Head Pastry Chef & Production Manager

Gourmet Basket; Sydney; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Giftd Collective is seeking a Head Pastry Chef & Production Manager to lead our Artarmon kitchen and production team. You will oversee daily pastry production, ensure orders are produced accurately and on time, and drive quality and efficiency across all products.

You are a creative pastry leader with strong business sense, ready to coach a talented team, optimize processes, and contribute to exciting new recipes and seasonal collections.

Qualifications

• Experienced pastry leader with proven production leadership.
• Extensive pastry/bakery experience in high‑volume settings.
• Strong people management and quality control abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operation of a busy pastry production kitchen.
• Create production schedules around order volumes and deadlines.
• Coordinate bakers, pastry chefs, decorators and kitchen staff.
• Work hands‑on across baking, production, decorating and finishing.
• Maintain food safety, hygiene and allergen management.
• Develop and scale new recipes for commercial production.

Skills

Pastry leadership

Production management

Cake decorating

People management

Hygiene & food safety

Education

Pastry qualification

Job description

Head Pastry Chef & Production Manager

Full-time | Artarmon, Sydney

Lead the kitchen behind some of Sydney’s sweetest celebrations

The Cupcake Factory and Daily Dough Co are proudly part of Giftd Collective—an Australian-owned group of premium gifting and dessert brands that also includes Gourmet Basket.

From our purpose-built production facility in Artarmon, we create thousands of cakes, cupcakes, doughnuts, cookies, brownies and other baked treats for celebrations, corporate events and major seasonal campaigns across Sydney.

Backed by more than 20 years in gifting and celebrations, Giftd Collective is entering an exciting new stage of growth. We’re expanding our ranges, strengthening our production capabilities and exploring new opportunities to grow.

We’re now looking for an experienced, energetic and hands‑on Head Pastry Chef & Production Manager to lead our kitchen, inspire our team and help take our products and production standards to the next level.

About the role

This is a rare opportunity to combine your creativity and pastry skills with genuine production leadership.

You’ll take ownership of the kitchen’s day‑to‑day performance, ensuring every order is produced accurately, efficiently, safely and to an exceptional standard. You’ll lead from the front—working alongside the team, solving problems and stepping into production and decorating whenever required.

You’ll also have the opportunity to influence how the kitchen operates, improve systems and standards, and collaborate on exciting new recipes, ranges and seasonal collections.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Leading the daily operation of our busy pastry production kitchen
• Creating clear production schedules around order volumes and delivery deadlines
• Coordinating bakers, pastry chefs, cake decorators and kitchen assistants
• Working hands‑on across baking, production, decorating and finishing
• Ensuring every order is completed accurately, on time and to specification
• Raising standards across product quality, consistency, presentation and portion control
• Creating a clean, organised and highly efficient kitchen environment
• Introducing effective cleaning schedules, checklists and operating procedures
• Managing rosters, workflow, productivity and labour efficiency
• Training, supporting and developing a capable, high‑performing team
• Identifying opportunities to improve equipment, processes and production capacity
• Working with our product team to develop and test new cakes, recipes, flavours and seasonal products
• Scaling recipes successfully for commercial production
• Maintaining strong food‑safety, hygiene and allergen‑management practices
• Leading the kitchen confidently through large orders and seasonal peaks

About you

You’re an experienced pastry professional who takes enormous pride in both the finished product and the way a kitchen operates.

You’re creative but commercially minded, highly organised and comfortable making decisions. You enjoy developing people, improving processes and creating an environment where everyone knows what is expected of them.

Most importantly, you’re a leader who is willing to roll up your sleeves and work alongside the team.

You will ideally bring:

• A relevant pastry, baking or commercial cookery qualification
• Extensive professional pastry or bakery experience
• Experience leading a pastry kitchen or high‑volume production team
• Strong practical skills across cakes, cupcakes, doughnuts, brownies and other baked products
• Confident cake‑decorating and finishing skills
• Experience planning and managing high‑volume production
• Strong people‑management, training and communication skills
• Excellent organisational and problem‑solving abilities
• A thorough understanding of kitchen hygiene, food safety and allergen management
• Experience developing, testing and commercially scaling new recipes
• An understanding of labour efficiency, product yields and waste reduction
• Strong attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to quality

Experience in a central production kitchen, celebration‑cake business, wholesale bakery or multi‑brand food operation would be highly regarded.

Why join Giftd Collective?

Make a visible impact

This is a role where your ideas and leadership will matter. You’ll have the opportunity to improve the kitchen’s systems, standards, quality and performance—and see the results of your work every day.

Combine creativity with leadership

Continue doing what you love while stepping into a meaningful leadership position. You’ll remain connected to the products while developing your team and helping create exciting new recipes and ranges.

Join us at an exciting time

Become part of an established Australian group with more than 20 years of experience, much‑loved brands and ambitious plans.

Ready to create what comes next?

If you’re a talented pastry leader who loves creating exceptional products, building great teams and making busy kitchens run brilliantly, this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Bring your ideas, experience and energy—and help shape the next chapter of The Cupcake Factory, Daily Dough Co and Giftd Collective.