http://www.sonoma.com.au
The rise of Sonoma HQ
The love of my father, our love for him, and our love for baking a beautiful loaf of sourdough – it’s these simple, but powerful things that have made us who we are today.
Thanks to Louise Lynch from Liquid Ideas for inviting me along to the launch and factory tour of the new Sonoma Baking Company HQ in Alexandria. If you're a lover of bread then you've probably already tasted and bought Sonoma in one of their cafes around Sydney. 10 years on and they've probably now become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, artisan bakers in Sydney and quite possibly Australia perhaps. It was a very well-attended launch with little room to move in their large cafe space.
Wines were from Donny Goodmac and my beer from Fat Yak which was a very nice drop. The Butter by Pepe Saya and Vintage Club Cheddar Cheese from YEA Brand in the display shelves caught the eye of many guests and thankfully made their way into everyones goodie bags by the end of the night along with a huge sourdough bread to smear it on for breakfast. Canapés were good with the Sourdough bruschetta with smoked eggplant caviar & white anchovy and Seared scallop on roast fennel purée & baby cress being my favourites along with the very tasty Sourdough bruschetta with wild mushroom, pesto & goats cheese. The factory tour was interesting and I was amazed how large the place was which is run around the clock. I must try and return to see what yummy treats will be available in the cafe and to see if they make a good coffee.
Cream of celery soup with truffle oil
Sourdough bruschetta with smoked eggplant caviar & white anchovy
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Chicken, walnut & tarragon finger sandwich
Seared scallop on roast fennel purée & baby cress
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Sourdough bruschetta with wild mushroom, pesto & goats cheese
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Tart of balsamic poached pear, gorgonzola & pecan
Vintage Club Cheddar Cheese YEA Brand
Service counter
Speech time — full house
Speech time: MC chatting with owner Andrew Connole (right)
That looks like Alessandro Pavoni at the back and is that a couple of My Kitchen Rules contestants too amongst the crowd?
Coffee crew guys
Hey, is that that guy from that MasterChef show? Was it Adam Liaw? I think it might be. Nah, probably not. Maybe just someone that looks like him. Nevermind.
DJ in the house — nice hat!
Official photographer — nice tripod
Checking out the factory
Hairnets aren't particularly sexy but they keep the bread hygienic
Look at the size of that dough mixer — very impressive
Flour storage
Lining the trays
Baskets for different shaped bread
Basket trolleys
Bread coming out of the oven
So fresh it makes your stomach want some — but we can't touch
Is it an oven or a lift? — It's a bloody big oven!
Here comes the baked bread out of the oven
Food, booze and shoes and Gourmantic taking their bread shots — nice hats!
A window view to the cafe and back into the factory — nice smile!
I desperately wanted to try some of those fresh madeleines — but sadly not this time
Packaging the bread — these guys have their work cut out for them all night
Just a few crates of bread of many different styles
A few happy tour participants with sexy hairnets
Goodie bag of TimeOut Sydney, Sourdough bread, Granola, Cheese and Butter — I guess that takes care of breakfast!
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