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In May 1994 Phillippa opened Phillippa’s, which
was the obvious step to take after working for nine
years with Sally
Clarke in Kensington Church St, London.
Apart from time
spent in the pastry section and on the floor of the
California influenced restaurant, Phillippa managed
the shop next
door, which sold items made in the restaurant kitchen
as well as well sourced ingredients such as olive oils,
vinegars, eggs and Neal’s Yard Dairy cheeses.
The wholesale bakery operation supplied their breads
around
London to restaurants and hotels.
Believing that in Melbourne there would be a similar demand for preserves, pastries
and breads, the search began for premises in which we could both make and sell
our products. High Street, Armadale, seemed to be the Melbourne equivalent of
Kensington Church St and an ideal neighborhood.
In January 1995, Phillippa was joined by Andrew O’Hara, a New Zealander,
who had been baking at Clarke’s in London for 2 years. From this point,
the demand for bread gained momentum and the focus of the company began to
turn more toward bread production. In May 1999 the bakery expanded into larger
purpose
built premises in order to produce more efficiently and to try to meet the
growing demand for the bread.
A quote from Elizabeth David from English Bread and Yeast Cookery, sums up
our approach to making bread "The true essence of good bread lies in the
slow fermentation and unhurried ripening of the dough."
Other activities:
In 1995 Phillippa was a founding member of the Australian Specialist Cheese
Makers Association. This was motivated by a personal interest in facilitating
the legalization
of unpasteurised cheese sales and production in Australia so that she could
continue to sell cheeses of a similar quality to the Neal's Yard Dairy
Cheeses that were
sold at Clarke’s. Phillipppa is often invited to judge at cheese shows.
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