Sela V Hotel is opening a new restaurant in Brooklyn, bringing together the flavors of the Middle East, the Balkans, and North Africa. We are looking for an experienced Pastry Chef to take ownership of and build our dessert and bread program from the ground up.
This is a hands-on leadership position for a pastry professional with significant restaurant experience. We are looking for someone who can develop and execute refined plated desserts, build an organized pastry program, and work closely with our Executive Chef to translate the restaurant's culinary vision into desserts.
A strong foundation and deep working knowledge of classical French pastry techniques is essential for this position. The restaurant itself is not French, but we are specifically looking for a pastry chef whose technical foundation includes classical French pastry and who can apply those techniques creatively to the flavors and ingredients of our concept.
The Role
- Develop and execute restaurant plated desserts at a high professional standard.
- Take ownership of the pastry program, from development and testing through daily production and service.
- Develop recipes, production systems, prep lists, and mise en place standards.
- Maintain consistency, precision, presentation, and quality across every service.
- Work with classical French pastry techniques, including creams and custards, mousses, pâte à choux, tarts, chocolate work, frozen desserts, sauces, and other foundational pastry preparations.
- Develop and execute breads and baked items for the restaurant, including bread for table service.
- Work closely with the Executive Chef on seasonal dessert development and the overall direction of the menu.
- Organize pastry production efficiently and maintain appropriate food and labor controls.
- Train and lead additional pastry staff as the program grows.
- Maintain excellent sanitation, organization, and kitchen standards.
Required
- Approximately 5+ years of professional pastry experience preferred, with substantial hands-on experience in serious restaurant or hospitality pastry programs.
- Demonstrated experience producing and executing plated restaurant desserts during service.
- Deep working knowledge of classical French pastry techniques and fundamentals.
- Strong technical pastry skills and understanding of professional pastry production.
- Hands-on bread and baking experience.
- Ability to develop, test, document, and consistently reproduce recipes.
- Ability to organize and take ownership of a pastry program rather than simply follow an existing production list.
- Strong attention to detail, cleanliness, organization, and consistency.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with the Executive Chef and culinary team.
- Reliable and available to work the schedule required by a full-service restaurant, including evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed.
Preferred
- Previous Pastry Chef, Pastry Sous Chef, Lead Pastry Cook, or comparable leadership experience.
- Experience in fine dining, upscale restaurants, luxury hotels, or another high-standard pastry environment.
- Experience helping open a restaurant or developing a new pastry program.
- Strong employment history and demonstrated professional stability.
- Formal culinary/pastry education is welcome but professional experience and demonstrated ability are more important than culinary-school credentials.
- NYC Food Protection Certificate or willingness to obtain one.
What We Offer
- Salary: $75,000–$85,000, based on experience
- Opportunity to build and influence a new pastry program from the beginning
- Staff meal during shifts
- Employee discount
- Complimentary coffee during shifts
- Professional training and onboarding
- Growth opportunities as the company expands
- Professional, organized work environment
- Brand-new professional kitchen and equipment
