Busy Cafe jobs in London

Pastry Chef de Partie – Ochre, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London

Full-Time | £18.85 per hour inclusive of tronc

(£14.80 per hour + £4.05 tronc)

About Ochre

Ochre is a vibrant all-day dining brasserie and cocktail bar located within the National Gallery on London’s iconic Trafalgar Square. We offer everything from Afternoon Tea and café service to pre-theatre dining, delivering high-quality food and service in a busy and professional environment.

About the Role

We are looking for a Pastry Chef de Partie to join our pastry team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a pastry chef with experience in production pastry, bakery, or high-volume pastry operations who enjoys working in an organised, fast-paced environment and takes pride in producing consistent, high-quality products.

Your experience does not need to come exclusively from a restaurant kitchen. We value chefs who have developed strong technical skills through production bakeries, pastry kitchens, hotels, cafés, patisseries, or other high-volume food production environments.

You will support the daily production of pastries, desserts, cakes and Afternoon Tea items, ensuring everything is prepared to a consistently high standard and is ready for service.

Key Responsibilities

• Produce a range of pastries, cakes, desserts, baked goods and Afternoon Tea items.
• Follow recipes and production specifications accurately and consistently.
• Manage daily mise en place and batch production.
• Prepare products efficiently while maintaining consistency in quality, size, texture and presentation.
• Work with doughs, creams, fillings, sponges, pastry and other pastry components.
• Support the pastry team with daily production and service.
• Maintain an organised section and ensure all production deadlines are met.
• Maintain excellent standards of food hygiene, cleanliness and kitchen organisation.
• Ensure ingredients and finished products are correctly stored, labelled and rotated.
• Minimise waste and use ingredients efficiently.
• Support stock control and communicate production requirements to senior chefs.

Who We’re Looking For

We are particularly interested in chefs with experience in production pastry or bakery environments who understand the importance of consistency, efficiency and attention to detail.

You should have:

• At least 1 year of professional pastry or bakery experience.
• A good understanding of pastry and baking techniques.
• Experience working with high-volume or batch production.
• Strong attention to detail and pride in your work.
• The ability to follow recipes and production specifications accurately.
• Excellent organisation and time-management skills.
• The ability to work efficiently and meet deadlines.
• A positive attitude and willingness to learn.
• Good food hygiene and safety awareness.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a professional kitchen team.

Restaurant experience is beneficial but not essential. Experience gained in a production bakery, patisserie, hotel pastry kitchen, café, central production kitchen or similar environment is welcomed.

Applicants are required to attach photos or a portfolio showcasing their pastry, bakery and dessert work alongside their CV. Applications without examples of previous work may not be considered.

What We Offer

• No finishing later than 10:00 PM.
• Career progression opportunities within the business.
• Ongoing in-house and external training.
• Closed during the Christmas period.
• Freshly prepared staff meals whilst on duty.
• 50% staff discount across the company.
• The opportunity to work within a unique and prestigious venue at the National Gallery.

Experience:Pastry/Bakery: 1 year (required)

Work authorisation:Right to work in the United Kingdom (required)

Work Location:In person

Pay: £18.85 per hour

Benefits:

• Discounted or free food
• Employee discount

Experience:

• Professional pastry or bakery: 1 year (required)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person