Six cooks a-cooking: Perth bakers and makers to help you relax this Christmas

’Twas three weeks before Christmas, and all through the city … people began to quietly panic as they realised that December 25 was closer than they might have liked.

While festive get-togethers are an excellent opportunity to add a new Christmas recipe or two to your repertoire – I’m looking forward to taking Adam Liaw’s advice and serving sauce gribiche with prawns over the summer – there’s also something to be said for leaving some aspects of Christmas lunch or dinner to the professionals who have invested months, years and even decades fine-tuning recipes and techniques.

The Xmas Bomba.

For those contemplating outsourcing some (or all) of their duties this year, I present this snapshot of local bakers and makers doing delicious things, some traditional, some not-so-traditional but all with the potential to make your holiday season that little bit merrier.

Miller & Baker delights

Stollen, by Miller & Baker. Credit: Tori Lill

While team Miller & Baker always seem to have something new on the go, the crew’s adventurous streak hits overdrive around Christmas. Budding architects will be thrilled to hear the bakery’s DIY Gingerbread House kits ($60) are back for another season, along with a tin of Christmas biscuits ($45) complete with hand-drawn card and ribbon. Consider the stollen (German Christmas bread; $18) filled with house-made marzipan and laced with Upshot Australian whisky. All are instore and online until December 24. Watch out for announcements regarding pavlova, panettone and Negroni-soaked mince pies – a joint effort with Commune Wine Store – closer to Christmas.

Pork whisperer ham

Ethos’ charcuterie.

Charcutier Melissa Palinkas of Ethos Deli and Young George fame is one of this city’s finest pork whisperers. Priced at $29 a kilo, Ethos’ are smoked, boneless shoulder hams that weigh in at between 1.3-2.3 kilograms. Secure yours with a $20 deposit (balance on pickup) via this online form. Jars of glaze ($10) made with Postcode honey are optional but highly recommended. Pickles, chicken liver parfait, mustard, hot sauce and that aforementioned charcuterie are also available to help finish your Christmas table.

Christmas miracles from Chicho Gelato

While we’ll gladly consume Chicho Gelato any way we can get it, founders Carly and Chez Bartolo are celebrating the season with the festive limited-edition Xmas Bomba ($95) gelato cake. Inside, the cake features a cherry nucleus, pistachio gelato, mascarpone and amarena cherries, crowned with a cherry meringue, all built on a base of crunchy pistachio kataifi. Online pre-orders are essential and close December 16 with pick-up available between December 13-23 from Chicho’s Mount Lawley or Fremantle.

’Tis the seasonal to be seasonal

Fornax’s panettone tiramisu.

Gracie Barrow of Fornax has a knack for capturing the essence of the season in her baked goods, sweet or savoury. Until December 21, she’s accepting online orders for holiday treats with a cool WA accent. Take, for instance, her panettone tiramisu ($70) starring layers of panettone soaked in coffee and liqueur Verdelho from Swan Valley stalwart Talijanich Wines, dark chocolate and whipped mascarpone, assembled in a thrifted dish – yours to keep! – for you and five friends to enjoy. Then there are Fornax’s shortcrust mince pies ($28 for a half-dozen) starring dried fruit soaked in, again, liqueur Verdelho along with marsala and port, topped with hazelnut and almond frangipane.

The joys of handmade panettone

Big Loaf panettone.

Or perhaps you like your Italian Christmas breads prepared a little more traditionally? Then consider the Big Loaf panettone ($30), one of the seasonal Christmas catering items available for pre-order and pick-up from the O’Connor bakery. (See also porchetta, ham, fruit mince pies made with a mince that’s been regularly fed with brandy since September, Big Loaf’s legendary cinnamon scrolls and other signatures). But back to the panettone. Carefully made over three days – included being hung upside to help them set – these cakes are made with fresh eggs, butter, a sourdough starter and three years of R&D.

I’m dreaming of a white, red and green Christmas

Belmont’s Al Trancio – the name means “by the slice” and refers to the shop’s hulking rectangular trays of pizza – is once again helping locals get into the Christmas spirit, Italian-style. Marco di Ciano’s free-range porchetta is available in 2-kilogram trays, sliced and ready to go along with a large pizza bianca ($130) or as a whole 4-kilogram porchetta ($240) along with roast potatoes. Pre-orders before December 21 are essential and can be made by calling the shop on 0404 759 851. Porchettas can be picked up in-store on December 24 and 25 as well as between December 29 and 31 for New Year’s revelry.

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