Pastry Chef and Baker, Middle Eastern Specialties

About Us

Zaytoun Catering is a premium Mediterranean and Levantine catering company serving corporate events, diplomatic receptions, and high profile celebrations across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We are known for our live knafeh stations, handcrafted dessert spreads, and authentic Levantine menus. We take our food seriously and we are growing fast.

We are looking for a pastry chef and baker who genuinely loves Middle Eastern food, has the skills to back it up, and wants to be part of building something beyond just event catering.

What You Will Be Doing

Producing traditional Middle Eastern desserts and pastries from scratch including knafeh, baklava, mamoul, basbousa, qatayef, luqaimat, and assorted sweets for events ranging from 50 to 300 or more guests

Making savory pastries including fatayer, sambousek, and spinach and cheese hand pies with consistent results every time

Handling all dough work, phyllo pastry, laminated doughs, and sugar syrups with confidence and precision

Scaling production based on event size and setting up an efficient prep workflow to meet deadlines

Contributing to product development as we build toward a retail and packaged product line

Standardizing recipes so they are repeatable, consistent, and producible without you in the room

Maintaining a clean, organized kitchen and following strict halal and food safety standards at all times.

What We Are Looking For

You can make our core Middle Eastern desserts and savory pastries without a recipe in front of you. This is not a training role and these skills need to already be there.

You understand not just how to make something but why it works, so you can troubleshoot, adjust, and scale without guessing.

You have thought about food beyond the kitchen; what makes something a product, how packaging and shelf life affect texture, and what it takes to make something consistent across batches.

You are dependable, take pride in your work, and show up ready every single time.

You are comfortable working in a commissary kitchen environment.

You hold a food handler certification or are willing to obtain one before your start date.

This Role Is Not for You If

You need a recipe to make knafeh, baklava, fatayer, or sambousek.

You have never thought about product development or have no interest in it.

You cannot explain why a recipe works, only that it does.

You have a history of last minute cancellations or inconsistent availability.

You are not familiar with halal food standards or are unwilling to follow them strictly.

You struggle to maintain consistency across high volume production.

How to Apply

Please send a short message introducing yourself, tell us which Middle Eastern pastries and desserts you make from memory, and share any photos of your work if you have them. We will follow up with qualified candidates to schedule a working interview where you will have the chance to show us what you can do.

Pay: $20.00 - $25.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule

Application Question(s):

• Which of the following Middle Eastern pastries and desserts can you make from memory without a recipe? Type in answer box.

Answer choices: Knafeh, Baklava, Mamoul, Fatayer, Sambousek, Qatayef, Basbousa, None of the above

• Have you ever developed or standardized a recipe for production, meaning written it out so someone else could

reproduce it consistently?

• Do you have a culinary or pastry school certificate or degree, or equivalent professional training?
• What is your availability? We operate on an event based schedule with some advance prep days.

Experience:

• producing baked goods/pastries in a professional kitchen: 2 years (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $20 - $25