Du Plessy Pralin & Otello Chocolates Patisserie speaks about Bird Cake

From 100 cakes a week to 150 cakes a day, a West Pymble patisserie is going gangbusters after causing a social media sensation in China.

A humble, family-run bakery in a quiet Sydney suburb is going gangbusters, bringing in customers from across the world - including a man trying to ask his girlfriend’s hand in marriage - after a social media post went viral.

Du Plessy Pralin & Otello Chocolates Patisserie in West Pymble has been owned and operated by the Adam family since 1961 and is now run by chocolatier and pastry chef, Paul Adam, 64.

The confiserie has seen cake orders jump from 100 a week to 150 a day and it’s for one cake in particular - the ‘Bird Cake’, which is “simply two layers of almond and hazelnut meringue with a very light chocolate mousse in the middle,” according to Mr Adam.

After a customer who has been purchasing the cake for 40 years mentioned it in a chance conversation with a Chinese influencer, people have been flocking to Mr Adam’s store to secure one for themselves.

“It’s just gone crazy here. We’ve been flat out for a month now ... we’ve not been answering the phone,” Mr Adam said.

Paul Adam, 64, owner of Du Plessy Pralin & Otello Chocolates Patisserie, with their signature ‘Bird Cake’. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“What blows us away is the distances that these people are coming from ... They’re coming everyday, they’re flying up from Melbourne and we’ve run out of cakes.”

“I’ve had one guy turn up from Shenzhen with his suitcase,” Mr Adam said. “He said my girlfriend needs this cake. Maybe if I get this cake to her by six o’clock tonight, maybe she marries me.”

The ‘Bird Cake’ is made up of a light chocolate mousse between two layers of almond and hazelnut meringue. Picture: Tim Hunter.

There response was obvious for Mr Adam, he said “I’ll get you a cake, mate,” before driving the potential groom-to-be to Sydney Airport for his journey to Melbourne, cake included.

The ‘Bird Cake’ has also attracted a bike rider from Mascot, three ladies from Brisbane, and many international students who line up outside the store in West Pymble’s Phillip Mall.

“It’s just nuts,” Mr Adam said. “They’re coming from everywhere, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne constantly.”

What had been a local business which sold speciality cakes and handcrafted chocolates to local parts of Sydney has been flipped on its head.

Before going viral, the store would make 100 cakes a week - now they produce around 150 a day. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Other cakes have just gone by the wayside, it’s just all this bird cake,” Mr Adam said.

“When I see the queue outside that automatically means to me ‘start working’.”

“I used to turn up (to work) about 9.30 in the morning and I’d be home by about 7 at night. Nowadays we’re here at 6.30 and we’re still here at 11 at night.”

People visit from across Australia and overseas to try buy a ‘Bird Cake’ from Mr Adam. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The ‘Bird Cake’ was invented in 1988 and has remained the store’s signature cake, but Mr Adam said the other cakes they offer have “gone by the wayside.”

“It really is quite flattering, we’re very proud of the way it’s gone, but it’s overwhelming. So overwhelming.”

Even with his new-found fame, Mr Adam says what keeps him working is that his shop is a family business.

Mr Adam (left), his wife Kathy Adam (middle) and Ms Gooding (right) with the famous ‘Bird Cake’. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Simple as that. Family business. My wife and myself and my two girls,” he said.

Mr Adam’s wife, Kathy Adam and daughter Nicole Adam help in the store, along with Mr Adam’s “offsider” Sophie Gooding, and his former photographer Monique Balgowan, who started helping once the store gained popularity.

At 64 years of age, Mr Adam reassured us that he wasn’t planning on retiring, “I’ve still got another 20 years left in me.”