"What’s really important for me,” said Gontran Cherrier, in his enticing French drawl, “is that if I propose to my customers a French croissant, I want to propose a French croissant with French flour and French butter, like in Paris.”
And with a whisk of the good stuff, the star chef has literally imported a taste of France to Melbourne.
If you don’t yet know Gontran Cherrier, his fare will be hard to ignore when walking along Melbourne’s hipster Smith Street. Well known in France for his TV cooking shows, including “La Meilleure Boulangerie de France”, a contest to finding the best baker in France.
And now, he’s opened up his first boulangerie in Australia - the sixteenth in the world.
But alongside the French classics, you'll find ingredients unconventional to a Parisian patisserie. There's miso, coriander, paprika, and squid ink – a true artisan Asian fusion.
Gontran said it’s because he’s inspired by the flavours of the world.
“I like mixing. It’s like many bridges between different cultures and I try to do that with my bakery.”
And that combination of cultures is the reason the fourth generation baker chose Melbourne to be his first Australian home.
French ex-patriot François de Meneval was behind the push to bring Gontran down under. He's a big fan of Gontran's baking show, which tours the French countryside.
“France has remained very traditional and here in Melbourne, a place where people are always looking to experiment with different things,” de Meneval told SBS.
And it's a big deal for Australia’s French community, just ask celebrity chef Gabriel Gaté, who popped in for the bakery’s soft opening and is sure to be a regular.
“People have been making good bread in France for hundreds of years.”
“There is an evolution in cooking, in baking, and we have a young person that is creative, using the experience of generations.”
The diversity isn't just reflected in the baked goods, the staff themselves hail from across the globe. The predominantly French kitchen has a head baker from Japan, and a combination of Britons and Australians round up the team.
Misato Kikuchi has worked with Gontran in Paris and Japan. She arrived from Tokyo two days ago.
“In Australia we want to make the unique Gontran bread by using local products and understanding the culture,” she said.
Australian Travis Welch is the head chef, and responsible for the café menu which features an eclectic twist on a bacon and egg roll by adding sriracha mayonnaise and wedging it into a squid ink bun, but also offers French toast, quiche Lorraine and others.
And those who have so far sampled the food gave it the tick of approval.
“I ordered an almond croissant, because it was a test, and it was superb I have to say,” said local Meera Freeman.
While gluten intolerant customer Alan Messer was pleased he had some options.
“My friend and I, we're both coeliac, so we chose the salmon and it was excellent,” he said.
And Gontran's most preferred meal?
“My favourite dish is maybe some slice of bread with some cheese, that's so wonderful.”
Sometimes it's hard to beat the simple things in life.
