Pastry / Bakery Chef

About the role

The First Group Hospitality, a Dubai-headquartered hospitality management company, is hiring a Pastry / Bakery Chef in Abu Dhabi. The chef leads the preparation, production, presentation and quality of all pastry and bakery products in an exclusive luxury destination, overseeing daily operations, the team, costs and stock, and ensuring the highest standards of taste, quality, freshness, presentation, hygiene and service.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage daily pastry and bakery operations, planning production around menus, service needs, private functions, events and special occasions.
• Create, develop, test and standardize pastry, bakery, dessert, chocolate, confectionery and specialty products, including breads, viennoiserie, cakes, pastries and plated sweets.
• Ensure consistency in recipes, flavour, texture, portion size, quality and presentation, and adapt products to special dietary needs, allergies and bespoke requests.
• Train, supervise and develop team members, prepare schedules and production plans, and run briefings, tastings, demonstrations and quality reviews.
• Control quality, freshness, storage and shelf life of ingredients and finished products, and ensure correct weighing, mixing, proofing, baking, chilling, decorating and storage.
• Manage ingredient requisitions, stock levels, inventory, supplier quality and stock rotation, and assist with recipe costing, menu pricing, food-cost control, waste reduction and production forecasting.
• Maintain a clean, organized workspace, comply with food safety, hygiene, sanitation, health, fire and workplace safety requirements, and inspect equipment.
• Coordinate with the Executive Chef, Kitchen, F&B, Stores, Stewarding, Maintenance and Finance, support private functions and events, keep accurate records, and maintain confidentiality.

Required profile

• Culinary or pastry qualification, diploma, degree or recognized professional training.
• Previous experience as a Pastry Chef, Bakery Chef, Pastry Sous Chef or in a similar leadership role.
• Proven experience supervising, training and developing a pastry or bakery team.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, public holidays and special events.
• Fluency in English preferred; additional languages are an advantage.

Required skills

• Strong technical knowledge of pastry, bakery, dessert, chocolate, confectionery and bread production.
• Recipe development, product costing, menu planning and quality control.
• Food safety, hygiene, allergen management, stock control, purchasing and waste reduction.
• Leadership, communication, organization and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in kitchen-management systems and Microsoft Office or comparable systems is an advantage.