First Sydney bakery is the cherry on top for This is Us
Sustainable baked goods brand, This Is Us, will open its first Sydney bakery.
This Is Us is driven by a team of renowned bakers and pastry chefs, whose goods have been snapped up by boutique grocery chains and independent stockists in NSW and QLD.
One the of pastry chefs and founder, Anna Polyviou, who fell into pastry cooking after she entered a competition for apprentice chefs at Sofitel Melbourne, recently spoke to NewsLocal, about how rigorous this training was and the new Sydney bakery.
“I was a kitchen chef and then I went to the dark side of pastry … (because that) competition forced me to learn as much as I could,” Polyviou said.
“I came to love how beautiful pastries and desserts can look … but also having that last impression in someone’s mind is really important for me, making sure an experience for someone is very special — it’s always been about that.”
Having gone through the rigours of training as a pastry chef and graduating with flying colours, Polyviou then had her next serendipitous moment when she met This Is Us’ business owner, Sam Moussa, at the gym.
Moussa, a salesman by trade, was grounded by COVID and looking for a business idea.
“During Covid, like most people, I was sitting at home … (and) I couldn’t do much work. So, when the opportunity came up for us to start this business, I jumped right in,” he said.
First came the line of baked goods sold at stores including Harris Farm, now the pair has their sights on making their bricks and mortar store a success, believing that Cherrybrook is the perfect location.
“It’s a cool area,” Polyviou said. “It’s just different and it’s exciting. (The shop) is a small space but we want to pump delicious things out of it.”
This Is Us is known for its sweet and savoury treats and each product is created with sustainable and preservative free ingredients.
“There’s a lot more labour involved in creating our products,” Mr Moussa said.
“It’s very hands on but everyone these days is better educated about food and people are willing to spend that little bit extra for a premium product.”
If you are ever in Cherrybrook, Polyviou recommends the chocolate cake, with chocolate crema and whipped caramel chocolate.
This Is Us’ bakery opens on Saturday 21 May.
Irit jackson, 17th May 2022
