patisserie Chef, Pastry Chef or in a similar senior pastry role.
- Strong technical knowledge of pastry and patisserie production.
- Experience producing high-quality products in a busy or high-volume production environment.
- Ability to maintain quality and consistency while working to production deadlines.
- Experience of supporting, training or coaching other members of a pastry team.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise workload effectively.
- Good understanding of food safety and hygiene requirements.
- Ability to work collaboratively with the wider production team.
- Strong attention to detail and pride in the quality of your work.
- A positive, hands-on approach and the ability to lead by example.
- Passionate about patisserie with an infectious enthusiasm to deliver the best products to our clients.
Desirable Skills
- HACCP trained and ideally Food Hygiene Level 3 (although we can provide training on this)
- Experience working with specialist pastry techniques such as chocolate work, sugar work and glazing.
- Experience working in a high-volume production bakery or similar environment.
- Comfortable with different cutting-edge machinery, including laminators, depositors, sonic cutting machines, and an inquisitive mind to using new machinery to develop this section.
- Trailblazer – dynamic, excited by new ideas and willing to teach those to others.
- Communication skills must be strong both across the team and with the different departments within the business.
Pay: £32,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Free parking
Work Location: In person
