Philip Khoury is just so impressive. An award-winning pastry chef known for his innovative and delicious plant-based patisserie, he is also the Head Pastry Chef of Harrods, where he has introduced plant-based (and allergen-friendly) patisserie in addition to the iconic made-in-house ranges.

He started his career at Australia’s most awarded restaurant Quay, before becoming Adriano Zumbo’s right-hand, launching hundreds of patisserie lines in his native Australia. After a number of years spent concerned about what he felt was the food industry’s unsustainable reliance on animal exploitation he turned his attention to tackling vegan pastry, an area he had previously thought impossible, but with years of skill-building behind him he was able to draw upon the dedication and focus that he had learned along the way. His new book, A New Way to Bake, is out now published by Hardie Grant.

It is that focus on learning and knowledge-building over and above financial recourses that is so powerful about Phil’s journey, as well as his extremely interesting insistence on the importance of truly understanding your employer, and your worth to a business. Everyone’s priorities will be different, everyone’s path will be unique to them. But tuning in to the wider picture of how to reach YOUR goals is the power here.

I’ve always sought to work in either places I could learn the most or were considered the best. This was my priority – above pay. I always thought this would come eventually as I became more skilled. Most of my career so far was in Australia. I started out as an apprentice (1 day college per week and full time work) at Peter Gilmores Quay, which is widely considered one of Australia’s best ever restaurants. Because I always wanted to be a patissier (I think the most rounded of pastry chefs), if I was going to have a restaurant experience it had to be somewhere amazing or where desserts were key to their success. Quay was that place with its infamous snow egg. I did the first year of my apprenticeship there making the same mise en place for almost a year as I learned each section. There was lunch and dinner service, so long days (18+ hours), but looking back it was a brilliant kitchen. No one ever shouted and we worked 4 days on and 3 days off (totalling 60 hrs). The pay was good but, thinking about it, if it were divided by the hours worked then it was just minimum wage – which I’d expect for my first job. The way I look at it, a very good restaurant was making an investment in me – taking a bet that by training me up, I would reach the level they needed.

I think workplaces should be chosen very very carefully (and workplaces should also choose staff carefully!). It’s never a one-size-fits-all. What some will consider the best job ever, others could hate.

I think people need to understand that hospitality is business. One with low margins that is heavily reliant on people! People will likely be one of the biggest investments of that business. At the end of the day, that business needs to make money, though not all operators know how to do this well and ultimately a business may fail because priorities haven’t been balanced. I also think that, as an employee, you need to be aware of what you’re worth. I don’t think many chefs understand how much literal food they have to prepare to generate the revenue needed to pay them. It’s not their responsibility, but they should be aware of this even at a broad level. This helps you understand where you can add extra value that will eventually increase your worth to the business and the industry. Where chefs can add value as their career progresses is by doing something so well it is considered market leading or unique. It’s hard to do this without building amazing skills and understanding the foundations.

When choosing a place to work, do your research! Are they a reputable or experienced operator? Someone new to operating hospitality may not be as adept at prioritising resources.

Being a chef is, in my opinion, a vocational career that someone chooses because of passion for the trade. It should absolutely pay a living wage, at a level which is fair to experience and skill, and be a great workplace. This is a given and something that needs to be actively improved. In my career I’ve seen wide scale reviews, including witnessing the Australian government’s review of pay and conditions which initiated huge change across Australia and made businesses reevaluate their operations from top to bottom, across the industry. Being a chef is rarely going to pay as much as some other professions, and operators have many responsibilities. But employee expectations should be balanced. Bosses are not mind readers. Speak up if you have an issue. Especially in London, there are so many places a chef can work and learn.

I’ve always considered that work is a two way street. You get as much as you put in. And I have always thought that if I was over contributing that I would get it back in some way – that has really been the case especially lately. Working at Harrods with such a big team (of up to 60 pastry chefs and bakers and even more chefs in production and in 23+ restaurants) has been a once in a lifetime opportunity which I joined as sous chef in 2018. In this case I was taking a step down in position and salary but I understood that it was a huge operation and the role was unique. The business has since conducted a huge pay review and salaries have seen a dramatic increase. I was promoted to head pastry chef in 2021; it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that wouldn’t have happened if I had turned down the position because of the pay. I think this attitude and understanding has also made the difference in all my previous roles – which has led me to where I am.

No job is perfect but only you can make the difference. Don’t wait around for issues to be solved. You can do your bit to identify them and be proactive about offering solutions (even if this does come to asking for a pay rise you believe is warranted). If they aren’t listened to after 6-12 months (depending on how important the change) then by all means that operator has shown you how seriously they value your opinion and maybe it’s time to move on. I remember being in a job I didn’t enjoy and complaining a lot about it; it was my younger brother who once said to me pretty bluntly “I’m sick of hearing you complain about this. If you feel like you can’t change anything, just leave! If you feel like you don’t have a choice, just remember that you ALWAYS have a voice or a choice”.

When I was a junior chef, some extra money was no incentive to take one job over another, especially if it meant less learning opportunity. I would ruthlessly look for jobs where I would learn the most and make amazing food. Finding out the salary was lower down on my list of priorities. Nowadays, being in my position has led to countless job offers that are far better paying (some beyond all my expectations) but even now I am not chasing the best paying position. There’s so much more to be excited about – the PEOPLE you get to work with, the food you get to make, or where the existing opportunity can take you.