This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 21, 2019
Visiting Melbourne soon? Unbeknownst to many, the place to head to if you are craving a taste of Paris — and France itself is a little too far — should look no further than the Victorian capital to indulge in the traditional croissant. Here is a list of some fabulous places to get crusty, buttery croissant — the ideal indulgent snack, any time of day. The eastern end of tree lined Collins Street has been known colloquially as the ‘Paris End’ with its heritage buildings and high-end boutiques but Melbourne’s best buttery flaky baked goods can be found beyond the inner-city precinct.
Lune Croissanterie
This café puts Melbourne on the global map for the French delicacy after the New York Times named the croissants the best in the world. Lune founder and former aerospace engineer Kate Reid has used her background to create world-renowned pastries in the climate-controlled glass cube at the Lune Lab’s brick warehouse in Fitzroy.
Don’t be surprised to see locals and visitors queuing around the block to get their hands on a range of croissants, including the traditional, Pain au Chocolat, cruffins (croissant muffin) and twice baked croissants. Visitors to the city can now find the croissants in the central business district after the bakery opened an abridged standing room only version with a shorter menu across the road from the Grand Hyatt on Russell Street.
Agathe Patisserie
Reinforcing Melbourne’s mantle as the world’s best croissant destination is South Melbourne Market’s Agathé Pâtisserie. The Paris-inspired bakery, where the freshest French pastries are baked before visitor’s eyes at the open kitchen, produce a range of authentic French pastries, cakes and savouries. Along with the traditional plump buttery croissant, the innovative bakery produces an assortment of rotating flavours, including matcha, pandan, cafe au lait, macadamia and milk chocolate, raspberry and gingerbread. The neighbourhood bakery has since opened a hole in the wall shop at the elegant and ornate Royal Arcade.
Tivoli Road Bakery
Formerly known as MoVida Bakery when it was opened by popular Melbourne restauranteur Frank Camorra, the South Yarra bakery reopened as Tivoli Road Bakery when it was taken over by head baker Michael James. The small artisan bakery using local produce and long fermentation specialise in viennoiserie, which includes croissant, pain au chocolat, escargot, almond croissant, fruit Danish and macadamia and wattleseed praline. From Friday to Sunday visitors can also get their delicious morning buns — croissant pastry baked in a tin, dusted in cinnamon and orange sugar, and filled with custard.
Gontran Cherrier
After opening 27 bakeries around the world, fourth generation Normandy-born baker Gontran Cherrier opened his first Australian boulangerie on Collingwood’s Smith Street as it reminded him of Paris neighbourhood Montmartre. The handcrafted artisan bakery uses rich French bakery traditions and ingredients, including importing his favourite flour and Lescure butter from France, to create the thick, rich croissants. Since opening in Collingwood in 2016, the award-winning boulangerie has expanded to three venues with shops opening on Richmond and Hawthorn.
Weirdoughs
Vegans can join in the Bastille Day celebrations with croissants from Melbourne’s plant-based bakery. Weirdoughs combines old school baking techniques with modern sustainability that uses 100 percent plant-based ingredients to create a range of croissants including traditional, almond, chocolate and a strange shaped cube pastry.
Specially crafted vegan butter, produced with macadamia, cashew and coconut oil butter, provides the basis for the baked goods and has been designed to recreate the delectable buttery goodness of traditional pastries.