Position Overview
As a Chef Instructor, Pastry at Sur La Table, you are the in-store expert and advocate for all
things baking and pastry arts. You deliver #bestincenter service, a company-wide standard for
excellence in service, by sharing specialized knowledge in pastry techniques, baking
fundamentals, and personalized instruction that supports all company initiatives. The Chef
Instructor, Pastry plays a key role in inspiring a love for baking while driving sales of
bakeware, mixers, and decorating tools through hands-on pastry classes and engaging culinary
instruction.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Experience & Brand Representation
• Represent Sur La Table’s brand and culture by creating memorable, educational
experiences that inspire repeat visits and customer loyalty.
• Deliver an exceptional in-store culinary experience focused on pastry and baking classes
that reflects Sur La Table’s passion for food, teaching, and high standards, while following
the provided recipes and game plans to ensure consistency and quality.
• Communicate technical concepts and advanced pastry skills in a clear, encouraging, and
approachable manner.
• Maintains expertise by staying current on products, actively engaging in available
training, and independently seeking out additional resources.

Sales & Business Performance
• Drive sales by upholding kitchen standards, encouraging second class sign-ups through
strong customer engagement, and promoting retail items used or featured in class.
• Deliver class revenue goals by ensuring high enrollment, positive reviews, and guest
return rates.
• Consistently meet or exceed culinary program goals by delivering exceptional classes that
drive customer engagement and sales. Performance is measured by key KPIs such as
second-class sign-ups, retail culinary product sales, and guest feedback through Google
reviews.

Team Engagement & Store Support
• Assist in setting up and breakdown of classes including organizing mise en place,
prepping ingredients, and cleaning workstations.
• Clean and sanitize dishes and equipment promptly to ensure smooth kitchen operations.
• Assist with restocking, organizing, and maintaining kitchen supplies and tools to support
overall store readiness.

Operations & Compliance
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, local health codes, and sanitation
regulations.
• Properly handle all tools, ingredients, and kitchen equipment to maintain a safe and
efficient work environment.
• Maintain accurate inventory levels, minimize shrink, and control supply and culinary
expenses.
• May handle liquor, wine, and beer in compliance with state and location alcohol
regulations, company policies, including enforcing age restrictions.
• Ensure store safety and cleanliness, addressing any maintenance needs promptly.
• Adhere to applicable wage and hour laws. Accurately records time worked according to
SLT Policy.
• Model and ensure consistent adherence to all Sur La Table policies and standard
operating procedures (SOPs).

Physical Requirements
• Ability to communicate verbally and work cooperatively with associates and customers.
• Ability to remain standing for up to 4 hours at a time.
• Ability to move about the store directing class participants while selling to customers and
retrieving merchandise from stockroom or sales floor.
• The capability to accurately perceive and differentiate variations in intensity or quality of
flavors or odors, or to identify specific tastes or scents using the tongue or nose.
• Ability to grab, reach, push, pull, bend, stoop, kneel and crouch to demonstrate, retrieve
and/or replenish merchandise and/or cooking equipment.
• Ability to use hands to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise to chop, whisk, slice, stir,
juice and/or demonstrate other techniques.
• Ability to lift and/or move merchandise weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to ascend/descend ladders to retrieve and/or move merchandise.
• Ability to operate a computer, POS system, keyboards, merchandise scanners and mouse
to accomplish work.
• Available to work between 12 and 16 hours per week, with a flexible schedule, including
nights, weekends, and holidays. While this is the minimum availability, scheduled hours
may differ based on business needs.
• Regular and predictable attendance with the flexibility to adjust class assignments based
on demand.
• Ability to work in a variable kitchen environment included but not limited to open flames,
hot surfaces, temperature variations, various food allergens both physical and airborne.

Qualifications & Experience
• Must be 21 years of age or older at the time of employment.
• A degree in culinary arts is preferred; however, candidates with extensive culinary
experience and demonstrated technical proficiency will be considered in lieu of formal
education.
• 1-2 years of kitchen operations experience.
• Valid Food Manager Certification.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Passion for community engagement and providing exceptional customer experiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite