The power of baking is no exaggeration at three new Melbourne businesses with incredible people behind them. For Olivier Chan Chan, the owner of new bakery Motte in Newport, baking has been a bridge connecting him to family far away.

His brother in France and father in Reunion (technically a region of France) are bakers, as was his late Chinese-born grandfather. Olivier was the odd one out in the family during the 15 years he was an accountant.

But in 2020 he took up the family trade. He hasn’t looked back, going from delivering home-baked bread to baking wholesale orders in a ghost kitchen and, finally, opening his first shop in January.

Pandan-coconut cake and ube-dyed Basque cheesecake feature alongside ham and cheese scrolls, carrot cake and double-baked custard croissants. The line-up reflects the influences Olivier has absorbed from friends, family and Melbourne itself.

When he first started baking, Olivier did video calls with his French-trained baker dad to get the recipes right. Soon, he’ll master baguettes and sourdough loaves first-hand when the bakers of the family reunite in Melbourne.

Open Mon-Sat 7am-2pm

Shop G04, 455 Melbourne Road, Newport, motte.com.au

In West Melbourne, Ginger Snap is a patisserie that’s exclusively plant-based and also happens to be led by deaf man Brett Duncan, who opened the shop with sister Jess Colgan. Colgan also runs social enterprise All Things Equal, which creates hospitality jobs for those with a disability.

Ginger Snap is the culmination of Duncan’s two decades of experience in bakeries and pastry kitchens. He describes his first business as a statement of the limitless potential of those with a disability, as well as a way to freely express himself.

Duncan, who has been vegan for eight years, creates dainty plant-based treats including three-bite Biscoff cheesecake rocher balls, finger-shaped raspberry and white chocolate entremets, and, soon, celebration cakes.

You have to pre-order the goodies, except when monthly pop-up stalls take place out the front. Next up is vegan pizzeria Red Sparrow on March 16.

Open for order pick-ups Wed-Sun from 8am

114 Adderley Street, West Melbourne, gingersnap.com.au

There’s a fairytale element to The Library Bakery. Co-owner Aileen Seo, a pastry chef, had a childhood dream to open a bakery, which has come true not once but twice. The Library is the follow-up to North Melbourne’s Baguette Studios, which Seo also runs with her baker husband, Paul Kwon, and her chef brother, Jiho Sur.

The trio needed a second space to keep up with demand for their Korean-meets-French creations at their first bakery, but The Library has also afforded them more space to dream big with pastry.

The signature item, dubbed The Book, is an open book of layered croissant dough, filled with salted peanut praline and peanut ganache. The yakgwa pastry combines Seo’s classical French training with a traditional Korean honey biscuit to create an extra sticky, chewy and pine nut-topped update to France’s kouign-amann pastry. Three types of sourdough and a baguette are also on offer.

True to its name, The Library has a notepad and pencils near the counter for customers to contribute “their story”, says Seo, whether it’s a compliment about the baked goods or a request for an item they’d like to see on the shelves.

Open Sat-Sun 9am-2pm (or until sold out)

457 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, instagram.com/tlb_melbourne