Pastry Openings at Bellagio

[nightscotsman]

Bellagio currently has several openings posted on their corporate web site for positions in the pastry department:

4 openings in the main pastry kitchen

1 opening in Picasso

3 openings in Michael Mina (formerly Aqua)

You can apply on-line, or if you're interested in a job in the main pastry kitchen, PM me and I will send you more direct contact information.

I don't know for sure where in the kitchen these positions are - could be banquets, restaurant desserts, buffet, danish, cakes, or chocolate - but there is a major expansion tower opening in December, including a new dedicated pastry shop, so every section will need more people for the increased work load.

Bellagio is a union shop, so pay and benefits are excellent and employees are treated very well. work days are normally 8 hours, 5 days a week with time and a half for overtime and double pay for holidays. The executive pastry chef is MOF Jean Philippe Maury and two members of the latest World Pastry Championship gold medal team are on staff. For a hotel of this size... well, any hotel actually... product quality is very high. Almost everything is made in-house from scratch using high quality ingredients.

I work in the restaurant dessert team with four other bakers and a pastry chef supervisor. We make all the dessert components (final assembly and plating happens in the restaurant at service) for seven restaurants and room service, plus finished individual pastries for five retail outlets. I'm happy to work in this section of the kitchen and have learned a lot. We make a wide variety of product and we each rotate through several stations during the week so we don't get bored doing the same thing every day.

[tanabutler]

Are there any positions along the lines of "royal taster"?

[nightscotsman]

Are there any positions along the lines of "royal taster"?

Yes, but you have to pay a fee. And make a reservation.

[carp]

Several months ago I saw the episode of "Into the Fire (ItF)" that featured the Bellagio. It has haunted me... so last weekend I went to Picasso and had a great meal, but everything is done so smoothly at the Bellagio that I didn't get to see any of the enormous food service operation featured in ItF.

Next time I go to Las Vegas what are my chances of getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Bellagio foodservice underworld?

[nightscotsman]

Several months ago I saw the episode of "Into the Fire (ItF)" that featured the Bellagio. It has haunted me... so last weekend I went to Picasso and had a great meal, but everything is done so smoothly at the Bellagio that I didn't get to see any of the enormous food service operation featured in ItF.

Next time I go to Las Vegas what are my chances of getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Bellagio foodservice underworld?

Unfortunately your chances are slim to none. Official policy is we aren't allowed to bring anyone, including family members, back of house.

However, the front of house people are trained to never say no to a guest, so if you are staying at Bellagio you might be able to talk the concierge into arranging something for you. And of course, if you drop a few thousand at the gaming tables they will be happy to take you anywhere you want to go.

If you do talk them into it and you're interested in the pastry kitchen, the main action is in the early morning - the restaruant crew starts the earliest at 4:00 am with buffet coming in at 6:00 and banquets at 8:00.

[lepatissier]

Awww Neil, all the action is in the morning!?! Why would you say a thing like that . . . the afternoons can get pretty exciting tooooooo!!!!!

Hehehe, its too bad I dont get to see you in the kitchen . . .

For those reading this interested in possibly applying for any of the positions Neil mentioned, I would have to say that it is a great opportunity to be working in the Bellagio pastry kitchen. Having only been working there 6 weeks, I have already learned so much and am constantly doing so every day . . . (today just happens to be my day off . . woo hooo! )

If you have any questions on kitchen atmosphere/operations, I am sure Neil or myself would gladly answer any questions.

[nightscotsman]

Awww Neil, all the action is in the morning!?! Why would you say a thing like that . . . the afternoons can get pretty exciting tooooooo!!!!!

Hehehe, its too bad I dont get to see you in the kitchen . . .

For those reading this interested in possibly applying for any of the positions Neil mentioned, I would have to say that it is a great opportunity to be working in the Bellagio pastry kitchen. Having only been working there 6 weeks, I have already learned so much and am constantly doing so every day . . . (today just happens to be my day off . . woo hooo! )

If you have any questions on kitchen atmosphere/operations, I am sure Neil or myself would gladly answer any questions.

←

Of COURSE not ALL the action is in the morning - the afternoon folks work their asses off as well. But the morning crew gets to do most of the pretty finishing work. And you can make the creme brulee mix for us anytime you like, lepatissier.

[Othafa9]

I'm stuck in Limbo!!! I am in the middle of the hiring "process" going through the background check stage, and now theirs a hiring freeze!!! Alittle frustrated I am. Hope it doesn't last long....

[nightscotsman]

Ah, welcome to the corporate hiring process. It took over six weeks, from interview to official job offer, for them to work me through their system. When they tell you it's time for the drug test you'll know you're in (assuming you pass, of course)

Don't know why there might be a hiring freeze. They just did a big promo with current employees touting all the new opportunities opening up with the new tower. Unless it's because people already working here get first crack at the new jobs.

By the way there are two new restaurants opening in the "Spa Tower" along with the JPM Pastry shop: "Sensi" (exec chef Martin Heierling) and "Tuscany Kitchen" (supposedly a demonstration kitchen with classroom seating).

[lepatissier]

Yep I know all too well how long it takes . . haha . . .

I do know that they are hiring almost 1400 people for the new tower so there have been tons of applicants lately . . . early hiring has started with full hiring starting in October . . .

I just looked at the listing again the still open are . . .

Assist. Mgr - JPM Patiserrie (retail)

Assistant Pastry Chef - Sensi

Baker - Pastry Shop (4)

Baker - Picasso

Helper - Pastry Shop (2)

Good luck everyone who is applying . . . and we hope to see you in the shop very soon :)

[Bicycle Lee]

A buddy of mine just went to LV to work at Bradley Ogden and he says he gets 15.50 an hour and overtime after 8 hours (in one shift)....how do these positions compare?

