Pastry Chef - Gjusta

Gjelina Group•Los Angeles, CA

29d•$75,000 - $85,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Pastry Chef is responsible for leading Gjusta's pastry program, including daily production, product quality, team leadership and development, seasonal offerings, cost controls, and the consistent execution of pastry products produced for Gjusta Bakery and Gjusta Grocer. This is a hands-on production leadership position. The Pastry Chef is expected to work alongside the pastry team in the preparation, baking, finishing, and presentation of Gjusta's pastry and dessert offerings while also providing clear direction, training, organization, and oversight of the department. The Pastry Chef is responsible for maintaining the quality and consistency of Gjusta's established pastry offerings while helping the program evolve thoughtfully through seasonality, ingredient availability, guest response, and approved new ideas. The role works collaboratively with the Executive Sous Chef, Culinary Director, Director of Operations, and Bakery leadership to ensure the pastry program remains aligned with Gjusta's culinary identity, operational goals, sourcing philosophy, production capabilities, and guest expectations. The Pastry Chef may also support collaborations, pop-ups, special events, catering programs, holidays, and other activations requiring pastry products.

Requirements

5+ years of pastry, baking, or related professional kitchen experience preferred.
Prior pastry leadership or management experience in a high-volume production environment.
Advanced understanding of professional pastry and baking techniques.
Strong hands-on production skills.
Ability to train, teach, coach, and develop pastry employees.
Strong understanding of production planning, pars, yields, recipe scaling, and portion control.
Ability to maintain consistent quality across significant production volume.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Ability to prioritize multiple production and operational needs in a fast-paced environment.
Strong problem-solving ability and attention to detail.
Ability to provide and receive clear direction.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to manage labor, ordering, inventory, waste, and food cost.
Basic Excel and/or Google Sheets proficiency.
Ability to work calmly and effectively under pressure.
Demonstrates integrity, reliability, accountability, and sound judgment.
Flexible availability including early mornings, weekends, and holidays.

