Dining review: Berkelo bakery in Brookvale on Sydney’s northern beaches

All rise — artisan bread has come to Brookvale where Boathouse’s former executive chef Tom Eadie has opened his own bakery, Berkelo.

Berkelo bakery’s smashed avo with fermented veg. Picture: Troy Snook.

• House of spirits comes to Brookie
• Brookvale booms as an artisan suburb

BROOKVALE is officially hipsterville. The suburb — blessed with light industry, carpet warehouses and tyre fitting businesses — has gone all beardy and artisan.

Coffee roasters (Barrel One), breweries (Nomad, Four Pines, Dad & Dave) and distilleries (Manly Spirits) have a trendy companion that’s joined the swelling artisan ranks.

Newish to the artisan back blocks is Berkelo, where Tom Eadie, the Boathouse’s former executive chef and his good mate Matt Durrant have perfected the art of baking sourdough bread, making pies and pastries, churning cultured butter and fermenting vegetables — doing things the old fashioned way, if you please.

Berkelo is a toast-free zone — avo on brown bread. Picture: Beverley Hudec.

Their creed is a philosophy of healthy eating, exercise, meditation and simple seasonal eats.

Local ingredients are a must — like the coffee, from boutique coffee roaster Sovereign in Frenchs Forest; and bacon — from Shiralee Meats, on the other side of Warringah Mall.

Refined white sugar, artificial sweeteners and bleached flour are no-nos here.

But before a preachy bout of self-righteousness takes hold, exhale deeply … these boys advocate Naughty Food in moderation, of course.

Woo-hoo, so you can tuck into that caramel and dried banana-topped choux ring filled with crème pat. It’s light, more-ish and not too sweet — and the caramel doesn’t even make tooth enamel jangle.

Bread on display.

Berkelo is now making its Naughty Food as a family sized choux ring to take home and fight over. Thirty bucks will keep four to five (or a trio of extra greedy) dessert lovers happy.

And then there’s Berkelo’s bread and butter, so to speak. The core business is baking bread. There are seven or so different breads to choose including gluten free and a baguette.

But the most popular bread is Berkelo’s signature brown bread. This sourdough comes in two sizes and is made with khorosan flour (an ancient grain to you and me), malt and honey. It’s a dark, nutty, chewy crusted loaf, but its texture is light and fluffy, unlike some of those heavy-heavy sourdoughs.

Staff serve it untoasted with smashed avocado, fermented seasonal veg — the current gut-pleaser is a carrot and cabbage kimchi — and a poached egg. Just that. So. Simple.

Barista Brad Proctor makes coffees with organic full fat milk. Picture: Troy Snook)

It’s a bit of a stretch to call Berkelo a cafe, rather a hole-in-the-wall with a barista and a few small outdoor tables.

Who really cares? A year on since opening, hipsters have a new destination, the bakery has thousands of Insta fans and Brookvale’s reputation is on the up.

BERKELO

8 William St, Brookvale

Open: Seven days, 7am to 1pm

Orders: 0429 531 251

Coffee: Sovereign Coffee Roasters in Frenchs Forest

Go for: Berkelo brown bread made with khorosan flour, malt and honey, $7 or $12; avo, poached egg, brown bread, $14; Berkelo choux, $8; bacon and egg bun, $10.

Bottom line: $43 with a loaf of bread

Or try: Infinity Sourdough, Manly