Executive Pastry Chef
Experience
Executive Pastry Chef, Private Social Club, NYC
Pastry Chef, Ida Mae Kitchen and Lounge, NYC
Pastry Commis, D’Bocas Restaurant, St James, T&T
After he returned from his internship in France, Anthony became a professional Pastry Chef. Hired immediately at a Private Social Club on the Upper East Side, where he still works today, as the Executive Pastry Chef.
At the club, Chef Smith demonstrates his creativity and skilled technique with the masterful desserts he prepares for the exclusive clientele. In addition to entremets and plated desserts, he crafts a chocolate showpiece for banquet displays, accompanied by beautiful bonbons and creative confections.
Take a peek at what Chef Smith does at The Club
For a few years he held dual chef roles, also working for Ida Mae Kitchen-n-Lounge (located in the fashion district of Manhattan), where his Southern style desserts received rave reviews in The New York Times and New York Magazine.
The positive feedback was encouraging, but the best aspect of taking on the second position was that he really learned to master his time management skills.
So much so, that when Ida Mae restaurant shuttered, he felt a need to fill that extra time, and so he accepted requests for catering services for special events.
See some of his previous catering events
Then, he became Professor Smith when he added teaching to his schedule.
All of that, and Chef Smith still holds his long-term position as Executive Pastry Chef today.
FAQs
Is being a pastry chef a fun job?
Becoming a pastry chef can seem like a fun, even glamorous job in today’s world of videos, shorts, reels and toks.
It can be those things, but there is a behind the scenes part of this career that calls for a lot of hard work, discipline and patience.
Pastry kitchens can be extremely small spaces, and can get unimaginably hot when ovens and burners are on, boiling sugar.
They are dangerous places, as well, and burns are easy to come by if you aren’t extremely mindful, and keep your hands steady.
Comfort and safety risks aside, at the end of the day, you can create really beautiful, delicious things that people are overjoyed to eat!
That can feel super satisfying and is definitely fun.
What does an Executive pastry chef do?
An Executive Pastry Chef is well-skilled in all aspects of pastry and baking, and able to create recipes, plan menus, design presentations, and other creative aspects.
But at least half the job is about the management duties an Exec Chef has to fulfill – planning, organizing, scheduling, financial management and payroll, ordering, inventory, overseeing production, ensuring quality and consistency, and leading staff. At the end of the day, they are responsible for operations running smoothly – whether or not things go according to plan, which they usually don’t!