Fresh, crusty French breads join the freshest of French pastries as Melbourne-based Parisian croissant queen and pastry chef Agathé Kerr adds a traditional French bakery range to her expanding local empire.
Ms Kerr is now baking and selling bread from her Paris-inspired bakery, Agathé Pâtisserie at South
Melbourne Market, adding baguettes (the classic long, thin crusty loaf) and ficelles (the baguette’s longer, skinnier sibling) to a large range of authentic French pastries, cakes and savouries.
It’s a big step up for the French mother-of-three, who trained as a pastry chef at the prestigious Ecole de Boulangerie et Pâtisserie de Paris before moving to Melbourne in 2013.
“I have always hoped to expand my range to offer freshly baked breads and have finally been able to
acquire the space beside Agathé Pâtisserie so I could install the oven and equipment I required,” Ms Kerr said.
While she loves baking bread and experimenting with flavours, Ms Kerr remains true to the traditional style of French baking to ensure her baked goods are authentic.
Agathé Pâtisserie has developed a cult following since opening at South Melbourne Market in July 2015, and regularly attracts a long queue of eager customers waiting for fresh baked treats, warm from her ovens. Last year Ms Kerr expanded her business to sell fresh French pastries from Agathé Pâtisserie Petite, a tiny, hole-in-the-wall outlet in Melbourne’s iconic Royal Arcade.
The new bakery range includes traditional baguettes (large $5), honey and sesame baguettes (large $6), parmesan and cheddar ficelle (small $4) and poppy seed ficelle (small $4). Chocolate chip milk-bread baguettes, similar to brioche, sell for between $4 and $6, while olive and garlic-flavoured baguettes will join the range soon.
“I have had such strong support already, the bread is selling like hotcakes, and I think people really
appreciate that it is made by a local French chef using an authentic French recipe,” Ms Kerr said.
“Of course, it may also be that my bread goes so perfectly with steaming winter soups, such as onion soup, which is my personal favourite!”
Ms Kerr is now looking for an industrial kitchen from which she can service her growing empire, including future pop-up and retail outlets planned elsewhere in Melbourne.
Agathé’s Bakery is at Stall 63, beside Agathé Pâtisserie, South Melbourne Market, corner of Coventry and Cecil Streets, South Melbourne. The Market is open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
For information visit www.southmelbournemarket.com.au or www.agathe.com.au.
