In the early 1990's I spent some time in Paris. I played in a chess tournament and then stayed with one of the players in his apartment in Pigalle. I had a cool time there. I didn't have much money, but I busked in the side streets, juggling for cash. One day I even walked to the Seine from Pigalle. I explored the back streets of Montmartre and found myself for the first time of my life in the vicinity of 'cafe culture'. Coming from the pub culture of England, it was at first difficult to get to grips with, especially that my French was far from fluent. However, I became very comfortable in those cafe's, and even started conversations with people, mostly in French! In fact, one quick convo with some young guys led to me getting a couple of nights work juggling with their band in one of the venues on the Boulevarde de la Chapelle, Le Chat Noir.
During these Bohemian times, I found something that amazed my taste buds. I went into a Parisian cafe near Anvers (I have no idea what its name was, or even if it still exists) and tried an almond croissant. I had never had anything like it before, and immediately fell in love with the rich buttery taste which blended the nutty texture.
Anyway, as that was close to the end of my time in Paris, I only had one almond croissant before heading back to England. At the time I was living in Coventry in central England and I made a huge effort to find almond croissants. However, to my disappointment, it seemed that bakeries in Coventry (and nearby Birmingham) did not make almond croissants and as I didn't drive back in those days, it was difficult to travel to places where they may be found (ie London). So it was about 10 years before I had my second almond croissant, this time on a long weekend break in Salzburg with Caroline. We were looking for places to go to in Europe as quick breaks, and settled on the small Austrian city for 3 nights. If you ever go to Salzburg, among its many treasures is the cafe Tomaselli's, one of Europe's most famous cafe's and a place where once, allegedly, Mozart and Strauss frequented. It is like walking into a part of history when you enter Tomaselli's and the service and wares are fantastic. Here, I had the second almond croissant of my life, and this one was even better than the first.
Back in England I still couldn't find them, and it was a few more years before I had my third. In 2005 I emigrated to Melbourne, Australia little knowing that I was moving to a city steeped in European style cafe culture. I landed to blazing sunshine and a non stop summer (I didn't associate this with the 10 year drought suffered by Melburnians till much later) which encouraged outdoor living and beach culture. But it didn't take me long to start drinking coffee and finding cafe's to suit my taste. At the end of our first year, Caroline and I moved to the suburb of Elsternwick in Melbourne's inner south east and we have stayed here since. We are walking distance from the bay, and close to the city. It is convenient for my work, and Caroline has also found work not too far away in Richmond. It was in Elsternwick that I had my third almond croissant. I was walking down the main thoroughfare, Glenhuntly Road, and stopped in at a cafe called Rocley's. I'd already tried out others in the strip, but when I went in I saw a basket with French pastries, including almond croissants. Since then, I have been going back to Rocley's regularly for the past 6 years, and almost always have an almond croissant with a long black (making up for those lost years when I was denied them!).
Pastry Basket in Rocley's
What sparked me to write this blog post was an article I saw in Broadsheet Melbourne about French pastries. I was looking at the cafe's suggested in this article and realised I had been in a few of them: Chez Dre I have written about in this blog, Noisette I had a mediocre experience with a couple of years ago and haven't been back, and likewise with La Tropezienne, though I haven't been to the others. So when I think about it, I have actually had quite a few almond croissants, at quite a few different cafe's around Melbourne, and I think it's time to rate them. Here are the 3 best almond croissants I've had in Melbourne:
- the almond croissants at Rocley's are among the best. The filling is delicately flavoured, and the texture of the croissants is generally soft with a slight crispness to the outside. The best time to go into Rocley's is about 9.30 am, because the almond croissants will have just been made and they are excellent when fresh and warm. This is the big appeal to me of this cafe. They makes everything on the premises, pies, pastries, salads etc.
Today's almond croissant from Rocley's
- Chez Dre also make their own almond croissants and they are as good as Rocley's. Personally, I prefer the texture at Rocley's but the flavour of the Chez Dre croissant is unreal. Again, the filling is delicate but there is slightly less sugar coating which allows the croissant itself to retain something of its flavour.
- another cafe not mentioned in the Broadsheet article is Frou Frou in Malvern Road, Prahran. Again, the texture of the almond croissant was a little softer than Rocley's, but the filling was delicious with something other than almond essence, perhaps rum or vanilla, giving it a twist.
So those are my top 3 almond croissants in Melbourne (so far) and it's hard for me to pick an order as they are all so good. Of course, I am happy to have one in any of the Laurent Boulangerie's in Glenferrie, Brighton or the CBD, and am always happy to try a new one wherever I may find one.
Writing this post has helped me to identify that I have an addiction. However, I see nothing wrong with it and intend to keep searching for the ultimate almond croissant, making up for all those years when I desperately wanted one, but couldn't find them.