Edited September 13, 2004 by Bicycle Lee (log)

[chefpeon]

Man, LV sounds like one of THE places to be if you want to expand your horizons, learn from the best, be on the cutting edge, and actually make a living while you're at it.

I'd probably do it in a hot second, except for the fact that I'd actually have to live there. I don't think I could stand it. I grew up next to the ocean, and I actually start to get panicky when I move inland and can't see a coastline. People always recognize me....I'm the PC with the seaweed stuck to her shoes.

Hey Neil, I was wondering......

I saw your wonderful page on your adventures in Pastry School. Did you go there on your own, then apply to work at Bellagio? Or did you get a position at Bellagio and they sent you to pastry school? I noticed that Chef Maury is the exec at Bellagio and also the one who headed up the school you went to.....coincidence?

[nightscotsman]

A buddy of mine just went to LV to work at Bradley Ogden and he says he gets 15.50 an hour and overtime after 8 hours (in one shift)....how do these positions compare?

←

Very similar. I think bakers (similar to pastry cook) at Bellagio maybe make a few cents less, though still about $15 an hour. Sounds like the Bradley Ogden job is covered by the Union as well. When you add in all the benefits that you might have to pay for yourself at other places, the total compensation is actually higher.

Hey Neil, I was wondering......

I saw your wonderful page on your adventures in Pastry School. Did you go there on your own, then apply to work at Bellagio? Or did you get a position at Bellagio and they sent you to pastry school? I noticed that Chef Maury is the exec at Bellagio and also the one who headed up the school you went to.....coincidence?

←

I went to the French Pastry School on my own and ended up at the Bellagio at the recommendation (and extremely helpful reference) of my teacher Jacquy Pfeiffer. My original plan was to go into restaurant pastry work, but after learning more about the program at Bellagio and visiting the kitchen myself, and also doing a couple stages in restaurants, I realized I would learn far more in a much shorter time in Vegas. I certainly don't plan to make this my permanent home, but it's OK for now and I'm planning to stick it out to learn and get all the experience I can.

Actually, Chef Maury has no connection to the French Pastry School other than being friends with Jacquy. Those French pastry chefs really do stick together.

[nightscotsman]

I just wanted to bump this back up top since we are still looking to fill several pastry positions. We just lost our assistant pastry chef in charge of breakfast pastry (the "Danish Team"), so that opening has been added. Check out the jobs available here (select "Bellagio" under Property and "pastry" under Keyword).

[JSkilling]

Saw your place on Rachel Ray last night. Swanky!!

I loved the gardens and the interiors were just gorgeous. Bet the food's good too!

[Othafa9]

Still in hiring limbo. Alot of miscommunication going on, on the drug test stage now, its been sent, the lab rejected it, and they had to send it again.....I'm not giving up dammit!!

[nightscotsman]

Still in hiring limbo.  Alot of miscommunication going on, on the drug test stage now, its been sent, the lab rejected it, and they had to send it again.....I'm not giving up dammit!!

←

Ah, the corporate hiring process strikes again. Hope you've got enough hair left for the second test.

[nightscotsman]

I'm bumping this thread up yet again since we are desperately in need of pastry cooks. The new pastry shop opened this weekend and is a huge hit. Unfortunately this means that we just can't handle the work load with the current staff level. We're doing world-class, competition level stuff that you rarely see anywhere, and working here is not only a great learning experience, but the pay and benefits are excellent and employees are treated fairly and with respect. On the restaurant dessert team (where I work) we don't do the huge volumes of product that buffet and banquets does, but you will need to be able to work quickly and cleanly and have a good eye for finishing techniques.

If interested either call Bellagio directly between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm PST and ask to be connected to the pastry kitchen office to inquire about job openings, or PM me and I can get you an email address.

[chiantiglace]

man nighscotsman, it's too bad im 2700 miles away from you and already took up a pastry chef positon at a new restaurant or i'd be there, atleast part time. I'd love to help you knock some major prep out and have an incredible experience at the same time, but that is not my path right now.

I hope you will still be around in about 8 years after I tour southbeach, because Vegas is on my top 5 list for working experience.

[chefpeon]

You know what, if it were 5 years ago, when I was still hopelessly single, and working my ass off in the cake shop for peanuts, I'd pack my bags for LV in a HOT SECOND.

To work where a lot of talent is, and where money is no object to the owners regarding ingredients and equipment.....I'd be a fool to pass that up. A damn fool.

But......I actually found a man with a job, and married him, right when the cake shop closed.

Moved to Tinytown USA. Work in a quaint little kitchen with earthy fun foodie people. It's

pretty great. But a little part of me would love the opportunity down there at the Bellagio!!!

Maybe next lifetime I guess!!!!

[chiantiglace]

Yea but C.P. that's what everyone wants to do what you are doing. See now you can make a good living spend a few years in peace and, my favorite, consistancy. Save the money up and vacation a little in places like Vegas. Gain soem friends in the industry, go out there do some personal research and never have to work those crazy corporate hours.

[chefpeon]

Yea but C.P. that's what everyone wants to do what you are doing. See now you can make a good living spend a few years in peace and, my favorite, consistancy.

Yep, you're right chianti.......peace and consistency are pretty awesome to me right now.

It's not every day you're sitting there planning out your tasks having your morning coffee,

and your boss/co-worker says, "Hey, you want a little brandy in that?"