Pippa May Cook
| Where | 719 High Street, Thornbury, Victoria—View map |
Contact | 039416 8556 |
Website | — |
Open | Breakfast Wednesday to Sunday 9.00am to 6.00pm |
Payment | EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, Cash |
Diet | Vegan, Soy, Gluten free |
Seating | Inside |
Kids | Welcome |
Pets | Unwelcome |
Sugar and spice and all things nice
Ellie Parker 16 June 2008
Please note: Pippa May Cook is no more. Pippa closed her darling little cafe to look after her little brood. We loved Pippa's place so much we've decided to leave this review here for posterity. From Scratch has now opened in Pippa's old haunt. Check out our up-coming review. June 2010.
At firstglance, this little café and food store feels like a children's day carecentre. Everything is just a little smaller than usual. There are little tableswith red chairs, a wee cupboard full of wooden toys, a pastel mobile and babyblue walls. Second hand bibs and bobs are hidden in nooks and crannies. It isall a bit understated and intriguing.
And then the penny drops. There are warm smells of baking-apples, rhubarb, cloves and sugar. The side wall islined with Pippa's homemade sauces, chutneys, nectars, and bespoke teas. Thereis a counter teaming with hot-out-of-the-oven pear and gingerbread cake, spicedchocolate cake, date, fig and hazelnut tart, and ready-to-go meals. Pippa herself greets youfrom the kitchen, dressedin her apron with her woolly curls tamed in afloral bandanna.
Pippa hasstruck upon something. The philosophy behind the food store, as a little signon each table tells us, is a dedication tocreating house-made products from the highest quality seasonal produce-many sourced locally. Pippa uses free-range organic eggs, fair-trade organic coffee,organic sourdough bread, organic milk, butter, yoghurt, cheese, soy milk,flour, sugar, juice and selected vegetables.
But the realpoint of difference lies in Pippa's talent forstarting from scratch. She makes her own yoghurt, cheeses, speciality breads,almond milk, jams, preserves, chutney and syrups.
Rooted in deepindecision I ordered both the organically Aussie-growncoffee, and the house-blendchai with soy. Both exceeded taste bud expectations.
I followed witha freshly baked banana, cranberry and almond muffin served with organic butter.The butter was good enough to simply eat straight off the plate. The muffin wasthe best I have ever tasted. No joke. Together, they were heavenly.
Notably, thereis a distinct and refreshing absence of egg-based dishes on the blackboardmenu. Instead, you are tempted by choc cherry bread served with plum jam andyoghurt. Or a house-made cereal of rice flakes,sour cherries, almonds and pepitas served with either apple juice or freshhomemade almond milk.
The pièce de résistance isPippa's crumbles. The sweet crumble contains bubbling rhubarb and almond. Thesavoury crumble, however,took me on a flight of fancy with its basil, tomato, zucchini, cheese and adrizzle of sour cream.
Pippa's is more than just homely cooking at its best. It hasan honest, healthy, wholesome sensibility. To that end, we hope Pippa will cookforever.