TOUCH OF FRANCE IN CITY
A FRENCHMAN who has studied at one of Europe’s finest bakery schools is making quite an impression at Willows Markets.
Dimitri Pittion-rossillon makes French delicacies like twice-baked almond, raspberry or chocolate croissants, alongside the good old Aussie pie.
His sausage rolls, using pork shoulder in pastry topped with fennel seeds, is a bestseller.
“What drives me is quality and trying to work with other businesses, for example getting good meat from the butcher,” Dimitri says.
“I’m not looking at big quantities and taking shortcuts. It’s not all about the money.”
Dimitri is the Baker D North – you can find him on Instagram under that name – and has been turning up weekly at the markets for about six weeks.
Through Ray White Commercial, he has leased a commercial kitchen in Cranbrook where he intends to open a shopfront, possibly in the new year.
He came to the city with his wife, who is a marine biologist.
Dimitri trained as an artisan baker at the Institut National de la Boulangerie Pâtisserie at Rouen near Paris and has worked at bakeries around Australia.
“I feel like I have learned a lot, not only about the French side of baking but also the Australian side,”
Dimitri said.
“People are coming back every week, which is a good sign.”
Ray White Commercial agent Troy
Townsend said people seemed to have rediscovered a love for fine foods during the pandemic, with an upsurge in interest in artisan baked goods.