Francesca Giorgi Monfort didn’t set out to become Melbourne’s most interesting pie maker. The Swiss-born chef’s path has been anything but straightforward: from PR and art galleries in London to restaurant management in Europe, and finally to the kitchen where she found her true calling. After working at Farmer’s Daughters, Marion and heading the kitchen at Noisy Ritual, Fran decided to do things her own way. What began as an experiment with puff pastry has become Frankie’s Pie Shop, a cult favourite at the Carlton Farmers’ Market known for pies with personality. Her cauliflower cheese pie, inspired by a Tesco recipe but elevated with charred vegetables and proper technique, is a perfect example of her ethos: simple done brilliantly. For now, she’s beginning a residency at Superette on Sydney Road in Brunswick, selling two flavours of pies and two sausage rolls every day. I met Fran at Superette and am especially grateful for her patience. It was my first video podcast, and she couldn’t have been more generous as we talked about pastry that gets more rest than she does, the quiet resilience behind Frankie’s, and her belief that vegetarian pies can, and should, be far more than vegetable stew.
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Francesca Giorgi Monfort didn’t set out to become Melbourne’s most interesting pie maker. The Swiss-born chef’s path has been anything but straightforward: from PR and art galleries in London to restaurant management in Europe, and finally to the kitchen where she found her true calling. After working at Farmer’s Daughters, Marion and heading the kitchen at Noisy Ritual, Fran decided to do things her own way. What began as an experiment with puff pastry has become Frankie’s Pie Shop, a cult favourite at the Carlton Farmers’ Market known for pies with personality. Her cauliflower cheese pie, inspired by a Tesco recipe but elevated with charred vegetables and proper technique, is a perfect example of her ethos: simple done brilliantly. For now, she’s beginning a residency at Superette on Sydney Road in Brunswick, selling two flavours of pies and two sausage rolls every day. I met Fran at Superette and am especially grateful for her patience. It was my first video podcast, and she couldn’t have been more generous as we talked about pastry that gets more rest than she does, the quiet resilience behind Frankie’s, and her belief that vegetarian pies can, and should, be far more than vegetable stew.
Today I’m chatting with Rachel Miyazaki from Niji Sweets. If you’ve walked through Queen Vic Market lately, you might have stopped in your tracks at a stall that looks more like a jewellery counter than a lolly stand: trays of shimmering kohakutou, those jewel-like Japanese sweets that catch the light and your imagination all at once. Rachel trained as a pastry chef, working everywhere from LuxBite to Marvel Stadium, but with Niji Sweets she and her friend Yiying are doing something entirely different. We talked about how a childhood love of baking, a detour through computer studies, and a trip to Japan all converged on these edible crystals. From the patient, days-long process of crystallising agar to the thrill of seeing someone’s face light up when they bite through that crunchy shell into soft jelly, Rachel is bringing something rare and beautiful to Melbourne and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear all about it.
Conversation with a chef
Francesca Giorgi Monfort didn’t set out to become Melbourne’s most interesting pie maker. The Swiss-born chef’s path has been anything but straightforward: from PR and art galleries in London to restaurant management in Europe, and finally to the kitchen where she found her true calling. After working at Farmer’s Daughters, Marion and heading the kitchen at Noisy Ritual, Fran decided to do things her own way. What began as an experiment with puff pastry has become Frankie’s Pie Shop, a cult favourite at the Carlton Farmers’ Market known for pies with personality. Her cauliflower cheese pie, inspired by a Tesco recipe but elevated with charred vegetables and proper technique, is a perfect example of her ethos: simple done brilliantly. For now, she’s beginning a residency at Superette on Sydney Road in Brunswick, selling two flavours of pies and two sausage rolls every day. I met Fran at Superette and am especially grateful for her patience. It was my first video podcast, and she couldn’t have been more generous as we talked about pastry that gets more rest than she does, the quiet resilience behind Frankie’s, and her belief that vegetarian pies can, and should, be far more than vegetable stew.
