Executive Pastry Chef

EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF

Global Gourmet Catering | San Francisco, California
International Executive Search | Full-Time, On-Site

Salary: $150,000-$200,000 annually
Bonus Opportunity Available
Relocation Assistance May Be Available for Exceptional Candidates
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
A Rare Opportunity to Lead Pastry at Scale

Global Gourmet Catering, part of Avatar Foods International, is seeking an accomplished Executive Pastry Chef to lead and elevate our pastry, bakery, and dessert programs across one of Northern California's premier luxury catering and hospitality organizations.

Based in San Francisco, we create exceptional culinary experiences for world-renowned companies, prestigious cultural institutions, private clientele, luxury weddings, major entertainment events, corporate celebrations, conferences, and VIP gatherings throughout the Bay Area.

This executive leadership role offers the opportunity to shape the creative vision of a sophisticated pastry department while overseeing large-scale production, innovation, operations, and team development.

We are looking for an experienced pastry leader who combines exceptional technical skill, refined creativity, strong business acumen, and proven leadership capabilities. The ideal candidate will be equally comfortable designing an extraordinary plated dessert for an intimate VIP dinner and leading the flawless execution of premium events serving thousands of guests.
Key Responsibilities
Culinary Leadership & Innovation

• Lead the creative direction of all pastry, bakery, and dessert programs.
• Develop seasonal menus and innovative dessert concepts for luxury catering, weddings, galas, corporate events, cultural institutions, and VIP experiences.
• Design signature plated desserts, entremets, petit fours, dessert displays, specialty pastries, and interactive dessert experiences.
• Showcase premium ingredients, seasonal produce, sustainable sourcing, and global flavor influences.
• Drive research and development of new products, techniques, presentations, and guest experiences.
• Collaborate closely with culinary, sales, event design, and operations teams to create custom client solutions.

Pastry & Bakery Operations

• Oversee pastry production for events ranging from intimate gatherings to large-scale functions serving thousands of guests.
• Develop scalable recipes and production systems that maintain consistency, quality, and profitability.
• Ensure excellence across all production stages, including preparation, transportation, staging, finishing, and service.
• Manage multiple simultaneous events while maintaining exceptional standards.
• Create efficient workflows, production schedules, quality controls, and execution plans.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, mentor, develop, and lead pastry and bakery team members.
• Establish training programs, operational standards, and performance expectations.
• Build a positive, collaborative, and high-performance culinary culture.
• Develop future pastry leaders through coaching and professional development initiatives.
• Ensure consistency through standardized recipes, procedures, and quality-control systems.

Financial & Operational Management

• Manage food cost, labor planning, purchasing, inventory, waste reduction, and departmental budgets.
• Develop recipe costing, production forecasts, labor plans, and operational reporting.
• Improve departmental efficiency while preserving the highest quality standards.
• Maintain strong vendor relationships and evaluate premium ingredients and equipment.

Food Safety & Compliance

• Maintain rigorous food safety, sanitation, allergen management, and quality-assurance standards.
• Ensure compliance with California and San Francisco food safety regulations.
• Oversee product labeling, storage, transportation, shelf-life management, and traceability systems.
• Maintain a safe, organized, and professional production environment.

Strategic Collaboration

• Partner with executive culinary leadership, operations, sales, event production teams, and company executives.
• Participate in client tastings, menu presentations, special projects, and chef collaborations.
• Support innovative hospitality experiences, branded activations, and signature culinary programs.
• Represent Global Gourmet professionally at client meetings, tastings, and industry events.

Required Pastry Expertise

Candidates should demonstrate advanced knowledge and hands-on experience in several of the following areas:

• Classical French pastry and contemporary pâtisserie
• Fine-dining plated desserts
• Chocolate and confectionery production
• Entremets, mousses, custards, creams, specialty cakes, and glazes
• Viennoiserie, croissants, brioche, laminated doughs, and enriched breads
• Artisan breads and specialty baking
• Gelato, sorbet, ice cream, semifreddo, and frozen desserts
• Wedding cakes and custom celebration desserts
• Petit fours, mignardises, miniature desserts, and banquet pastry production
• Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and specialty dietary desserts
• Contemporary pastry techniques and presentation
• High-volume catering, banquet, and hospitality production

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of progressive professional pastry experience in luxury hospitality, fine dining, luxury catering, premium hotels, resorts, or similar environments.
• Minimum 5 years of pastry leadership experience.
• At least 3 years in a senior leadership role such as Executive Pastry Chef, Corporate Pastry Chef, Head Pastry Chef, or similar position.
• Demonstrated mastery of pastry, baking, dessert production, and culinary innovation.
• Proven ability to lead pastry teams and manage large-scale production operations.
• Experience with luxury events, banquet production, high-volume hospitality, or multi-outlet culinary operations.
• Strong understanding of recipe costing, budgeting, labor planning, inventory management, and financial performance.
• Exceptional organizational, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and allergen management.
• Ability to work on-site in San Francisco and support hospitality-driven scheduling requirements.
• Outstanding professional portfolio demonstrating pastry craftsmanship and creativity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Michelin-starred restaurant experience.
• Experience within Forbes Five-Star hotels, luxury resorts, or internationally recognized culinary organizations.
• 15+ years of progressive pastry experience.
• International culinary training or leadership experience.
• Advanced French pastry training.
• Experience leading high-volume banquet, convention, catering, or luxury event operations.
• Background developing pastry programs from concept to successful launch.
• Professional awards, competitions, published work, or industry recognition.
• Experience collaborating with internationally recognized chefs and culinary brands.
• Advanced expertise in chocolate, sugar artistry, luxury cakes, or decorative showpieces.
• Knowledge of Northern California seasonality and farm-driven culinary practices.
• Experience with specialty dietary and allergen-sensitive pastry programs.

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate is an accomplished and disciplined pastry professional who combines the technical foundation of a classical pastry chef with the creativity of a modern culinary innovator and the leadership capabilities of an experienced executive.

They are passionate about exceptional hospitality, committed to developing people, energized by operational excellence, and motivated by the opportunity to build something extraordinary.

They understand that great desserts must be more than visually impressive. They must be memorable, delicious, operationally executable, and consistently exceptional.
Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary of $150,000-$200,000 annually, based on qualifications and experience
• Performance-based bonus opportunity
• Medical and employee benefit programs
• Paid time off in accordance with company policy
• Relocation assistance may be available for qualified candidates
• Professional development opportunities
• Executive leadership role with significant creative influence
• Opportunity to shape the pastry vision of a premier luxury hospitality organization

International Candidates Welcome

We welcome applications from accomplished pastry professionals throughout the United States and internationally.

Candidates with distinguished experience in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and other leading culinary markets are encouraged to apply.

Employment in the United States is subject to applicable work authorization requirements. Immigration sponsorship may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, subject to legal review and company approval.