Executive Pastry and Bakery Chef

Brief summary of job profile:

• The Executive Pastry & Bakery Chef leads the strategic and operational management of all pastry and bakery production within the Central Kitchen, supporting current business needs and future expansion.
• This role blends artisan mastery with industrial-scale food production expertise, ensuring authentic craftsmanship is preserved while leveraging automation, engineering, and innovation for efficiency, consistency, and scalability. The Chef will oversee the end-to-end bakery lifecycle — from R&D and product innovation, to production and packaging, through to distribution and brand presentation.
• The Executive Pastry & Bakery Chef ensures products meet premium quality standards, international hygiene certifications, evolving consumer demands, and commercial objectives, securing sustainable growth for the company's own brands, large-scale partners, and future B2B opportunities.

Key Accountabilities:

Planning & Budgeting

• Manage P&L for pastry & bakery production, including food costs, labor costs, and efficiency ratios.
• Support the Head of Production in developing annual production plans, budgets and CapEx aligned with growth and automation strategies.
• Establish KPI dashboards to track yield, waste, productivity, and margin.
• Identify opportunities for cost-saving through recipe optimization, process efficiency, economy of scale and supplier negotiations.
• Contribute to long-term capacity planning to meet store expansion, strategic partnerships, and B2B opportunities.

Culinary & Production Excellence

• Oversee daily large-scale production of breads, pastries, cakes, mooncakes, seasonal products, and desserts.
• Balance artisan quality with efficiency, ensuring authentic recipes are honored while optimizing for scale.
• Personally oversee & validate key production runs (e.g., laminated dough, festive collections) to safeguard product quality and brand reputation.
• Develop and enforce standardized SOPs for dough preparation, proofing, baking, cooling, finishing, and packaging.
• Establish quality audit systems at every production stage.
• Oversee storage & preservation solutions (freezing, vacuum, pasteurization, canning) to ensure consistency and shelf-life.
• Build, train, and mentor a high-performing bakery and pastry team through structured programs covering modern baking, hygiene, and sustainability practices.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Implement performance reviews, development plans, and succession strategies.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, QA/QC, Marketing, Finance, and R&D, and engage external chefs, vendors, and suppliers to uplift product development and quality.

Innovation & Consumer Trends

• Lead the creation of new bakery lines (plant-based, reduced-sugar, gluten-free, functional breads).
• Collaborate with Marketing to ensure product launches align with brand identity and consumer insights.
• Conduct lab-to-line trials, shelf-life validation, and sensory testing to guarantee product readiness.
• Deliver inclusive in product ranges (Halal, Kosher, vegan, allergen-free).
• Develop packaging that balances preservation, sustainability, cost efficiency, and consumer appeal (e.g., trendy, Instagrammable).
• Partner with R&D and suppliers to explore new technologies, ingredients, and packaging formats.

Operational Efficiency, Compliance & Sustainability

• Design and optimize production layouts to maximize efficiency, safety, and output capacity.
• Integrate modern technologies (e.g., retarder-proofers, tunnel ovens, blast freezing, Cryo Cabinet freezing, vacuum storage, MAP packaging) and drive automation to improve scalability, productivity, and consistency.
• Develop and validate scalable recipes, ensuring yield optimization and consistent results across batches.
• Implement data-driven controls for yields, wastage, and productivity per FTE.
• Lead and enforce HACCP, ISO, GMP, allergen management, traceability, labeling, and Cold Chain standards to ensure compliance with Vietnamese and international food safety regulations.
• Maintain allergen management, traceability, and accurate product labeling.
• Oversee readiness for internal and external audits, cooperating with the Hygiene & Sanitation Manager to ensure daily compliance.
• Lead waste management and sustainability initiatives across raw materials, finished goods, energy, and water use; collaborate with NGOs/food banks for safe food donations.
• Partner with Supply Chain to maximize ingredient utilization (by-products, trimmings).
• Lead initiatives in energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable sourcing.
• Ensure sustainability principles are integrated into production, packaging, and distribution strategies.
• Monitor and report monthly on waste %, carbon footprint initiatives, and sustainability KPIs.

Job Requirements:

Education/ Training Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Food Technology, Food Engineering, or related field.
• HACCP/ ISO certification required.
• Specialized training in pastry, bakery science, or large-scale food production preferred.

Experience

• 8–12 years in pastry & bakery leadership within central kitchens, airline catering, large 5* hotels, or FMCG bakery operations.
• Track record in scaling artisan bakery production to industrial levels.
• Strong experience in seasonal/festive product lines (e.g., mooncakes, Tet cakes).
• Proven success in financial management, waste reduction, and operational sustainability.

Knowledge of:

• HACCP, ISO, GMP, and Cold Chain systems.
• Modern bakery processes (fermentation, lamination, frozen dough, thaw-and-bake).
• Ingredient optimization (bread improvers, fat/sugar reducers, clean-label solutions).
• Packaging and preservation technologies with a sustainability focus.
• Food trends: plant-based, gluten-free, clean label, functional nutrition
• Waste management and sustainability in large-scale production.

Skills (Ability to):

• Bilingual (Vietnamese–English) with strong leadership communication.
• Strategic and operational thinking with cross-functional influence.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen.
• Passion for sustainability, innovation, and craftsmanship.
• High attention to detail, with a balance of creativity and operational discipline.
• Integrity and accountability in enforcing hygiene, compliance, and food safety.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-growing, dynamic, and high-pressure environment.
• Ability to travel domestically & internationally as required.