Inside NYC’s Bourke Street Bakery, An Australian High Temple of Sourdough
May 2, 2019 | By Serena Dai for ny.eater.com
Paul Allam unveils the first international outpost of the Sydney institution Saturday — and here, he’s taking his food obsession to another level.
The closest way to explain to Americans what a big deal the new Nomad location of Bourke Street Bakery would be to say that it’s like if Tartine from San Francisco came to New York, and if the owners themselves moved here, too. Like Tartine’s founders, Bourke Street’s Paul Allam and David McGuinness are revered, and like Tartine, the bakery is known for rustic goods, made every day with an obsession over freshness and ingredients.
But that doesn’t explain the whole thing.
The bakery and cafe, which opens on Saturday at 15 East 28th St. between Fifth and Madison avenues, started in a tiny corner in Sydney in 2004, and since then, it has expanded to nearly a dozen locations there. It developed a reputation not just for the tarts and breads, but also became known as an everyday institution, a part of daily life in neighborhoods for many across the city.
Now, Allam has relocated to New York with his wife Jessica Grynberg, who’s running operations, and their three children. He’s getting back into doing more of the day-to-day baking himself, the way he did when he fell in love with the craft.
And just for New York, he’s milling his own flour for rye, whole wheat, and spelt loaves, as well as making some of his own cheeses — an even more magnified version of the humble, hands-on beginnings of what has since become a Sydney legend.
“Here, we’re taking it to the next level,” Allam says.
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