{"id":856907,"date":"2026-08-16T04:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T04:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/856907\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T04:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T04:28:13","slug":"pastry-shops-are-displaying-their-buns-uncovered-just-dont-bite-the-merchandise-australian-food-and-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/856907\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastry shops are displaying their buns uncovered \u2013 just don\u2019t bite the merchandise | Australian food and drink"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buns that bare all, and eclairs exposed to air: in Australia, a new wave of pastry shops are doing more than baking and selling their creations \u2013 they\u2019re displaying them, in single units, completely uncovered. You\u2019ll find them on counters<\/a>, risers<\/a>, concrete slabs<\/a>, shiny surfaces<\/a>, and mini podiums<\/a>, minus glass or Perspex barriers, like mini art exhibits. This is pastries en plein air.<\/p>\n

But if the cardinal rule of art galleries is \u201cdo not touch the exhibits\u201d, for baked goods, it\u2019s \u201cdon\u2019t eat them either\u201d.<\/p>\n

At Tokyo Lamington in Carlton, Melbourne, the open-air lamingtons are fashioned from Styrofoam, double-coated in real chocolate, and placed on a tiered display at the front counter \u2013 yet customers have been known to take a bite out of them. \u201cPeople are pretty feral sometimes,\u201d says co-owner Eddie Stewart.<\/p>\n

The open-air cake display at Tokyo Lamington in Carlton \u2013 though beneath the decorations and chocolate lurks Styrofoam. Photograph: Supplied<\/p>\n

At Cafe Lewi in Sydney\u2019s inner west, several sweet and savoury pastries line the counter. A vintage buttercream cake, their most elaborately decorated specimen, also occupies the most vulnerable position on the corner. \u201cIf you lean over [in] a batwing T-shirt<\/a> \u2026 people\u2019s T-shirts go into it,\u201d says chef and co-owner Isabella Leva Laureti. She touches-up any smudged frosting mid-service and display pastries are disposed at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

At Pantry Story in Sydney, more than a dozen pastries are laid out around the perimeter of a round table, in the centre of the shop: a honey butter croissant, a pandan mochi cookie, a beef rendang pie, all labelled with their names and prices. Customers circle the table, then place their order at the counter where staff fetch fresh, non-display pastries from a nearby cabinet.<\/p>\n

For co-owner Hari Wibowo, the idea for the display came from Chinese New Year banquets, when the family would gather around a table. \u201c I wanted it to remind people of togetherness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff at Pantry Story in Stanmore, Sydney say they brought the trend back from Asia \u2013 it\u2019s a bit like a Chinese New Year banquet. Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Plus it\u2019s good marketing, says co-owner Mutiara Sucipto. \u201cSome people even say \u2026 You haven\u2019t been to Pantry Story if you haven\u2019t taken a picture of the circle table.\u201d<\/p>\n

But why all the bared buns? There\u2019s a minimalist appeal to seeing pastries \u201cup close and personal,\u201d says Leva Laureti.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing\u2019s going to go soggy because it\u2019s in an ambient cabinet \u2013 if it needs to be refrigerated it can be.\u201d Also: \u201cAesthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The owners of Cafe Lewi, Pantry Story and Melbourne\u2019s Bakemono all cite Lune Croissanterie as the progenitor of open-air displays in Australia. At Lune\u2019s flagship warehouse space in Melbourne\u2019s Fitzroy, which opened in 2015, flaky, full-frontal specimens are lined up on a concrete counter, and this croissant exhibitionism is repeated at its eight other stores.<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to Five Great Reads<\/p>\n

Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A cake on display at Cafe Lewi. Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

At Pantry Story, the odd customer has mistakenly picked up a display pastry, taken it to the counter, and said \u201cI want this one\u201d. Or when staff place a \u201csold out\u201d sign on a sausage roll, some determined customers offer to buy the display pastry that has been sitting in the open, all day, at room temperature (Pantry Story staff politely decline).<\/p>\n

Tokyo Lamington staff make new Styrofoam display lamingtons every month. At Pantry Story, most exhibits are refreshed twice a day. However, to avoid food waste, Wibowo has been experimenting with preserving the croissants and pandan buns in a double-coat of resin, which also adds a glossy finish. Provided the pastry is dry and completely cooled before it\u2019s coated, the pain aux resins can last more than a year without spoiling. Wibowo\u2019s failed resin experiments have included the kimchi focaccia (\u201ctoo wet\u201d) and anything with meat.<\/p>\n

When Martha\u2019s in Sydney opened in late 2025, the front counter featured uncovered batches of cinnamon scrolls and za\u2019atar knots, inspired by mid-century European pastry shop displays. \u201cFor people who have travelled abroad and have gone to France and Italy \u2026 [the display] was a breath of fresh air, quite literally,\u201d says owner Paris Nassif.<\/p>\n

But business was brisker than she anticipated. Customers would crowd the counter, and, nervous about food safety, Nassif soon after ordered clear acrylic boxes to cover them. \u201cIt gives the same effect but we don\u2019t have concerns with hygiene,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For some, birthday cakes in their birthday suits might be too provocative. For others, the proof is in the pudding. One colleague \u2013 a pastry enthusiast who travels between Melbourne and Sydney \u2013 tells me: \u201cIn the end if the pastry is good, they could be on the floor and I wouldn\u2019t blink an eye.\u201d<\/p>\n