Click the photo for Overlake G&CC Pastry Chef Beth Waldron’s recipe for ginger molasses cake with maple ice cream.
Open the door of a pastry chef’s locker, and you can expect to find a good set of knives, a fresh apron and a pair of sensible shoes—but you might also spy a laptop, notebook and student ID. Ambitious culinary professionals are finding time to take classes, develop programming and make themselves indispensable resources for the kitchen. And it’s traits like these that get them hired in the first place.
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Executive Chef Corey Heyer of Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J., has a clear understanding of what it takes to be a pastry professional in his kitchen. Having recently hired a pastry chef fresh out of culinary school, he knew right off the bat what he was looking for in a candidate.
Corey Heyer, Executive Chef, Canoe Brook CC
“I often find that pastry chefs excel in a la carte desserts and also in cake-making,” he says. “We were looking for someone who could blend those two worlds.”
Finding the right fit was essential, given the equal emphasis between a la carte and member events. Heyer notes a recent weekend at the club where pastries were prepared for a 200-guest father/daughter dance, followed by a mother/son roller-skating party.
“I look for someone who can balance that level of production, while ensuring consistency and timeliness,” he says.
During the hiring process, Heyer is keen on seeing a chef’s portfolio but believes that a tasting is especially telling.
“I like to watch someone work in the kitchen: Are they clean, do they follow the recipe’s steps properly, do they leave a trail?” he poses. “And when they go to plate, did it visually land and taste the way it was supposed to?”
At the Saint Louis Club, extensive experience isn’t the only essential ingredient in Executive Chef Mathieu Lefebvre’s eyes. “I look for reliability, ambition and a willingness to learn,” he says. Having recently posted an ad for an assistant pastry chef, he is intent on cultivating new talent for the long haul. “Our goal is to make sure they love what they do and stay as long as possible,” Lefebvre shares. “For that, we will support them in every way we can.”
Selene Puchoon secured her role as Isla Del Sol Y&CC’s Head Pastry Chef with her signature key lime pie. Click for the recipe.
Opportunity Knocks
For Selene Puchoon, Head Pastry Chef of Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.), leaving a job she already loved was daunting. But for the former server who’d spent six years at the club while running a small cake-making operation on the side, her ambition superseded her concerns.
“I didn’t just want to be a home baker,” Puchoon explains. “I desired to earn the chef title.”
Last January, Puchoon went back to school and completed her pastry certification. After talking to Executive Chef Dan Hilbert about becoming a pastry chef, she was asked to present her signature key lime pie to GM Robert Rankin, F&B Director Paul Simpson, and club board members. As an indicator of how her pastry was received, Hilbert designated a section in the kitchen for Puchoon, while Rankin and Simpson presented her with an industrial mixer. Members were soon raving about Puchoon’s desserts and requesting her to bake for their events.
This summer, Puchoon was named Head Pastry Chef, a title she does not take for granted. “Everything Isla has done for me has let me know that my intuition was right,” she says. “This was my home all along.”
Pop-Up Pastries
For Beth Waldron, Pastry Chef at Overlake Golf and Country Club in Medina, Wash., starting a series of pastry pop-ups has given her a more well-rounded culinary experience.
The concept first came to Waldron in 2020 when she and other team members were brainstorming seasonal offerings. They decided to host a holiday marketplace, enabling members to order a range of to-go options, from cookies to a prime rib dinner. “It was a place to offer fun, different options [outside of] our restaurant or banquet selections,” she explains.
After strong reception, the marketplace continued post-pandemic, in a reduced format. Waldron used it as a gateway to monthly pop-ups. Offering a myriad of choices allowed Waldron to widen her repertoire, from bagels to ice cream novelties and more.
“I was lucky to have a part-time pastry cook for all of 2023 and most of 2024,” Waldron says. With the recent departure of her pastry cook, pop-ups have been put on hold. Still, Waldron hopes to bring them back in a modified format.
Click the photo for Overlake G&CC Pastry Chef Beth Waldron’s recipe for ginger molasses cake with maple ice cream.
Waldron says the pop-ups are a testament to management’s support. She praises Executive Chef Alex Nemeth and Executive Sous Chef Chaz Olsen for bringing her on board and launching Overlake’s pastry department.
“In the beginning of my tenure [seven years ago], none of us were sure what was in store for the program or what the level of engagement would be,” she says. “As the program found its footing, I’d often open conversations with, ‘I have a great idea.’ They’ve always taken the time to hear me out.” Waldron credits these projects for keeping her engaged and energized.
“In our field, where creativity and technical skill converge, advocating for ourselves is essential,” she adds. “We ensure that our work is acknowledged and valued, which fosters a culture of respect and collaboration.”
Learning on the Job
Going back to school wasn’t just a way to advance Executive Pastry Chef Rebecca Freeman’s career, but also a means to forging a new path. Having spent nearly six years at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., she now has a clearer picture of her future self. It all started when she turned 30 and decided to return to school.
“I wanted more than to go to work and check off my to-do list,” she says. “I needed a goal, a direction, a destination.”
Freeman decided to pursue an MBA and began taking classes, while maintaining her role in the kitchen. But the grueling schedule inevitably took a toll. “When I was working 12-hour days, I would do my homework on my days off, usually with tears running down my face from pure exhaustion,” she admits.
Freeman scaled back her schedule, from 60-70- to 45-50-hour work weeks. She admits to feeling somewhat guilty, but she’s encouraged by the vote of confidence she’s received from management and colleagues.
Find The Club at Las Campanas Executive Chef Rebecca Freeman’s white chocolate mousse recipe at the link.
“I have a team who will bake breakfast pastries for me and an incredible pastry cook who works the a la carte service making plated desserts,” Freeman says. “I realized that doing something extraordinary takes extraordinary measures.”
This semester, she is enrolled in one class—managerial marketing—and completing an online program, which gives her flexibility to complete assignments on her own time. It also frees up her time for other achievements, including redesigning the club’s banquet menu. Members can now book via a tiered pricing option, a process that took Freeman three months to research and create. And as her 34th birthday nears, Freeman finds solace in her career shift.
“I feel pastry chefs are pigeon-holed,” she says. “The only way I see moving forward is to make myself more marketable so I can be in an upper management. I have no intention of leaving the hospitality industry. I just need to find a way to adapt as I get older.”
