Posted by B. Young on November 10, 1998 at 14:14:57:
In Reply to: Baker vs. Pastry Chef posted by Craig R. Edwards on November 09, 1998 at 13:35:57:
: Can anyone tell me the difference between a baker and a Pastry Chef if there is even one? Thanks!
I think of a "pastry chef" as someone who prepares plated
desserts, someone whose work is thought of as a course
in a meal, usually served on the premises. I think of a
"baker" as someone who creates breads and pastries and what-not
to be purchased and enjoyed elsewhere. But whether you are
making a cake to be sliced by the wait-staff, sauced
and served on an elegant plate, or a
cake which will go home with the customer in a box, your work
is the same, right? So the terms may be used to connote a
difference in prestige. Certainly the people we hire from the
culinary schools prefer to think of themselves a pastry chefs--
even though for me the word "chef" means that there can only
be one in a shop. For me the chef is the boss.
No doubt others will view this distinction differently.
From a baker,
B. Young