Pastry Chef

I always cooked at home with nonna, and the whole family. And I decided to go to hospitality school where I learnt the job.

During hospitality school, we had programs where we would work in a cake shop for 2–3 months to learn from the chefs.

During school I worked in a cake shop for 2-3 months, where I learnt a lot and I enjoyed it. They hired me after school finished, and I worked there for 5 years, before deciding to leave Italy and come to Australia for a new experience. I worked as a baker in Cairns for a couple of months. Same happened in Sydney, Perth and Gerringong, and finally I arrived in Wollongong, where I will start my own cake shop. I found very easy to find a job as a pastry chef in any city, as it is a job that is highly required.

Wake up at 5.30, start work at 6.30 until 2.30 with one hour break. Come home, rest or go for a walk, gym or volleyball training. Go to sleep around 9 because of the early shift.

Creating, tasting, testing, and being proud of the cakes and pastries I've made.

Long hours standing, working weekends, early mornings, and busy holidays.

Yes and no. Starting to work young gave me the possibility to save money and travel, and be more independent. But I also missed experiences a uni student would have — waking up later, socialising with people my age. As an adult I can see there are other jobs that pay more and require less effort. But I do it because I like baking and I'm happy about it.

Apprenticeship or self-taught.

I would recommend the job to anyone who likes being in a kitchen, cooking, baking.

Passion.

As a pastry chef with 13 years of experience, the pay is quite low compared to other jobs where less experience is required to earn the same amount. $35–38 per hour casual is common for an experienced pastry chef.

Yes