Born in South Carolina and raised in Charleston, Jordan Snider, is currently the executive pastry chef at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. Growing up all he wanted to be was a chef. After working in a number of different kitchens, Snider found his way into a production bakery and he was hooked.
Snider started working at a retail and production bakery in his hometown of Charleston working with bread and viennoiserie. He then spent a number of years working in fine dining and casual restaurants, until transitioning to a private club focusing primarily on banquets.
After 10 years, Snider and his wife relocated to Las Vegas where he worked in the banquet kitchens of some of the top resorts including the Mandarin Oriental, Paris Las Vegas, and Mandalay Bay. He said the volume and scale of banquets at these hotels shaped his career.
In 2014, he moved to San Diego where he was the executive pastry chef at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, a Forbes 5-Star Resort, in San Diego, California. Four years later, Snider moved back to the Charleston area to work at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina’s only five-star resort, as the executive pastry chef.
Snider said that what he loves about the pastry profession – specifically working in hotels – is the fact that he can work in every area of pastry.
“Working in the pastry department of a hotel one day you can be doing a wedding cake, showpiece, or bread,” stated Snider. “Then other days you can be involved in anything from plated desserts to ice cream or viennoiserie. We do it all. I like that it is ever-changing.”
Being a part of Pastry Team U.S.A. has always been a professional goal for Snider. “For nearly 10 years now I have always wanted to represent my country at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie,” he said. As of 2023, Snider has already participated in the Coup du Monde twice.