A tip for interstaters looking to relocate to the Sunshine Coast: come bearing cake, baguettes and mille-feuille.
A small slice of France nestled into Alexandra Parade, La Petite Souris is proving Sunny Coasters do occasionally embrace the arrival of newcomers.
Owners Amie and Pierre Surieux met while working as pastry chefs at one of Sydney’s most popular venues, The Grounds of Alexandria.
Pierre already had experience running a patisserie in France, while Amie completed her apprenticeship before working her way around Sydney.
They arrived on the Sunshine Coast three years ago, to carve out their own name in a less-crowded environment and have developed a cult following in that short time.
“There’s definitely a French community here, we have had comments that it tastes as good as they remember in France,” Amie said.
“But I believe there’s more Francophiles than French people though, they usually come and talk to Pierre, say hello when he’s working in the croissant room.”
For the uninitiated, the croissant room is a chilled prep space where the 25kg of butter they go through weekly is kept at the perfect temperature and pastries are made.
“When we started the business, we saw this as important, so that people could see we make everything in house, fresh,” Amie said.
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“It’s all made by hand; nothing is factory produced.”
A slight departure from French tradition is in the almond croissants, one of their most popular items.
“In France, they make them from leftover croissants that didn’t sell,” Amie said.
“In Australia, people love them so much, we purposely make fresh croissants for almond croissants.”
Cramming the display cases are quiches done seven different ways, baguette sandwiches, danishes, including ones loaded with fresh berries, loaves and seasonal items such as lamingtons, hot cross buns and gingerbread people in freckled beachwear.
The showstoppers are found in a section of the display cabinet sometimes obscured by condensation, or maybe it’s drool, settling on its refrigerated outer surface which is frequently wiped down for your viewing pleasure.
Inside are rows of brightly coloured and intricately adorned, perfect little cakes – large enough to share and small enough to hog – but each one a culmination of creativity and technical expertise.
Even more attention has gone into the taste factor.
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“They’re not just something you whip up at home,” Amie said.
“We’ve got the cake, plus the confit, plus the sponge, plus the creamy mousse, plus the crunchy bits for texture.”
No surprise then, to hear demand boomed in the past two years, with La Petit Souris’s morsels providing many with the mood lift or comfort needed to get through a period of uncertainty.
“Which is good, as it means we’re baking through the day, so sometimes their pastry is still hot when they buy it.”
La Petite Souris is open from 6am – 2pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Shop 105, 102 Alexandra Parade.