Nice To Haves

Spanish/English bilingual ability preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and actively participate in the daily production of pastries, baked goods, desserts, granola, and related pastry products.
Ensure all pastry items are produced according to established recipes, techniques, portion standards, and presentation specifications.
Maintain a high standard of quality, consistency, flavor, texture, appearance, and freshness.
Organize daily production priorities and ensure the team is prepared to meet established pars and business needs.
Monitor production throughout the day and adjust quantities as necessary based on sales, demand, special orders, transfers, and operational needs.
Maintain appropriate production levels while minimizing waste and unnecessary overproduction.
Ensure proper setup, organization, cleanliness, and breakdown of all pastry work areas.
Maintain working knowledge of pastry equipment and ensure equipment is used, cleaned, and maintained properly.
Communicate equipment repairs or maintenance needs promptly to culinary and operations leadership.
Maintain the consistency, quality, and character of Gjusta's established pastry offerings.
Ensure core products are executed according to established recipes, techniques, portion standards, and presentation.
Use seasonality thoughtfully to bring variety and continued interest to the pastry program while maintaining the familiar offerings guests associate with Gjusta.
Identify opportunities for seasonal variations, limited offerings, and new products that complement the existing pastry assortment.
Work with culinary and operations leadership to evaluate the balance of classic, seasonal, and new offerings throughout the year.
Consider ingredient availability, production capacity, labor, food cost, shelf life, presentation, and guest demand when developing or adjusting products.
Maintain accurate recipes, yields, portion sizes, specifications, and production procedures.
Ensure product updates and seasonal transitions are communicated clearly to Bakery, Grocer, FOH, and other affected teams.
Contribute ideas for new products, seasonal variations, and improvements to the pastry program.
Develop and test products in collaboration with the Executive Sous Chef and Culinary Director.
Review significant menu changes, new permanent offerings, or changes to established products with the Executive Sous Chef, Culinary Director, and Director of Operations prior to implementation.
Collaborate on pricing, production feasibility, presentation, and placement when introducing new products or making meaningful changes to existing offerings.
Ensure the final pastry assortment reflects both the creative contribution of the Pastry Chef and the broader culinary and operational direction of Gjusta.
Maintain clear communication with leadership throughout the development and rollout of new or seasonal offerings.
Maintain oversight of Gjusta pastry products produced for and sold through Gjusta Grocer.
Establish and maintain quality and presentation standards for products transferred to Grocer.
Regularly review product condition, freshness, assortment, display, and presentation.
Work with Grocer and operations leadership to establish appropriate assortments and par levels.
Ensure pastry transfers are organized, timely, accurately documented, and appropriately handled.
Monitor sell-through, waste, and guest response and recommend adjustments to production or assortment when appropriate.
Provide clear guidance regarding storage, handling, display, freshness, and disposition of pastry products.
Partner with Grocer leadership to resolve recurring issues related to production, transfers, presentation, availability, or waste.
Support Gjusta collaborations, pop-ups, special events, holidays, catering programs, and other activations requiring pastry products.
Collaborate with culinary and operations leadership on the appropriate product assortment, quantities, production requirements, and presentation for each activation.
Develop special or limited products when appropriate to the concept or event.
Plan production timelines and communicate capacity, staffing, or operational needs in advance.
Ensure special projects are executed to Gjusta standards while maintaining the quality and consistency of the regular pastry program.
Assist with packaging, transport, display, setup, or execution when required by the needs of the activation.
Conduct regular quality checks throughout production and before products are distributed or displayed.
Ensure products that do not meet established standards are corrected or removed from service.
Maintain consistent standards regardless of production volume, staffing level, or sales channel.
Monitor storage, cooling, packaging, labeling, transfer, and display practices to protect product quality.
Maintain strong communication with culinary and operations leadership regarding quality concerns or recurring production issues.
Use guest feedback, sales information, and team feedback appropriately when evaluating products.
Lead by example and model Gjusta's standards, values, professionalism, work ethic, and approach to hospitality.
Build and maintain a positive, accountable, collaborative, and respectful culture within the pastry department.
Create a strong learning environment where employees understand both how products are made and why established standards matter.
Train, coach, and develop pastry employees in technique, production, organization, food safety, quality control, and efficiency.
Establish clear expectations and provide consistent feedback and follow-through.
Identify strengths, development opportunities, and employees with potential for additional responsibility or advancement.
Support the continued development of pastry leads, bakers, and other department employees.
Conduct regular performance conversations and participate in evaluations and development planning.
Address performance or behavioral concerns promptly and appropriately in partnership with culinary leadership, operations, and Human Resources.
Encourage strong communication, teamwork, curiosity, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Maintain productive relationships with Bakery, culinary, FOH, Grocer, and operations teams.
Support a culture in which departments work together toward the overall success of Gjusta rather than operating independently.
Plan and manage pastry department schedules based on production requirements, business volume, employee availability, and established labor targets.
Monitor staffing levels and make adjustments based on production and operational needs.
Control overtime and unnecessary labor expense while maintaining appropriate production coverage.
Ensure employees receive required meal and rest periods in accordance with California law and company policy.
Review employee timekeeping and communicate or correct discrepancies promptly.
Participate in recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and training pastry employees.
Maintain appropriate staffing levels and communicate hiring needs to culinary and operations leadership.
Maintain appropriate inventory levels of pastry ingredients, supplies, packaging, and department equipment.
Order pastry-related products accurately and within established budgets and purchasing procedures.
Maintain organized storage areas and proper product rotation.
Follow FIFO procedures and ensure products are properly dated, labeled, stored, and handled.
Monitor ingredient usage, yields, portioning, and waste.
Participate in inventory counts and investigate significant variances when necessary.
Maintain awareness of pastry food cost and work with culinary leadership to achieve established cost targets.
Accurately cost new and existing pastry items as required.
Evaluate production practices for opportunities to reduce waste while protecting product quality.
Ensure waste is properly tracked and recorded according to company procedures.
Maintain strong knowledge of the ingredients used throughout the pastry program.
Support Gjusta's commitment to thoughtful sourcing and traceability.
Work with culinary leadership and approved vendors to maintain appropriate quality and consistency of pastry ingredients.
Identify seasonal ingredient opportunities when appropriate.
Communicate ingredient availability or quality issues that may affect production or menu offerings.
Ensure substitutions or significant ingredient changes are reviewed and approved before implementation.
Ensure pastry production complies with all applicable food safety, sanitation, Department of Health, and company standards.
Maintain proper employee hygiene, food handling, storage, labeling, temperature control, and cleaning procedures.
Ensure pastry employees understand and consistently execute required food safety practices.
Maintain a clean, safe, and organized production environment.
Identify and immediately address unsafe conditions or practices.
Ensure chemicals, tools, and equipment are properly stored and used.
Report workplace injuries, accidents, safety concerns, or equipment hazards according to company procedures.
Ensure compliance with company policies and applicable labor laws.
Maintain accurate recipes, production information, pars, costing information, training materials, and department records.
Review relevant sales, production, labor, waste, and inventory information to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
Participate in culinary, production, and operations meetings as required.
Communicate production changes, seasonal offerings, shortages, operational concerns, and department priorities clearly to affected teams.
Coordinate with culinary and operations leadership on department priorities, staffing, equipment, product development, and operational needs.
Take ownership of assigned projects from planning through execution and communicate progress, challenges, and results.
Support special projects, collaborations, seasonal initiatives, events, menu changes, operational improvements, and other business priorities as directed by culinary or operations leadership.
Assist other culinary departments when necessary to support the overall needs of the business.
Perform other duties, responsibilities, projects, and areas of oversight as assigned based on operational and business needs.
Lead the employees assigned to the Gjusta pastry department and is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, training, and performance of the team.
Responsibilities include interviewing and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; managing schedules and labor; ensuring meal and rest periods are provided; coaching and developing employees; evaluating performance; addressing concerns; maintaining company standards; and resolving operational or personnel issues in partnership with culinary leadership, operations, and Human Resources.