Pastry cooks may work in specialist cake and pastry shops or patisseries, the manufacturing firms of large food production organisations, hot-bread shops, the bakery departments of supermarkets or cruise ships. Conditions may be hot and noisy, as well as being stressful when working to deadlines. They usually work in shifts, which may include early mornings, evening and weekends or public holidays.

Pastry cooks use a variety of mixing, measuring and baking equipment including bowls, knives, spoons, rolling pins, dough spreaders, sieves, bowl and bench scrapers and cake testers and cooling racks. They also use cake decorating equipment such as sauce guns, fondant funnels and decorating combs. They use kitchen equipment such as electric mixers and ovens, and are usually required to wear protective clothing such as hats and aprons.