What happens if you blend French cuisine with Aussie cafe culture, and add a touch of punchy Korean flavours? You get the unexpected (but oh so welcome) , a bakery and cafe in North Melbourne.
Pastry chef Aileen Seo, along with her brother (chef Jiho Sur) and baker husband (Paul Kwon) opened the venue at the end of last year so they could all work together while showcasing their specific skills.
Kwon bakes a selection of bread and pastries, Sur prepares sandwiches and weekend specials, and Seo manages the venue.
Both Seo and Sur, who are originally from Seoul, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, and spent time in France, which influenced their cooking. “When I was in Paris, I visited lots of restaurants and bakeries. Everything was really nice, but it’s the very simple baguette and things like , which marked me the most,” says Seo. “Since living in Australia, I’m also inspired by nature and local produce.”
As the name suggests, baguettes are Baguette Studio’s bread and butter. There's a traditional one on the menu, made with single-origin flour from New South Wales, as well as a smaller pretzel baguette (which makes an excellent savoury snack) and (a baguette beautifully shaped like a wheat stalk).
Bread is a big part of Baguette Studios' appeal. Source: Baguette Studios
The chocolate baguette is a whole other beast, a sweet snack or dessert in itself. Made with flour, chocolate powder and chocolate chips, it’s filled with Nutella cream.
Sur uses the baguettes and other types of bread baked by Kwon to make his sandwiches. The ham and cheese on traditional baguette is a crowd favourite, and easily rivals sandwiches you find in the best Parisian bakeries.
The trio tried many different hams but couldn’t find quite the right one for their baguette on the market, so Sur spent one of the past lockdowns perfecting his own curing recipe at home.
When assembling the sandwich, he weighs every element (Black Berkshire ham, Gruyère cheese, pickles and butter) to create a consistent and flawless product.
Among the French sandwiches, there’s always a Korean-inspired item on the menu. “My background is Korean, and I love the culture,” says Seo. There have been bulgogi cheesesteak and Korean fried chicken burger, and currently, a cheeseburger on milk bun with a wagyu patty marinated in a over two days.
When I was in Paris, I visited lots of restaurants and bakeries. Everything was really nice, but it’s the very simple baguette and things like jambon-beurre, which marked me the most.
Another subtle nod to the three owners' Korean heritage are the white moon jars you’ll see displayed on wooden shelves among the bread and pastries. “Moon jars, made from soil, will endure tough processing and have a nice shine. They symbolise the idea of loving and respecting nature, and how we treat natural ingredients with a precious and transparent mind,” explains Seo.
Pastry-wise, you can find sweet treats inspired by seasonality like the apple crumble Danish or the cotton candy grape tart.
On weekends, there are also more elaborate specials like truffle eggs, French onion soup and vanilla millefeuille.
On the drink menu, there are all the usual caffeinated suspects, but if you have a sweet tooth, you can’t go past the butterscotch cream latte. Inspired by Korean coffee culture, this iced latte is topped with butterscotch sauce and caramel cream.
Baguette Studio’s kitchen is small, so the team keeps the menu tight and likes to change it frequently, partly to remain creative, but also to keep things interesting for their customers, who are mostly regulars working in the surrounding hospitals and offices.
Some things sell out by the end of the day, but Seo, Sur and Kwon hope to expand their offering by making different types of bread, including a soft milk bread which should soon hit the shelves.
15-27 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne
Tue – Fri 7 am – 3 pm
Sat – Sun 8 am – 3 pm
