Pastry & Bakery Chef

About the role

The Pastry & Bakery Chef will lead all pastry and bakery operations for a luxury hotel in Lusaka, ensuring exceptional quality, creativity and cost control across restaurants, all‑day dining, banquets, lounges and room service.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee pastry and bakery production for all hotel outlets.
• Develop, execute and refresh dessert, bakery and pastry menus in line with brand standards and seasonal availability.
• Maintain consistent quality, flavour, presentation and portion control.
• Create and manage standardized recipes, technical sheets, yields and costing.
• Plan daily production to meet operational demand efficiently.
• Train, mentor and evaluate pastry, bakers and commis staff.
• Ensure strict compliance with HACCP, food safety and sanitation standards.
• Supervise purchasing, inventory, storage and handling of raw materials.
• Monitor and control food cost, labour cost, waste and productivity.
• Collaborate with Executive Chef and F&B teams on menu engineering, events and promotions.
• Drive innovation in desserts and baked goods while maintaining feasibility.
• Represent the pastry department during tastings, audits and internal meetings.

Required profile

• Professional degree or diploma in Pastry Arts, Baking or Culinary Arts; advanced certifications preferred.
• 7–10 years of professional pastry and bakery experience, including 2–3 years in a senior leadership role.
• Luxury hotel or high‑end restaurant background strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to manage large‑scale production for banquets and high‑volume outlets.
• Professional working proficiency in English.

Required skills

• Expertise in classic and modern pastries, viennoiserie and artisan breads.
• Skill in cakes, plated desserts, entremets and chocolate confectionery.
• Experience with frozen desserts such as ice‑cream and sorbet.
• Strong knowledge of large‑scale banquet production.
• Food costing, yield management and portion control.
• Handling of dietary requirements (gluten‑free, vegan, reduced sugar, allergen management).
• HACCP compliance and food safety standards.
• Inventory and purchasing management.