Pastry chef
Steven Rujak
- Discipline
- Pastry chef
i. Biography
Program Chair, Culinary Arts at Valencia College, Steven Rujak has built a career in baking and pastry across classrooms and resort kitchens. The throughline is not spectacle; it is control, repetition, and the ability to hold standards in two settings that demand different kinds of discipline. From SeaWorld Orlando to Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, his work sits in the overlap between instruction and large-scale service.
The Path
Assistant Pastry Chef at Universal Studios Hollywood (1990–2000) gave Steven Rujak a decade in which speed and consistency had to coexist. In pastry, that kind of environment shapes the basics: timing, precision, and the habit of producing the same result under pressure. It was the early structure of a career that would expand without leaving those demands behind. Since 1997, he has been Chef Instructor of Valencia College, making teaching a permanent part of the job rather than an off-ramp from it. That same period also placed him in active hospitality work, with the classroom and the hotel kitchen running in parallel. Since 2000, he has served as Executive Sous Chef of Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, where leadership in a high-volume setting requires close attention to execution and pace. By 2008, Steven had added president of Rujak Enterprises to his work, extending his responsibilities beyond instruction and hotel operations. Since 2014, he has been Head Chef of Hayrt, another title that reflects the range of his practice and the confidence placed in his judgment. Today, Steven also serves as Exec Pastry and Exec Sous Chef of Hyatt Regency, keeping pastry, savory leadership, and teaching in the same working frame.
The Work Today
Today, he serves as Program Chair, Culinary Arts at Valencia College, where his role centers on shaping curriculum and guiding the next layer of culinary workers. He also remains Chef Instructor at the college, a position he has held since 1997, keeping his technical experience in active circulation inside the classroom. Alongside that academic role, he continues as Executive Sous Chef at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, staying tied to the demands of a major hospitality operation. In addition, he is listed as Exec Pastry and Exec Sous Chef at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Orlando in Florida, which keeps his work anchored in both pastry and savory leadership. The specialty remains baking and pastry, with teaching and hotel kitchen management moving side by side.
Acclaim
The key mark of Steven Rujak’s career is the length and stability of his leadership across two fields that often pull in different directions. At Valencia College, he has shaped culinary education since 1997; in parallel, he has held senior kitchen roles in Orlando-area hospitality. The result is a career built on production, instruction, and continuity, with pastry knowledge carried from the kitchen to the classroom and back again.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Steven
What is Steven Rujak's current role?
As of 2026, Steven Rujak is Program Chair, Culinary Arts.
Where did Steven Rujak work before?
Steven Rujak's earlier career included Universal Studios Hollywood.
What is Steven Rujak known for?
Baking and pastry.