Head Pastry Chef I Modern, Luxury Hospitality

Extraordinary Solutions; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

A luxury hospitality group based in Cape Town seeks a Head Pastry Chef to lead their bakery production across multiple restaurants and bars. This senior role involves overseeing bread and pastry production, alongside mentoring the pastry team. Candidates should have a minimum of 5 years in fine dining or high-end production environments, with proven skills in running a pastry department at scale. The ideal candidate will bring exceptional technical knowledge and a commitment to excellence in baked goods.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in fine dining, luxury hospitality or high-end production environments.
• Experience running a bakery or pastry department at scale.
• Strong foundation in bread, laminated doughs, and plated desserts.

Responsibilities

• Oversee central bakery operations across all outlets.
• Train and develop the pastry brigade.
• Execute À La Carte services and collaborate on menu developments.

Skills

Fine dining experience

Running a bakery department

Technical foundation in pastry

Mentoring junior chefs

Food cost management

Job description

Head Pastry Chef
Luxury Hospitality Group | Cape Town

Join the Future of Modern Hospitality

We’re not hiring bakers — we’re building a pastry division.

Our collection of award-winning restaurants and bars is expanding, and we are looking for a Head Pastry Chef to lead central bakery production across the group. This is a senior leadership role for a disciplined, creative and commercially aware pastry professional who understands scale, structure and standards.

This is not a boutique, single-outlet position. You will oversee bakery production that supports multiple restaurants and bars, ensuring consistency, excellence and efficiency across the portfolio.

The Role

This is a production-led leadership role:

• 70% Production – Central bakery operations across all outlets
• 20% Training & Team Development – Building and mentoring the pastry brigade
• 10% À La Carte – Select service execution and menu collaboration

You will be responsible for breads, viennoiserie, desserts, pastry components and specialty bakery items across the group. Precision, systems and consistency at scale are non-negotiable.

Who You Are

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in fine dining, luxury hospitality or high-end production environments
• Proven experience running a bakery or pastry department at scale
• Strong technical foundation in bread, laminated doughs, plated desserts and batch production
• Detail-obsessed and process-driven
• Calm under pressure with the ability to manage multiple outlets
• A natural mentor who elevates junior chefs through structured training
• Commercially aware — you understand food cost, yield and waste control

You are as comfortable building SOPs and training manuals as you are tempering chocolate or managing fermentation schedules.