Job Description

Pastry Chef The Porch Garden Café & Espresso Bar · Lynchburg, Virginia · Reports To: Head Chef and Owner / Founder Works With: Head Chef, Sous Chef, Prep Cook Schedule: Five days per week — early morning start, home by early afternoon Key Days: Saturday and Sunday — the pastry case is the star Compensation: Competitive salary + shift meal + full team tip pool participation Who We Are The Porch is a garden café and espresso bar opening in Lynchburg, Virginia. We exist at the intersection of beautiful food, honest sourcing, and genuine community — a place where guests come to slow down, eat something worth eating, and feel, even briefly, that the world is being cared for. Our physical space is a living garden — a patio, a screened porch, private nooks surrounded by plants, flowers, and herbs. Our menu is built around organic, single-origin, and sustainably sourced ingredients. Our food waste is composted and returned to the community. Everything connects. On Saturday mornings, The Porch operates as a coffee house. The pastry case is the centerpiece of that experience. On Sunday, we serve Lynchburg's most anticipated post-church brunch. And across the week, our retail pastry case is as much a commercial asset as it is a culinary one. The Role The Pastry Chef at The Porch is not a back-of-house afterthought. Your work is one of the first things every guest sees — the pastry case is a display of craft, intention, and beauty that communicates what kind of place The Porch is before a single word is spoken. The Porch has a defined pastry program — a thoughtful framework of categories built around who we are and what our guests expect. Within that program, we actively welcome the creativity and artistry of the chef we hire. The assortments, the seasonal variations, the unexpected combinations within each category — those are yours. We have set the stage; you bring the performance. On a Saturday morning, the pastry case at The Porch is the first thing a lingering coffee guest sees. It should stop them. It should make them unable to choose. It should look like someone who genuinely loves baking made every single item with intention. That person is you. Our Pastry Program The Porch's pastry program is built around the following categories. We are looking for a chef who is not only proficient across all of them, but brings genuine depth and creativity to the assortments within each: Scones Cookies Cakes Breakfast Pastries Biscuits Corn Bread Pies The categories are defined. The assortments — the flavors, the seasonal variations, the unexpected combinations — are where your creativity lives. We want a chef who sees these categories as a canvas, not a constraint. Gluten-Free Baking Gluten-free baking is a required proficiency for this role, not an afterthought. A meaningful portion of our guests have gluten sensitivities or dietary requirements, and we are committed to offering them options that are as beautiful and as delicious as anything else in our case. You should be genuinely comfortable working with alternative flours, binders, and techniques — and proud to put a gluten-free item on the same shelf as everything else. What You Will Do Daily Pastry Program Develop and produce The Porch's full range of morning pastries and baked goods across our defined program categories, bringing creative assortments and seasonal variation within each Ensure the pastry case is fully stocked, visually beautiful, and correctly labeled — including allergen and gluten-free designations — at all times Produce all items to consistent recipe standard — every scone on Thursday should be as good as the one on Sunday Rotate offerings seasonally to reflect what is genuinely available from our local producers — strawberries in June, apples in October, herbs from our own garden year-round Maintain all recipes in our recipe management system with full ingredient lists, costing, and photographs Gluten-Free Program Develop and maintain a consistent selection of gluten-free items within the pastry case — items that stand on their own merit, not as an accommodation Ensure proper handling, labeling, and separation of gluten-free items in compliance with allergen best practices Be able to speak knowledgeably with guests about ingredients and gluten-free preparation Brunch & Special Menu Pastry Develop brunch-specific pastry items that feel celebratory and special — pain perdu, seasonal French toast, pastry-forward brunch plates Collaborate with the Head Chef on Sunday brunch menu cohesion — your work should feel like it belongs to the same story as the savory menu Develop holiday pastry specials for our Community Table holiday service Contribute to the seasonal happy hour small plates menu — cheese accompaniments, seasonal tarts, sweet grazing elements Retail Pastry Program Develop a range of take-home pastry items — packaged cookies, whole cakes, seasonal loaves — that guests can purchase at the counter Work with management on retail pricing, packaging, and presentation that reflects The Porch's brand quality Consider seasonal gift offerings — holiday cookie boxes, seasonal preserves made from fruit scraps, items that tie into our composting and zero-waste philosophy Garden & Sourcing Integration Incorporate herbs, edible flowers, and seasonal produce from The Porch's own garden wherever possible Build relationships with local and regional producers for fruit, dairy, honey, and specialty ingredients Practice our zero-waste philosophy — fruit scraps become compotes, bread scraps become crumbs Be able to speak genuinely about the sourcing of every item in the pastry case Kitchen Collaboration & Culture Work in close daily collaboration with the Head Chef — the pastry program and the savory menu are one story