Pastry Cook

Citarella - The Ultimate Gourmet Market; New York (NY); On-site; USD 36,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Citarella - The Ultimate Gourmet Market in New York, NY is seeking a Cake Decorator to bring gourmet pastry artistry to a fast-paced, high-volume shop. You will decorate and produce cakes, tarts, pastries, and special items, collaborating with the pastry team to ensure top quality and consistency.

The role emphasizes icing, fondant and chocolate work, precise piping, mousse cake assembly, and maintaining cleanliness and safety across shifts.

Qualifications

• Experience in layering cakes, icing, and icing cakes.
• Proficiency in preparing icing, frosting, and fillings.
• Experience in glazing cakes with fondant and chocolate.
• Skilled in piping, icing and writing on cakes professionally.
• Ability to assemble mousse cakes and customized layer cakes.
• Proficient in fondant modeling.
• Ability to temper chocolate and pipe chocolate decorations.
• Ability to safely operate kitchen equipment.

Responsibilities

• Decorates cakes, tarts, pastries, and special-order items with creativity and attention to detail.
• Assists in producing essential bakery items such as parfaits, bars, and cupcakes.
• Produces in-house products according to daily par levels as outlined in production sheets.
• Completes production and spoilage records, adjusting production quantities to ensure adequate stock.
• Prepares packages, weighs, and prices bakery products for sale, ensuring proper presentation.
• Monitors the quality of products for freshness, ensuring proper product rotation and adherence to standards.
• Arrives at the workstation on time, well-groomed, appropriately dressed, and ready to work. Attends scheduled shifts, trainings, and meetings as required.
• Supports sales growth by following best practices for prepping, storing, rotating, stocking, and merchandising products.
• Adheres to company procedures, including Weights and Measures, health and sanitation standards, and safe work practices.
• Ensures a clean and sanitary working environment, maintaining equipment in accordance with company cleanliness and safety standards.
• Performs opening, mid, and closing duties as assigned, ensuring accuracy in signage and pricing.
• Immediately reports any safety hazards or violations.
• Performs additional duties as assigned by leadership.

Skills

Cake decorating

Icing techniques

Piping

Fondant modeling

Chocolate tempering

Cake assembly

Attention to detail

Food safety

Job description

Led by dynamic owner Joe Gurrera (and his commitment to superior quality) Citarella has grown from a respected NYC fish market into a full-scale, Ultimate Gourmet Market with locations across New York City, the Hamptons, and Greenwich, Connecticut.

A family-run business, we’re driven by a passion for great food. We delight customers with the finest selection of fresh seafood, prime, dry-aged beef, chef-prepared specialties and handcrafted pastries, international cheeses, imported groceries, and more. Join our team of seasoned professionals and become a part of the fabric of the New York food scene.

Role and Responsibilities

The Cake Decorator will bring expertise in gourmet pastries, artistic flair, and creativity to produce exceptional pastries in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. With experience in cake decorating, icing techniques, and assisting with batter preparation, the Cake Decorator will play a key role in supporting daily pastry production. Working closely with the pastry team, they will contribute to the preparation and production of both large and small pastry items, ensuring consistent quality and excellence in every product.

• Decorates cakes, tarts, pastries, and special-order items with creativity and attention to detail.
• Assists in producing essential bakery items such as parfaits, bars, and cupcakes.
• Produces in-house products according to daily par levels as outlined in production sheets.
• Completes production and spoilage records, adjusting production quantities to ensure adequate stock.
• Prepares packages, weighs, and prices bakery products for sale, ensuring proper presentation.
• Monitors the quality of products for freshness, ensuring proper product rotation and adherence to standards.
• Arrives at the workstation on time, well-groomed, appropriately dressed, and ready to work. Attends scheduled shifts, trainings, and meetings as required.
• Supports sales growth by following best practices for prepping, storing, rotating, stocking, and merchandising products.
• Adheres to company procedures, including Weights and Measures, health and sanitation standards, and safe work practices.
• Ensures a clean and sanitary working environment, maintaining equipment in accordance with company cleanliness and safety standards.
• Performs opening, mid, and closing duties as assigned, ensuring accuracy in signage and pricing.
• Immediately reports any safety hazards or violations.
• Performs additional duties as assigned by leadership.

The described functions are among the essential job functions for this position but are not exhaustive of the essential functions of the job or of the tasks that an Associate may be required to perform. Associates may be assigned additional responsibilities as necessary. The employer reserves the right to revise this job description at any time and to require Associates to perform other tasks as circumstances or conditions of its business, competitive considerations, or the work environment change.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Experience in layering cakes, making icing, and icing cakes.
• Proficiency in preparing icing, frosting, and fillings.
• Experience in glazing cakes with fondant and chocolate.
• Skilled in piping, icing and writing on cakes professionally.
• Ability to assemble mousse cakes and customized layer cakes based on customer requests.
• Proficient in fondant modeling.
• Ability to temper chocolate and pipe chocolate decorations.
• Ability to safely operate kitchen equipment.

Preferred Skills

• Basic knowledge of Allergens and Non-Allergens.
• Must be ablelift25-50lbs throughout the shift.
• Must be able to report any other non-inventory issues that may arise.
• Must be able to withstand different temperatures throughout the shift. Hot and cold.
• Must be dressed for work. Uniforms will be given to fit the company dress code