The Journey

I became an amateur artisan baker just before I turned forty and while I was enjoying a successful career in national advertising and marketing in Melbourne.  The first loaf I ever baked brought back long-forgotten memories of the aroma of my mother’s freshly baked bread on our small farm outside of Waimate in South Canterbury, New Zealand

 

My initial interest developed into a full-blown passion as I devoured every book on bread making at my local library as well as the many loaves of differing quality I made.  Some were good, some not so good.  The books that influenced me most were the Natural Tucker Bread Book from Melbourne baker, John Downes and Sourdoughs From Antiquity by American Ed Wood. Trial and error soon paid off and delicious handmade sourdough and yeasted breads shared among friends became the norm.

 

In 1991 Chrissie and I moved back to Perth and opened The Gourmet Grocer in Cambridge St Wembley where loaves of bread were made by hand and supplemented with a full range of lovingly made cakes, pies and pastries.

 

In 1993 after a chance meeting with the Benedictine monks of New Norcia, New Norcia Bakeries was introduced to Western Australian food lovers.  The immediate success of New Norcia Bakeries led us to sell The Gourmet Grocer and its offspring The Grocer and to concentrate on artisan bread making.

 

After three years of supplying the bread market from New Norcia which involved a 270km round trip every day for me, Perth production opened at Mt Hawthorn where we had found and restored a massive 5m by 6m wood-fired oven. Initially, the site included a small retail shop but by 2000 it had grown into a full and highly popular café.

 

By this stage, with business partner Mark Young, the business had expanded nationally and internationally with New Norcia Nut Cake, Dom Salvado Pan Chocolatti and Wood-Fired Almond Biscotti all of which were developed by the humble but highly talented Chrissie.

 

We sold the business in 2012 but it sadly fell into liquidation under the new owners six years later.  The Benedictine monks still make the New Norcia Nut Cake and associated products and bake a range of yeasted breads in the original 120-year-old wood-fired oven in the monastery at New Norcia.

 

I am humbled by the number of people I meet in the street, or in a café enjoying a coffee, who tell me they still miss New Norcia bread and how much it meant to them and their family.

 

Since retiring in 2012 I have rekindled my love of making bread by hand.  Chrissie and I still enjoy cooking together, entertaining family and friends and travelling whenever we can.

 

Now I have decided to share whatever knowledge and experience I have gathered over the past 30 years of my bread and food journey.  I welcome questions and feedback and would love to hear your stories too.

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