We invite you to join the world of luxury hospitality at Raffles Dubai as our new Executive Pastry Chef. You are responsible for the overall Pastry leadership, operational performance, financial management, and quality standards of the hotel's Pastry, Bakery, Chocolate, Confectionery, and Dessert operations.

The role leads the development of exceptional pastry experiences across restaurants, afternoon tea, banquets events, weddings, IRD, VIP amenities, and seasonal celebrations, while ensuring consistency with the hotel's luxury positioning, brand standards, and commercial objectives.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Quality Standards, Culinary Direction & Product Innovation

Ensure consistency and highest quality in food taste, temperature and presentation
Ensure the quality and cleanliness of all food displays with maximum creativity
Establish the overall pastry and bakery vision and culinary direction for the hotel.
Develop innovative and distinctive pastries, desserts, cakes, chocolates, confectionery, breads, viennoiserie, and plated desserts.
Create signature products that reflect the hotel's luxury identity and culinary positioning.
Lead seasonal menu development, afternoon tea concepts, festive collections, and special culinary promotions.
Develop bespoke products and presentations for VIP guests, weddings, private events, and special occasions.
Maintain a balance between classical techniques, contemporary trends, local influences, and operational practicality.
Conduct regular product tastings, menu reviews, benchmarking, and innovation sessions.
Ensure all products meet defined standards for taste, texture, presentation, portioning, and consistency.

Operations

Direct the daily operation of all pastry and bakery production areas.
Develop production plans based on occupancy, forecast, outlet requirements, events, and business levels.
Maintain appropriate par levels and ensure timely supply to all hotel outlets.
Check all set-ups for restaurant and banquet functions. Responsible for the correct timing during service and that food served is always of the highest standards
Coordinate all Restaurant / Banquet / food production, and all specific duties to chefs and other staff under his/her supervision
Monitor and implement portion control established with the recipe cards and the butcher test; minimize waste and spoilage
Establish and maintain standardized recipes, specifications, production procedures, and presentation standards.
Ensure pastry displays, afternoon tea, buffets, plated desserts, amenities, and event products reflect five-star luxury standards.
Maintain readiness for LQA, brand, internal, and external quality assessments, where applicable.
Monitor guest feedback and implement improvements that enhance the overall pastry experience.
Ensure seamless coordination with restaurants, banquets, room service, events, stewarding, stores, purchasing, and other culinary departments.
Ensure effective communication among the kitchens and with other departments.
Work closely with receiving and storeroom to ensure received goods meet Hotel’s quality standards specifications
Supervise food tasting sessions and guide chefs for new menu implementation
Attend meetings with Executive Chef to discuss future business strategy and review ongoing action plan progress, and other departmental meetings as required
Update menu recipe cards and menu planning for promotions

Training/ Development

Conduct staff training and on-the-job training on kitchen skills and new menu items
Lead, motivate, coach, and develop the pastry and bakery team.
Establish clear performance standards, responsibilities, and accountability.
Manage staffing requirements, production schedules, and departmental organization.
Conduct regular briefings, training, demonstrations, performance reviews, and development discussions.
Identify high-potential talent and establish succession and career-development plans.
Build a culture of creativity, discipline, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Support recruitment, onboarding, and retention of pastry talent.
Encourage participation in competitions, masterclasses, supplier demonstrations, and professional development opportunities.
Guide employee orientation for new hires
Ensure staff adhere to hotel regulations re: fire, safety and emergency procedures

Financial, Commercial & Resource Management

Own the pastry department's food-cost performance and contribute to overall culinary financial targets.
Maintain accurate recipe costing, yields, portion control, and theoretical food-cost calculations.
Monitor actual versus theoretical food cost and investigate variances.
Control inventory, purchasing, production quantities, waste, and high-value ingredient usage.
Develop commercially viable products without compromising luxury standards.
Participate in menu pricing and profitability reviews.
Prepare annual operating CAPEX planning.
Evaluate new equipment and technology based on quality, productivity, sustainability, and return on investment.
Maintain proper controls over purchase orders and requisitions
Monitor monthly food inventory turnover and slow moving items
Ensure purchasing, receiving and all storage are efficiently handled
Review food cost analysis on a daily basis to in line with budget and forecast
Work closely with Finance, Purchasing, and suppliers to optimize cost and resource utilization.

