People love finding hidden places. I know I do. I get no bigger thrill than from discovering an out-of-the-way newbie. Look in the mirror today, and repeat this out loud: ‘I’m spoilt for choice and today I’ll try a new local food outlet’. It’s my mantra, and an affirmation to uncover these manifestos of others’ visions and skills. For me, finding the source of exciting locally made products is like finding a genie’s lamp; I just want to show my friends how clever the genie is.
I recently found a wonderful gem, newly opened six weeks ago in Mullumbimby, and they’re producing some outstanding goods for spoilt foodies not unlike myself.
Angie and Greg Wilton own Scratch Patisserie and are clearly pulling all the stops out in this business. They take eggs from their own free-roaming chickens, so when they say ‘organic eggs’, it’s very personal. The breads and pastries are made from organic ingredients, milk, flours and sugars, and I’m guessing if they could, they’d refine the sugar at home.
Scratch Patisserie Mullumbimby isn’t a newcomer. They’ve been steady with their growth, nothing hectic or acting needy or in a hurry for outcomes. No, their approach to supply and demand has been smart – no overreaches. You’ll perhaps know they sell their range of organic pastries and breads in cafes and the like throughout Byron Shire and Mullumbimby, as well as at the Byron Farmers Market every Thursday and Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday. You may also know that they produce shining examples of bakery goods including pastries, sourdough, yeast breads, cakes, tarts, biscuits, gourmet sausage rolls, empanadas and a range of gluten-free items.
What many may not know is that Scratch have set up a little hole in the wall. It’s as cute as a button and as quirky as any Parisian patisserie. Here you’ll find a retail and coffee place opposite their bakery in the very back of the lane down past the Colleen Reilly Optometrist in Stuart Street, Mullumbimby. The stuff that previously could only have been bought at market, or through another’s outlet, is now freshly baked daily at the source from 8am until 2pm.
Scratch now serves a well-made Allpress coffee, their famous sausage rolls, baguettes, Cornish pastries, daily gluten-free choices (brownies for example), and all the fabulous baked goods a fine patisserie could produce.
The breads here are to-die-for. A good solid sourdough is my choice. I make up my own dipping oils, so with some chilli or dill olive oil, fresh-ground sea salt and a smidgeon of balsamic… ‘I’m in heaven’.
The pork sausage roll I tried came with a soft mince and a full-bodied fennel flavouring, but don’t expect much interference from stock powders and the like. Some won’t love the distinct presence of this very strident plant, but it’s the match for pork. The empanadas have a really good wholemeal crust and are innocent, leaving it to the fresh vegetable stuffing to impress. And it does. These ingredients make their own statements, having their innards salted and peppered out. The sweets need no lengthy dialogue only to clarify that they’re thoughtfully presented and definitely not disappointing.
Bring it on Scratch… I just want to hug these guys and thank them for yet another sweet discovery right under my sizeable nose.
Scratch Patisserie Mullumbimby
Tue–Fri: 8am–2pm Sat: 8am–12 noon
Stuart St Laneway (behind optometrist)
5/108 Stuart Street, Mullumbimby
6684 2914.
Orders: scratchpatisserie.com.au
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