at The Porch Participate in The Porch's pre-opening immersion week — including time at every station in the café Train front of house team members to speak knowledgeably about every pastry item — ingredients, flavors, allergens, and the story behind each one Contribute to a kitchen culture of equal dignity, honest communication, and genuine care for every role Who You Are Your Pastry Philosophy You believe that pastry at its best is an expression of the season, the place, and the ingredients — not a performance of technique for its own sake You are drawn to organic dairy, local fruit, garden herbs, and single-origin chocolate and vanilla because they produce better results and feel right You have strong opinions about butter, flour, and fermentation — and those opinions are grounded in genuine knowledge You bake with restraint as well as ambition — you know when a thing is finished and you do not overwork it You are genuinely skilled in gluten-free baking and approach it with the same standards and pride as your conventional work Your Creative Instincts You are genuinely excited by seasonal ingredients and the creative constraints they impose — you see a farmers market as inspiration, not limitation You think visually — your pastry case is a composition, and you have strong instincts about color, height, texture, and arrangement You understand The Porch's defined program and bring creativity to the assortments within it — filling each category with variety, intention, and seasonal life You have a retail sensibility — you understand that some of your work will be purchased and taken home, and you bake with that in mind Your Work Ethic You are an early riser by nature or by genuine acceptance — the pastry kitchen starts before the rest of the world You are disciplined and organized — pastry does not forgive improvisation the way savory cooking sometimes does You are consistent — the same item made on Monday and Sunday should be indistinguishable You are a team member first — the pastry chef who disappears into their own world is not the right fit for The Porch Qualifications Required Minimum 2 to 4 years of professional pastry experience in a café, bakery, restaurant, or food service environment Demonstrated proficiency across our pastry program categories: scones, cookies, cakes, breakfast pastries, biscuits, corn bread, and pies Genuine skill in gluten-free baking — alternative flours, binders, and technique — to a consistent professional standard Genuine food philosophy around organic sourcing, seasonal ingredients, and ingredient integrity ServSafe Food Handler Certification — current or obtainable before opening Ability to work early morning starts five days per week Experience costing recipes and managing ingredient budgets Strongly Preferred Formal pastry training — culinary or pastry arts degree, apprenticeship, or equivalent professional development Experience in a retail pastry or bakery environment — understanding how to produce for a case, not just for plated service Experience with viennoiserie — croissants, laminated doughs Familiarity with allergen management and labeling requirements Experience with zero-waste pastry practices — using scraps, repurposing trim, reducing waste intentionally Knowledge of Virginia's local dairy, fruit, and honey producers This Role Is Not Right For You If Your pastry identity is entirely technique-driven with no interest in ingredients or sourcing You are not comfortable with or willing to develop your gluten-free baking skills You prefer working in isolation from the broader kitchen team You are not genuinely excited by the retail and creative dimensions of this role You are not comfortable with early morning starts as a consistent daily reality Compensation & Benefits SalaryCompetitive and commensurate with experience. Discussed openly and honestly. Tip PoolFull participation in our whole-team equitable tip pool — every role shares equally. Shift MealsA complimentary meal up to $25.00 every shift. ScheduleEarly morning start, home by early afternoon. No late nights, ever. Family Discount30% off for immediate family members dining with you present. Your Work on RetailYour pastry items appear in our retail case for guests to take home. How to Apply We are looking for a pastry chef who reads this posting and thinks — this is exactly the kitchen I have been looking for. If that is you, please reach out. To apply, please send: A genuine letter — not a template — telling us who you are as a pastry chef, what you believe about baking, and why The Porch is the right fit for you right now. Your résumé or a summary of your professional pastry experience. Your specialty: please tell us which of our pastry program categories you are strongest in, and share one or two items within that category that best represent your work. Three pastry items you are genuinely proud of, with a paragraph on each — what inspired it, what makes it yours, and why it belongs on The Porch's pastry case. Tell us about your gluten-free baking experience — what you have made, how you approach it, and what you have learned. Tell us about one item you developed rooted in the season or the place you were working. Two professional references we may contact. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates whose applications demonstrate genuine alignment with The Porch's values will be invited for a conversation followed by a practical baking session. We will ask you to bring something you are proud of. The Porch is an equal opportunity employer. We hire on character, craft, and values — nothing else. We cannot wait to bake with you. Employment Type: Full Time Salary: $35,000 - $50,000 Annual Bonus/Commission: No

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