Pastry Chef

Pastry Chef

Five Acres | Rockefeller Center | New York City

5 Acres is an American restaurant in the heart of Rockefeller Center, led by Chef Greg Baxtrom. We are looking for a talented, hands-on Pastry Chef to lead our pastry program with a focus on classic American desserts.

Our pastry program is rooted in familiar American favorites executed at a high level. We serve plated desserts including cobblers, sliced pies and cakes, sundaes, cookies, and other seasonal American classics. We want desserts that are recognizable, craveable, generous, and fun while still showing strong technique and attention to detail.

The Pastry Chef will lead the overall pastry program for 5 Acres, while also supporting catering and private events, seasonal Rockefeller Center activations, holiday programming, and the development of morning pastry and breakfast offerings.

We are also preparing for an exceptionally busy holiday season at Rockefeller Center. The Pastry Chef will play an important role in getting the restaurant and our seasonal programs ready for this period, including planning production, setting pars, organizing prep systems, training the team, and ensuring we can maintain quality while working at very high volume.

We are looking for someone who understands how to make classic desserts exceptional and who can build systems that allow them to be executed consistently at significant volume.

Responsibilities

• Lead the pastry and dessert program for 5 Acres.
• Develop and execute a menu centered around classic American desserts.
• Produce plated desserts, pies, cakes, cobblers, sundaes, cookies, and seasonal specialties.
• Develop morning pastry and breakfast offerings.
• Support pastry and dessert needs for catering, private events, and large-format functions.
• Develop products and menus for seasonal Rockefeller Center activations and holiday programming.
• Help prepare the pastry operation for a very busy holiday season, including production planning, pars, staffing needs, prep organization, storage, and execution at high volume.
• Create and maintain recipes, production systems, pars, plating standards, and training materials.
• Manage pastry ordering, inventory, organization, yields, and food cost.
• Maintain consistency and quality across restaurant service, events, and high-volume production.
• Train cooks and create systems that allow pastry items to be executed consistently when the Pastry Chef is not present.
• Work closely with the Culinary Director and restaurant leadership on menu development and R&D.
• Maintain excellent standards of cleanliness, organization, sanitation, and food safety.

Who We're Looking For

The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in professional pastry and baking, but we are particularly interested in someone who loves American desserts.

We are not looking for a pastry program built around overly complicated or precious desserts. We want someone excited about making the best possible version of a pie, cake, cobbler, sundae, cookie, or other American classic.

This person should be equally comfortable developing a beautiful plated dessert for the restaurant, producing hundreds of cookies for an event, creating a morning pastry program, or figuring out how to execute a holiday dessert at significant volume.

Because Rockefeller Center becomes especially busy during the holiday season, this person must be comfortable planning ahead, staying highly organized, and leading production through intense periods of volume without sacrificing quality or consistency.

The right candidate is creative but practical, highly organized, comfortable with volume, and willing to be hands-on in production. They should understand food cost, labor, yields, ordering, and the systems necessary to operate a successful pastry program.

About 5 Acres

5 Acres is a contemporary American restaurant located inside Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Our food combines Midwestern roots with New York energy, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, recognizable dishes, and warm hospitality.

Beyond the restaurant, 5 Acres participates in catering, private events, and major seasonal programming throughout Rockefeller Center. The Pastry Chef will have the opportunity to help shape desserts and baked goods across all of these areas while building a distinctly American pastry program.

Compensation: Salary ($70,000.00 - $80,000.00)

Benefits & Perks: Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Paid Time Off, Commuter Benefits, Dining Discounts

Required Skills

• Leadership
• Menu Development
• Recipe Creation
• Production Systems Management
• Inventory Management
• Organization
• Training and Mentoring
• Creativity