Hygiene and Sanitation

Maintain full compliance with HACCP, food safety, allergen management, sanitation, and hotel regulatory requirements.
Ensure appropriate temperature control, storage, labeling, traceability, and cross-contamination prevention.
Maintain high standards of personal hygiene and cleanliness throughout pastry and bakery areas.
Ensure all team members are trained and compliant with food safety procedures.
Lead initiatives to reduce food waste through accurate forecasting, production planning, yield management, and responsible utilization of ingredients.
Promote efficient use of energy, water, packaging, and raw materials.
Support the hotel's sustainability strategy and measurable waste-reduction initiatives.
Works closely with Chief Steward to monitor and ensure that all cleaning is properly conducted and according to schedule

Supplier, Equipment & Strategic Partnerships

Work with Purchasing to source premium-quality ingredients and products that meet hotel specifications.
Evaluate new ingredients, equipment, technology, packaging, and production solutions.
Conduct supplier trials, tastings, benchmarking, and product evaluations.
Establish and maintain product specifications for key pastry ingredients.
Coordinate with Engineering on preventive maintenance and equipment requirements.
Develop and justify pastry CAPEX requirements and equipment replacement plans.
Maintain professional relationships with key suppliers, culinary partners, and industry professionals.

Staffing/People and Culture Relations

Recommend promotions, transfers of staff to various outlets for Executive Chef approval
Monitor staff schedules for the assigned outlets
Conduct section / departmental meetings and staff daily briefings
Manage staff appraisal process
Responsible for proper efficiency and profitable functioning of the assigned F&B outlets

What will you bring to this role?

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Minimum 8 years experience in an International Class Hotel with at least 2 years experience in a similar capacity
Diploma or degree in Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or equivalent professional qualification.
Minimum 10 years of progressive pastry experience, preferably within luxury five-star hotels or high-end restaurants.
Previous experience as Executive Pastry Chef, Executive Sous Pastry Chef, or equivalent senior leadership position.
Proven experience managing multicultural pastry and bakery teams.
Strong expertise in French and international pastry, bakery, chocolate, confectionery, viennoiserie, and plated desserts.
Strong understanding of luxury hospitality standards and guest experience.
Demonstrated experience in food costing, budgeting, inventory control, menu development, and commercial management.
Strong knowledge of HACCP, food safety, and allergen management.
Experience with LQA, or equivalent luxury hospitality quality standards is highly desirable.
Embrace the Raffles brand promise and luxury in your role and in all your interactions.
Foster an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued and respected
Create an environment where colleagues are empowered, supported and recognized
Drive top performance to achieve exceptional results

CULINARY & QUALIFICATIONS

Luxury quality audit performance
Guest satisfaction and feedback
Product consistency and presentation
Menu innovation and signature-product development
Afternoon tea and pastry experience standards
Solid Culinary Knowledge
Culinary Related Certificates
Apprenticeship or any other culinary certificate/diploma an advantage

FINANCIAL & COMMERCIAL

Food-cost performance
Waste percentage
Inventory variance
Product profitability
Purchasing efficiency

OPERATION

Production efficiency
Outlet and banquet satisfaction
Par-stock accuracy
Food safety compliance
Equipment efficiency

PEOPLE

Employee engagement and retention
Training completion
Internal promotions
Succession planning
Team productivity

SUSTAINABILITY

Food-waste reduction
Responsible ingredient utilization
Sustainable sourcing
Energy and resource efficiency

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Physically fit
Oral and written fluency in English
Knowledge of other languages and basic understanding of local language preferred
Must have strong culinary experience (international preferred)
Excellent leadership & supervisory skills with a “hands-on” approach
Positive attitude and high energy level
Motivator , displays initiative & creativity
Team player and team builder
Flexible & adaptable to different working locations
Finance knowledge

Employee Benefits:
Join our team and enjoy a range of exclusive colleague perks, including complimentary upgrades, extended stays, discounted stays across Fairmont & Raffles properties, special dining and wellness discounts, and added luxuries to enhance your experience. We believe in taking care of our team, ensuring that your hard work is rewarded with exceptional benefits.

Our Values

Respect:
We value the needs, ideas and individuality of others. We treat everyone with fairness and dignity.

Excellence:
We make genuine connections, and we cherish every opportunity to make the people around us feel special.

Belonging:
We celebrate our differences. We support each other and we always stand together.

Empowerment:
We have authority to take initiative and anticipate moments that create unforgettable experiences.

Integrity:
We build trust through mutual respect and being authentic.

Diversity & Inclusion

Raffles is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diverse talent thrives. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join our team.