The wait is over – Baker D. Chirico has cut the ribbon on its jaw-dropping Newstead bakery
When Daniel Chirico opened his first Baker D. Chirico location in 2001 – an 80-sqm store on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda – Melbourne’s artisanal baking scene was still in its infancy.
Even then, Daniel had a reputation for making outstanding loaves, thanks to a stint as the in-house baker for Maurice Terzini’s Melbourne Wine Room. Not long after Baker D. Chirico opened, it rapidly amassed a wholesale portfolio featuring heavy-hitter clientele like Neil Perry at Rockpool Bar & Grill, Andrew McConnell at Dining Room 211, Vue de monde, Di Stasio, Grossi Florentino and Stokehouse. It quickly found a place in the hearts of the general public, too, with Daniel’s range of sweet and savoury products capturing taste buds.
Fast forward more than 20 years to Saturday October 5 – Baker D. Chirico has officially opened the doors to its long-awaited Newstead bakery. Naturally, Brisbane foodies turned out in droves to have a stickybeak.
A few hiccups that delayed Baker D. Chricio’s opening have done little to temper the excitement of locals – such is the reputation of the bakery, which is still regarded as one of Melbourne’s best. When we ask Daniel how that reputation came to be forged, he chalks it up to a slow-food ethos that encompasses traditional techniques and natural fermentations (an approach he helped popularise when he opened Baker D. Chirico in 2001) as well as an unrelenting commitment to delivering quality across the board.
“What we do is a 12-hour process,” says Daniel. “My deal is that I want to give customers something that is as fresh as possible. What would be the worst thing, for me, is trying to give something to somebody knowing that it’s not right. If I know it’s not right, I’m not going to give it to you.”
This methodical approach to baking could also be applied to the way Daniel runs his business. The launch of the Newstead location marked the end of a waiting period that first began back in December 2020, when Baker D. Chirico announced its intention to open a Brisbane expansion at the base of Cavcorp’s Long Island development. Pandemic-related lockdowns put the brakes on construction plans, with Daniel’s team of designers, builders and bakers unable to cross state borders to begin work.
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Even when the build was largely complete, Daniel opted to introduce Baker D. Chirico to locals gradually while he put the right team in place and adapted his recipes to Queensland’s climate. Rather than rush the process, Daniel’s ‘it’s right when it’s right’ fastidiousness has paid off – the quality of his products have already started to put qualms about the delay to rest.
Baker D. Chirico’s Newstead home is a stunner – an architecturally designed space that feels more like a modern art gallery than a bakery. Fetching interiors have long been a hallmark of Baker D. Chirico’s brand, with Daniel, who has a background in graphic design, professing a sincere appreciation for aesthetics.
Daniel enlisted Rodney Eggleston of March Studio (the architect responsible for Baker D. Chirico’s Carlton store and also the striking interiors at Aesop on James Street) to help bring the Brisbane space to life. The design is a continuation, of sorts, of Carlton’s eye-catching interior – just brightened and made a bit more glam to suit the site’s light-filled, piazza-style setting.
“The brief was basically an evolution of Carlton,” Daniel explains. “Carlton’s design – with the timber ceiling that drapes down to the shelving – that’s inspired by an inverted bread basket. It’s the same idea here, but it’s a little bit bigger and it’s not as undulating as the one in Carlton. We wanted to heighten the ceiling and give it a bit more of an expansive feel. I can’t speak highly enough of the generosity that Cavcorp has shown – they’ve enabled me to freely deliver an environment that is a reflection of what I’m about.”
While the curved timber ceiling is the most eye-catching fixture of the space, the rest of the venue’s detailing is similarly exquisite. Aggregate terrazzo tiles (crafted by a London-based designer) cover the floor and the front of the lengthy service counter, which itself supports a sturdy timber top. A couple of brass-trimmed tables and leather couches can be found inside, while a scattering of tables occupy an exterior alfresco space.
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Guests can peer through floor-to-ceiling windows into the kitchen and spy the baking team animatedly utilising a suite of high-end gear. This set-up is working overtime to produce Baker D. Chirico’s range of goods, which is inspired by French, German and Italian baking cultures.
“I never wanted to have a bakery that was Italian only – I was French trained and I love German bread,” says Daniel. “I like to say [Baker D. Chirico] is European inspired, because that allows me to take a few bits and pieces from everywhere.”
The bakery’s glass-encased pastry display is filled with a kaleidoscopic range of sweet and savoury items. In addition to various kinds of croissant, you’ll spy rum, raisin and cinnamon roses, layered almond slice, custard-filled bombolone, fresh berry tarts, gianduia-filled pain Suisse, and pina colada danishes.
On the savoury front, Baker D. Chirico signatures like its famous slow-cooked beef ragu pie are available alongside sausage rolls, rosemary croissants filled with manchego and prosciutto cotto, tamago mayo brioche rolls, and traditional rosetta bread rolls filled with the likes of roast chicken, porchetta or deli meats. Daniel also tells us that he’ll soon introduce calzones and scacciata (pressed focaccia sandwiches) to the mix.
Of course, a big pillar of Baker D. Chirico’s offering is its breads. In addition to sourdough, the bakery’s shelves are filled with the likes of seeded whole wheat with linseed and sunflower, light rye with caraway seeds, olive and rosemary breads, and braided loaves of challah. All are made using nutrient-dense, biodynamic and stone-milled flours sourced from suppliers like Laucke Flour Mills and Wholegrain Milling Co., with Daniel eager to showcase the importance of quality ingredients in the loaf-making process.
“I want to introduce and hopefully get people excited about good flour ,” says Daniel. “Good ingredients, good techniques, good methods and getting good flavour. I’m sure when people eat the bread they’ll realise it.”
Baker D. Chirico’s slow and steady operation style sets it apart from other local bakers in a notable way. While, yes, Baker D. Chirico opens later than usual, it also stays open later, with the offering expanding and evolving as the day progresses.
While there’s an impressively long list of items to try at Baker D. Chirico right now, there are more exciting things still to come. Daniel is taking a long-term approach to Baker D. Chirico’s growth, describing the rest of 2024 as the Newstead outpost’s soft-opening period. Next year, Daniel will add a cafe-style menu to the offering, which will include six breakfast items and six lunch items. House-made gelato is also on the cards, as well as potentially some short-order morsels. Baker D. Chirico’s famous holiday-centric specialties, including its panettone and hot cross buns, are also in the works.
“The 2024 stage is a prelude – it’s an opportunity to really put the bakery through its paces and then give it a race next year,” says Daniel. “But in the meantime, let’s have a bit of fun.”
While Daniel is appreciative of the patience Brisbanites have shown Baker D. Chirico through its protracted gestation period, he believes that his approach – the unyielding desire to absolutely nail his products every time – is what will establish Baker D. Chirico as a new pillar of the local baking landscape.
“I’m a hopeless romantic creative,” says Daniel. “I just want to give something beautiful to people.”
Baker D. Chirico is now open to the public. Head to the Stumble Guide for more info.