Head Pastry Chef

Head Pastry Chef

Intimately nestled on Florida's Emerald Coast, set among striking Caribbean blue waters and lush nature preserves along 30A, Kaiya welcomes a refined and diverse set of residents and vacationers who seek culturally rich experiences and value creativity as a vital part of their lives. Here a residential community featuring beautifully designed villas, townhomes, and condominiums offer access to wholistic wellness practices, cultural amenities, and resort-level service tailored to any need. Kaiya unlocks the opportunity to practice a life-enhancing lifestyle grounded in the pursuit of meaningful moments.

Kaiya is focused on bringing harmony to life through enhancing everyday connection with the self, others and the beauty around us. The private Kaiya Beach House, Omaire Gallery, Thisday Cafe and more are all designed for cultural abundance and natural connection. Programming will bring together those who seek refined and culturally rich experiences. This is Kaiya - Life in Harmony.

We are seeking an experienced, service-driven Head Pastry Chef to lead the pastry program for Lamuse d'Or, creating refined desserts, breads, viennoiserie, plated desserts, and seasonal tasting menu offerings using the finest local and imported ingredients.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all pastry production including breads, breakfast pastries, desserts, chocolates, wedding/special event desserts, and custom amenities. Maintain recipe consistency, food cost targets, HACCP standards, and mentor junior pastry cooks.
• Coordinating the selection, training, development, and evaluation of employees and managers in the restaurant through effective management and leadership to ensure that established cultural and core standards are met, long-range strategic planning for outlet operation.
• Controlling labor and operating expenses through effective planning, budgeting, purchasing decisions and inventory control while focusing on creative cost control and revenue generation solutions to maximize profit in the division and hotel.
• Maintaining visibility in the operation, recognize and maintain relationships with regular guests and cultivate relationships with new patrons through effective marketing and personal relationships.
• Working closely with the food and beverage leadership team to design creative menus, and amenity options while ensuring an exceptional product.
• Communicating with employees and managers to ensure operational needs are met and attending regular operational meetings to ensure effective coordination and cooperation between departments. Is a champion of change and a role model for innovation.

Leading Kitchen Operations

• Providing direction for all day-to-day operations.
• Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Utilizing interpersonal and communication skills to lead, influence, and encourage others; advocates sound financial/business decision-making at the direction of the Executive Pastry Chef; demonstrates honesty/integrity; leads by example.
• Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• Serving as a role model to demonstrate the highest level of professional behaviors.
• Ensuring property policies are administered fairly and consistently.
• Reviewing staffing levels to ensure that guest service, operational needs and financial objectives are met.
• Establishing and maintaining an open, collaborative relationship with employees and ensuring employees do the same within the team.
• Soliciting employee feedback, utilizes an "open door" policy and reviews employee satisfaction results to identify and address employee problems or concerns.
• Supervising and coordinates activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation.
• Promoting an atmosphere of continual innovation and improvement.
• Effectively plan and execute culinary activations and events.

Setting and Maintaining Goals for Culinary Function and Activities

• Establishing goals including performance goals, budget goals, team goals, etc.
• Communicating the importance of safety procedures, detailing procedure codes, ensuring employee understanding of safety codes, monitoring processes and procedures related to safety.
• Managing department controllable expenses including food cost, supplies, uniforms, and equipment.

Ensuring Culinary Standards and Responsibilities are Met.

• Monitoring the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
• Determining how food should be presented and creating decorative food displays.
• Recognizing superior quality products, presentations, and flavor.
• Ensuring compliance with food handling and sanitation standards.
• Following proper handling and right temperature of all food products.
• Ensuring employees maintain required food handling and sanitation certifications.
• Maintaining purchasing, receiving and food storage standards.

Ensuring Exceptional Customer Service

• Providing and supporting service behaviors that are beyond customer satisfaction and retention.
• Improving service by communicating and assisting individuals to understand guest needs, providing guidance, feedback, and individual coaching when needed.
• Managing day-to-day operations, ensuring the quality, standards and meeting the expectations of the customers daily.
• Displaying leadership in guest hospitality exemplifies excellent customer service and creates a positive atmosphere for guest relations.
• Interacting with guests to obtain feedback on product quality and service levels.
• Responding to and managing guest problems and complaints.
• Empowering employees to provide excellent customer service. Establishing guidelines so employees understand expectations and parameters. Ensuring employees receive on-going training to understand guest expectations.
• Reviewing comment cards, guest satisfaction results and other data to identify areas of improvement.

Managing and Conducting People Services Activities

• Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Ensuring employees are treated fairly and equitably.
• Training kitchen team members on the fundamentals of good cooking and excellent plate presentations.
• Administering the performance appraisal process for direct report managers.
• Observing service behaviors of team members and providing feedback to individuals and or managers.
• Managing employee progressive discipline procedures for areas of responsibility.

Qualifications

• Luxury/Fine Dining experience preferred. Strong knowledge of laminated doughs, artisan bread production, chocolate work, sugar work, plated desserts, menu development, inventory management, and cost control. ServSafe certification preferred.
• Minimum 35 years of experience in luxury hospitality; food & beverage supervisory experience strongly preferred
• 2-year degree from an accredited university in Culinary Arts, Hotel and Restaurant Management, or related major.

• Proven ability to lead and motivate a small team.
• Flexible schedule, including weekends and holidays.