Pierrick Boyer Cafe Patisserie
It is only fitting that chef/owner Pierrick Boyer of Pierrick Boyer Cafe Patisserie in Prahran was trained in Versailles, home of queen Marie Antoinette of France, who was rumoured to have said, "Let them eat cake."
I had sampled Pierrick's exquisite cakes and pastries when he worked in Melbourne city and was delighted when he opened his new cafe just across the road from Prahran Market.
You can't miss the bright pink awning at the entrance of the cafe, which is family and disabled-friendly, all on one level, spacious with plenty of room for prams and wheelchairs, with no tricky stairs to negotiate.
"Life is very busy now, but so fulfilling," said Pierrick when I visited on the day after the opening.
After spending all day at the cafe, he goes home to his wife and seven-month-old baby Charlotte Tiffany Grace.
"My aim at the cafe is to embrace the Australian food culture and I had been looking for the right place for a year.
"The cafe's location near the Prahran Market is perfect. The other food venues and mine complement each other and it means we have the maintain the standards of our products and services to be successful," he said.
The menu embraces a broad range of tastes and includes vegetarian and gluten-free items.
Drop in for breakfast and choose from eggs cooked your way on sourdough or multigrain bread with mushroom, hash and Persian feta, if you're a vegetarian, or bacon, chorizo or chicken if you're a meatatarian!
I tried the eggs Benedict and was suitably sated with the poached eggs draped in a silky Hollandaise sauce, topped with gruyere cheese and smoky ham hock.
Tres bon!
There's also smashed avocado for vegetarians, with slivers of grilled grapefruit, Persian feta, vincotto and rosemary salt. Utterly divine.
Other choices (I've promised myself to work my way through the entire menu) include The Big Deal, a more sophisticated version of bacon, sausage and egg, and the Wagyu beef burger, a lunch favourite.
Sides include corn, shallot and zucchini fritters, pan seared haloumi and sweet potato chips.
Or you can just have a cake and coffee.
Whatever you do, just leave some space for the deliciously divine cakes and pastries.
Highly recommended is the Charlotte Tiffany (check photo), named after baby Charlotte Tiffany Grace, an airy gluten and nut-free sponge, with raspberry jam, chocolate mousse with blueberry cream, covered in Tiffany-blue icing.
Coffee is strong and flavoursome and there is house-made hot chocolate, fresh juices and trendy kombucha.
"We make everything on the premises, including our brioche and all our pastries.
"We also use mostly Australian produce because of their high quality, especially cheeses from King Island," Pierrick said.
If you have a happy occasion to celebrate, Pierrick and his talented team can create a cake for it and a section of the cafe offers a range of gifts to take home, such as chocolates.
His team is led by head chef Brad Pearce and manager Natalie Ward.
There are also cooking classes and the venue is ideal for group bookings.
Pierrick Boyer Cafe Patisserie
31 Izett St, Prahran, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9510 6868
Open daily from 7.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on weekends
Fully licensed
On-street parking and at Safeway and Prahran Market
