Head Pastry Chef / Bakery Manager

About us

We started elaichi co. to share our South Asian heritage through warm hospitality and a really, really good cup of chai. Our spaces are built around the idea of treating everyone who walks through the door like an honored guest, or “mehmaan” as we say back home. We are growing, and we need someone to help us make the pastry program just as memorable as the drinks.

The role

We are looking for a Head Pastry Chef to run our small commissary bakery in Emeryville. This kitchen is where all the food happens for our cafe locations and wholesale partners. You’ll run the show here, from dreaming up new recipes to making sure the daily bake goes out smoothly.

We may be small but we have big dreams and there’s a ton of growth built into this role. We will help guide the program so it lines up with what the cafes need, but there is so much freedom here. We want you to bring your own vision to the table and really make this bakery your own.

We are looking for someone who loves the details, cares deeply about their team, and gets excited about bringing our delicious pastries to as many people as possible.

What you’ll do

• Lead the team: Build and guide a great baking crew. We believe in taking care of our people, which means hiring and onboarding well, training patiently, and sitting down for regular 1:1s to share feedback and mentor your staff. We want you to help us strike that perfect balance between running a highly professional kitchen and building a team with real camaraderie.
• Grow the program: We are expanding, and we want you looking ahead. You will keep an eye out for ways to grow the team and the pastry program as a whole, whether that means figuring out when it is time to hire more hands or finding opportunities to expand what the bakery can do.
• Run commissary operations: Oversee daily production for multiple cafe locations and wholesale partners. You will write the weekly schedules, figure out the smartest way to get the bake done efficiently, and keep passive baking time to an absolute minimum.
• Develop recipes: This is the fun part. You will ideate and test new sweet and savory menu items that are Desi-inspired but not too on the nose. They need to taste incredible, but they also need to be something your team can replicate easily while keeping our kitchen capacity and labor costs in check.
• Manage inventory and numbers: Keep close track of stock levels for all food and non-food items, practice strict FIFO, and manage the relationships with our niche spice suppliers. You will also look at daily sales trends, manage waste, and review monthly reports to make sure the bakery is hitting its profitability goals.
• Keep standards high: Make sure every single item leaving the kitchen meets our serving standards. You will also make sure the space strictly follows all health, safety, and deep-cleaning protocols.

What we’re looking for

• At least 1 year of experience specifically in pastry and kitchen management.
• A baking and pastry degree is preferred, or 3+ years of hands-on kitchen experience.
• Strong communication skills, the kind of organizational intuition that keeps a kitchen calm, and the ability to pick up new techniques quickly.
• Availability for early mornings, weekends, and holidays. We are a 7-day-a-week operation and the baking happens early.
• A long-term mindset. We are looking for ideally a one-year commitment from someone who wants to stick around, shape the future of our food through their creativity and innovation, and grow their career right alongside the bakery.

Why work with us

We offer a 401k, paid time off, and paid sick leave. But beyond the basics, we offer a kitchen where your ideas actually make it to the menu, and a team that genuinely likes working together.

If you love making people smile through really good food and you don't mind smelling like cardamom all day, we would love to meet you.

Pay: $28.00 - $36.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person