I popped into one of my favourite Darlinghurst cafes, Strawberry Cream, this week and was beckoned into the kitchen by master baker Geoffrey Reid who wanted to tell me about a celebrity visitor who had come into his shop that morning.
No, it was not US actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who is presently in Sydney to film an adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, which is being made by Darlinghurst residents Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin.
No, it was not US actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who is presently in Sydney to film an adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, which is being made by Darlinghurst residents Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin.
The ''celebrity'' was the Governor-General Quentin Bryce who had stopped in for a coffee. It was a great little story but I was more interested in the croissants that Mr Reid was making.
I've eaten plenty of croissants in my time but have never seen them being made. It was quite fascinating, especially watching Mr Reid's nimble hands at work preparing the little crescents of pastry.
He started off with layers and layers of pastry, which were cut into these triangles (above) with semi-splits down the middle. Each layer of triangle would make two croissants, which were expertly rolled into these little shapes (below):
Within five minutes there was a tray of about 30 croissants. It was like magic.
Unfortunately I did not have time to stay around and wait for them to cook, but I did make sure to buy a pre-prepared one on my way out.
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Strawberry Cream
336 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
02 9356 3122
I remember Strawberry Cream very well, having had coffee and cakes there with my late gf many times. Sometimes we got a wobbly table but we always got a table.
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