NEIL McKenzie was born with the baking chromosome. When he met his birth parents in 2001, he discovered his dad was a lollymaker and his grandmother made and decorated wedding cakes.

McKenzie's passion is pastries. He's not French; he's from Mount Waverley. He trained in Melbourne, with a stint at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris doing ''patisserie and boulangerie'' work. And, by crikey, he can bake!

Early each day, the spoils of his pre-dawn industry are laid in Parisian Patisserie's front window - sticky sultana swirls, custard tarts, chocolate eclairs and creamy vanilla slices. An old-fashioned, three-tiered cake stand is loaded with croissants, long baguettes are stacked in a basket and platters of beignets and brioche compete for space on the big white counter.

Parisian Patisserie, with wife Majella Clarke, is McKenzie's latest venture. In 2007, he opened French Quarter Patisserie in North Melbourne but it never quite struck the chord that his new venture has; locals queue out the door.

The shop was originally built as a patisserie and was then a series of cake shops. Its latest look is a chic,

all-white fit-out with polished floorboards, lots of mirrors and posh, yet rustic, chandeliers.

Small, round tables line up along a banquette in the front room, or there's a larger table in the middle room and three more down the back, with plans to open up the second storey soon.

Selling out too early can be a problem; McKenzie is hiring more pastry chefs and doing more baking. High demand also stretches the service, which can be a touch disorganised. It's no biggie as it's worth any slip-ups.

The signature almond croissant (McKenzie sells 160 daily) is spectacularly good. He uses Warrnambool butter in all the pastries because of its high-cream, low-water content and similarity to French butter. Once made, the croissants are submerged in sugar syrup, which forms a sweet crust when baked.

Next, the beignets (round doughnuts) get a filling of custard, raspberry jam or chocolate - but not just any chocolate, couverture chocolate ganache, like something you would find in a fine-dining fondant.

Parisian's version of the pain au chocolat is a folded piece of genius, the brioche pastry folded over buds of chocolate and a sweet creme patissiere. And big cinnamon doughnuts (also made with brioche pastry) are light and fluffy and evenly coated with cinnamon and sugar.

Tea-lovers have Clarke to thank for Parisian's first-class cuppas. Organic, single-estate leaf tea is brewed in hand-made teapots (excellent pourers) and the cups are fine bone china - so great to see tea receiving a similar level of obsession to coffee.

The savoury items don't reach the same oh-my-god heights as the sweet stuff. But the sweet stuff? The sweet stuff is remarkable.

nrousseau@theage.com.au

Where 19 Keilor Road, Essendon North, 9379 3815

Prices Savoury pastries, $4.80-$5.50; sweet pastries, $3.90-$4.80; baguettes, filled $7.20-$7.50; plain, $3.50; whole cakes, $17.50-$48

Cards MC V Eftpos

Unlicensed

Open Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm; Sat, 7am-4pm

Cuisine French patisserie