From innovative pastry to gelato flavours that defy logic—Australia isn’t afraid of pushing boundaries when it comes to sweet treats. Case in point: Tarts Anon founder and executive pastry chef Gareth Whitton, whose elite resume includes stints at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Lune Croissanterie.
When COVID swept the country and chefs were relegated to their home kitchens, Whitton started making sugary magic. Over the next three years, he garnered a loyal following of diehard sweet tooths, opened two Tarts Anon venues in Melbourne and published a cookbook.
His craftsmanship and exceptional attention to detail were key reasons why Whitton was the perfect fit to be a Lexus guest chef at this year’s LANDMARK by Lexus at the Melbourne Cup Carnival (MCC). A luxury experience inside the Birdcage Enclosure at Flemington Racecourse, LANDMARK by Lexus is all about inspiring change for the better.
"We’ll be preparing tarts to order with the finishing touches for an exclusive experience," shares Whitton. "Our most renowned tart will be the menu, Tart Saint Honoré. Our version of this pastry includes a hazelnut caramel base, baked vanilla custard, vanilla crème diplomat and is adorned with caramelised profiteroles filled with vanilla crème patisserie."
Much like Lexus—whose Future Zero-emission Catalyst (LF-ZC) vehicle is designed to be the driver for how luxury mobility will be experienced—Whitton wants to be a part of what he believes is a pretty sweet future for the world of desserts.
To pick his brain on what this future might look like, we joined forces with Lexus and asked Whitton to share the top Aussie dessert businesses that he believes are redefining the world of all things sweet.
Lune Croissanterie | Melbourne & Brisbane
With three outposts in Melbourne and two in Brisbane, you simply haven’t lived until you’ve wrapped your chompers around a Lune creation. From endless flaky layers to next-level flavour combos, Whitton believes that Lune’s touch of magic all comes back to the businesses passion for an epic croissant. “It’s the most recognisable single product business,” he says. “No-one has taken the mantra of ‘do one thing and do it well’ better than these guys.”
With lines that can wrap around the block at each of their venues, we promise you the wait is worth it. Inside you’ll be forgiven for instantly salivating the moment you lay eyes on their golden goodies. With an ever evolving menu that changes daily, expect flavour bombs like the Turtle (pain au chocolat twice-baked with chocolate frangipane, roasted pecans, and salted caramel. Topped with fudge sauce, salted caramel sauce, and candied pecans).
Madeleine De Proust | Melbourne
Another non-negotiable dessert destination according to Whitton is Madeleine De Proust. “It’s a concept that has focussed years of experience and skill into one humble form, altering the way we think of the unassuming madeleine,” he says. Nestled on Melbourne’s buzzing Lygon Street, the bakery is dedicated to crafting tiny magical morsels in a delicious rainbow of flavour combos.
Think the Passion Pod Madeleine with a decadent passion fruit ganache and oozing hazelnut praline. Or the Poppin’ Corn Madeleine filled with cream cheese and butter-cooked sweet corn, covered with popcorn ganache resembling the ‘corn kernel’, finished with tempered corn chocolate. It’s equal measures beautiful and tasty—an impressive feat. Forming the most iconic duo, Ex-Attica head pastry chef HyoJu Park and her chef-partner Rong Yao Soh (both of which have Michelin star creds) have gone above and beyond to produce the perfect buttery, seashell-shaped sponge cake, even importing their flour and custom-made madeleine trays all the way from Japan.
Koi Dessert Bar | Melbourne & Sydney
Expect your jaw to stay firmly on the floor at Koi Dessert Bar, a former LANDMARK by Lexus collaborator. With venues in both Melbourne and Sydney, the impeccably crafted edible art bar was created by the visionary Poernomo family, including Masterchef alumni Reynold Poernomo. “Legends in their own right and game-changers of bringing restaurant-level dessert to the retail space, they're flying the flag for innovative Asian flavours in both fundamental French and modern techniques,” says Whitton.
A sweet tooth’s nirvana, expect up to 150 drool-worthy creations on rotation and trust us when we say these are like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. There’s the Lil' Garden—inspired by the Melbourne Botanic Gardens—a dreamy chocolate log featuring more than 15 elements and looking like something out of Alice In Wonderland.
Kōri Ice Cream | Melbourne
Inspired by Japanese kawaii culture and the hyperpop movement, Kōri Ice Cream is the achingly cool ice cream shop of our dreams. Like Lexus's LF-ZC Vehicle, Kōri was built off a strong and future-focused concept. The ice cream joint's purpose? To fuse cultures and flavours so that their customers can experience the joys of travelling all over the world in just a single scoop. Behind each handcrafted unique cone is ex-Coda chef Joane Yeoh and co-founder of Melbourne patisserie Luxbite, Bernard Chu. Using only premium ingredients and dialling back the sweet, sugary hit you’d usually associate with ice cream, Kōri is unlike anything you've treated your tastebuds to before.
“[Kōri is] another ice cream store punching above their weight,” says Whitton. “Along with beautifully executed ice cream cup or cone service, their range of ice cream cakes throws their hat in the pastry ring. Great pedigree breeds great vision.” There are 24 freshly churned flavours in-store every day like Hokkaido cheesecake, white sesame, Japanese rice wine and Fuji apple.
Cobb Lane | Melbourne
According to Whitton, Cobb Lane is “elevated simplicity in a nutshell” and we couldn’t agree more. With three locations across Melbourne, this cafe slash bakery comes to us from cake king Matt Forbes, whose credentials include a stint as pastry chef with Raymond Blanc at two Michelin-starred institutions, Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons in the UK, and alongside Vue De Monde's Shannon Bennett.
Fusing classics with thought-provoking, mouth-watering flavours, one bite alone will ignite a love affair with Cobb Lane. Think: their beautiful coconut and chocolate croissant soaked in Malibu syrup and filled with almond and coconut frangipane. With an ethos that encourages people to stop by and savour not only the pastries but also the moment, Cobb Lane has a whole lot of heart. “This place bleeds generosity, and in a time where that seems to be scarce, this is somewhere you can get easily accessible brilliance,” says Whitton.
Kiln | Sydney
At this point we should probably just let Whitton do our job for us with his stellar assessment of Sydney’s Kiln. “Their savoury offering is truly a cut above and now their pastry program has just come to the party,” he says. “Another great example of food that has nothing to prove and nowhere to hide, Kiln’s desserts have a playfulness that is unmatched and the execution to boot.” It’s high praise indeed but trust us, they’ve earned it.
Sitting pretty atop the Ace Hotel Sydney in Surry Hills, the innovative eatery is led by award-winning chef Mitch Orr with a menu that flirts with Australian, Japanese and Italian cuisine. But like Whitton said, the desserts here are top notch so it’s imperative you save stomach space for the likes of bergamot granita with burnt orange and toasted rice cream, and trifle layered with yuzu cream and mandarin jelly, or the coconut parfait with tamarind cake and passionfruit foam. Run, don’t walk, to Kiln.
Keen to try Whitton’s future-forward desserts for yourself? Partnering with Lexus for the LANDMARK by Lexus at the MCC, Gareth will take guests on a journey to ‘Future Zero’ via a range of pastry-encased goodies. Learn more about LANDMARK by Lexus here.
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Images: Supplied