Even before we knew how successful Eat Drink Blog 6 (2015) would be, Elias Hallaj (CBR Foodie) had spoken with Owen Saddler (owner of Dream Cuisine in Fyshwick) at the Hamlet on the Friday night of the conference and suggested a Canberra Food Blogger get together.
Elias did a stirling job of getting a group of 20 Canberra Food Bloggers together at 8.30 on a Saturday morning. A Saturday morning in November which was only 12.4 °C on a typical late spring morning in Canberra
Owen gave us a run down on his take on pastry and running a successful patisserie. It was pretty obvious how this engineer cum artisan master of layering buttery layers of pastry loves his job. Passionate doesn’t describe his approach to his craft adequately. Owen explained how he is not a cook nor a chef but more of an experimenter. He also encourages his cooks/chefs to experiment allowing them to make mistakes because, who knows? it could just be the next big thing!
Owen also shared his love of chocolate and his distaste for the practice of using cheap chocolate in croissants and other layered pastry. Only the best will do.
While we were listening to Owen we were treated to a few varieties of his layered pastries. Each one was delicious. Each one was light. Each one had that buttery creamy yet crisp texture. One thing Owen didn’t say too much about was the custard his makes. The custard in some of the pastries was fantastic.
The best part of these blogger get togethers is catching up with friends and meeting people who I only know through social media. I got to meet a whole new group of friends in real life for the first time. It was good to meet Bianca who helped me cut up our sharing plate so we could enjoy a little of each pastry. I also got to meet Lisa (BakeBikeBlog) and Kristy (Tales of a Confectionist) who I’ve known for ages but have never met.
After we enjoyed some pastries we did a tour of the preparation and kitchen areas. Owen showed us his equipment, much of it is well loved and one piece came from East Germany (which time marks the age of some of the equipment).
We got to see the cold room and drooled over the trays of croissants. Owen also pointed out a large container of Queensland nut (Macadamia sp.) oil which he uses for cronuts.
In the kitchen area I was crestfallen when Owen said he finds Vanilla Slice labour intensive and they are only made when Dream Cuisine is fully staffed. My mood brightened when he said there may be some available next week and they’d be presented with a little twist
As we left we were given a gift of goodies. Two layered pastries and two macarons. I also bought two sausage rolls.
After all that buttery goodness, I needed to walk around Lake Ginninderra. It was good to see a Pelican on the water.
I would highly recommend a visit to Dream Cuisine at Fyshwick and its other outlets.
Dream Cuisine Patisserie and Café 9/18 Whyalla Street, Fyshwick. Open Monday to Friday 7 am to 3 pm and Saturday 9 am to 2 pm.
Capital Region Farmers Market Saturday 8 to 11 am
Old Bus Depot Markets Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
Little Dream at The Hamlet, Bradden
Website http://www.dreamcuisine.net.au/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Dream-Cuisine-465771545192/
Twitter https://twitter.com/dream_cuisine
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dreamcuisinecanberra/
Again thank you Elias and Owen for making today happen.
Do you like pastry? I suppose that may be a stupid question
Link love
CBR Foodie http://cbrfoodie.org/2015/11/14/review-dream-cuisine-patisserie-and-cafe/
Michele Fineeating https://fineeating.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/dream-cuisine-fyshwick-a-passion-for-pastry/
Rose and Joseph http://www.travelandbeyond.org/2015/11/18/dream-cuisine-patisserie/