Pastry Chef

Job Description

Job Description

About Castaway

Named one of Travel + Leisure's "Best Date Spots in America," Castaway has created a dining experience where every guest feels like a star. With sweeping views, a high-energy atmosphere, and a seasonally inspired menu, Castaway is one of Los Angeles' most recognizable dining destinations.

Our menu highlights premium meats from top-tier butchers, a raw bar, vegetable-focused sides, curated charcuterie, and a beverage program built for celebration. Castaway has also been recognized as one of the most romantic restaurants in Los Angeles by Thrillist, LA Weekly, Gayot, Yelp, OpenTable, and NBC.

At Castaway, our mission is simple: innovate, execute, and consistently deliver a five-star experience for our guests, our team, and our community. Specialty Restaurants Corporation values growth from within, teamwork, collaboration, accountability, and a positive work environment. We are looking for our next talented culinary leader to help elevate the guest experience.

The Opportunity

Castaway is seeking a talented, driven, and creative Pastry Chef to lead and grow our pastry and dessert program.

This is an opportunity for a chef who wants more than a production role. We are looking for someone who can bring creativity, discipline, leadership, and consistency to a high-volume, upscale restaurant with private events, weddings, special events, and everyday à la carte service.

The ideal candidate understands that great pastry is not just about sugar. It is about balance, seasonality, technique, texture, presentation, timing, and emotional impact. We want desserts that feel memorable, polished, craveable, and aligned with the Castaway brand.

This person will work closely with the Executive Chef and culinary leadership team to develop seasonal desserts, execute high-quality daily production, support large-scale events, mentor the pastry team, and maintain strong systems around prep, ordering, inventory, labor, cleanliness, and consistency.

Pay Range: $80,000 to $90,000 annually, based on experience

Full benefits package available

What You'll Do

Culinary Leadership

Lead the daily operation of the pastry department with professionalism, urgency, and attention to detail.

Create, test, and execute seasonal desserts, baked goods, composed plates, event desserts, and special menu items.

Develop desserts that are visually polished, balanced in flavor, and consistent with Castaway's upscale dining experience.

Collaborate with the Executive Chef on menu development, seasonal changes, tastings, specials, private events, holidays, and large-scale activations.

Ensure every pastry item meets standards for taste, texture, temperature, portioning, presentation, and consistency.

Maintain strong communication with savory kitchen leadership, event teams, purchasing, stewarding, and front-of-house management.

Team Development

Train, coach, and mentor pastry cooks and culinary team members.

Build clear prep lists, station expectations, production guides, recipes, and plating standards.

Hold the team accountable to quality, cleanliness, organization, timing, and professionalism.

Foster a positive, respectful, and productive work environment.

Lead by example during service, prep, events, and high-pressure moments.

Operations and Execution

Oversee daily pastry production for restaurant service, banquets, weddings, private events, and special menus.

Manage ordering, inventory, waste control, recipe costing, and product rotation.

Maintain proper pars and production levels based on business volume and event needs.

Support food cost goals through smart purchasing, accurate recipes, portion control, and waste management.

Maintain clean, organized, and efficient pastry workspaces.

Ensure compliance with all food safety, sanitation, health department, and company standards.

Partner with the culinary leadership team to improve systems, workflow, execution, and consistency.

Perform additional responsibilities as requested by the Executive Chef or culinary leadership team.

What Success Looks Like

A successful Pastry Chef at Castaway will:

Deliver consistent, polished desserts every service.

Bring fresh ideas that improve the guest experience.

Build systems that make the pastry department more organized and reliable.

Train and motivate the team instead of simply doing everything alone.

Balance creativity with execution, cost control, and operational discipline.

Support both restaurant service and high-volume events without sacrificing quality.

Represent the culinary leadership team with professionalism and pride.

What We're Looking For

Previous experience as a Pastry Chef, Pastry Sous Chef, Lead Pastry Cook, or similar leadership role.

Experience in an upscale, high-volume restaurant, hotel, resort, catering, or event-driven environment preferred.

Strong knowledge of baking, plated desserts, creams, custards, doughs, cakes, chocolate, frozen desserts, sauces, seasonal fruit, and modern pastry techniques.

Ability to create desserts that are both beautiful and operationally realistic.

Strong leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.

Ability to train, coach, and hold team members accountable.

Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, labeling, dating, and product rotation.

Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Strong sense of urgency and attention to detail.

Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events as business needs require.

Culinary degree or pastry certification preferred, but not required with equivalent experience.

Top-Notch Benefits

Competitive salary

Vacation pay

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Lifestyle Spending Account supporting expenses such as gym memberships, child care, groceries, student loans, and more

Company dining package with an allotted monthly spending amount

Variety of supplemental benefit plans

401(k) with annual employer match after 12 months

Employer match: 25% of the first 5% contribution

Employer-paid life insurance throughout employment

Paid and floating holidays for five major holidays

Education Assistance Program for hospitality-related growth

Employee Assistance Program supporting work-life balance

Management Referral Program with up to a $4,000 payout for qualifying management positions

Physical Requirements

This position requires the ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time, work in hot and cold environments, lift and carry up to 45 pounds occasionally, bend, reach, push, pull, and perform repetitive motions associated with kitchen and pastry production.

Disclaimer

The above job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position. Responsibilities may change based on business needs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recognize that people are our greatest asset. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, creed, color, religion or belief, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other classification protected by law.

Specialty Restaurants Corporation maintains a drug-free workplace. All job offers are contingent upon successfully passing a pre-employment background check.