The pastry creations from a French artisan bakery have fast become a favourite amongst Townsville locals and brought life back into the Cranbrook complex in which it resides.
Renowned baker and Paris native, Dimitri Pittion-Rossillon, has worked as a baker and pastry chef around Australia for more than 15 years. After settling in Townsville with his family four years ago, Dimitri eventually branched out to open his own bakery, Baker D’ North, in early 2020.
“I started selling pastries at the Willows Sunday Market and they became so popular that six months later, I decided to open the shop front located at Brampton Avenue in Cranbrook,” says Dimitri.
“The most challenging part of opening this business for me was wondering how people will respond to my work. Will they like it? Will they come back?”
As the bakery nears its two-year milestone, it hasn’t taken long for Dimitri to cement himself as the Crème de la Crème of Townsville bakers. Last year, Baker D’ North was voted Townsville’s Best Bakery by the community, an achievement which Dimitri says he was surprised but very humbled to receive.
“It was a pleasant surprise as there are more established bakeries around,” he explains.
“It shows that there is an appreciation for freshly baked goods, using local ingredients.
“In the long-term, the most challenging thing for us is to keep up with the quality and consistency of products as we are making everything from scratch.”
The early 2:30am starts to the day, which Dimitri admits is his favourite part of the job, has certainly paid off. He now employs five staff members, including baristas, front of house and bakers.
“We all work together to provide fresh and quality products as well as professional customer service to all our clients,” he says.
“By now I am used to the early start and the morning bake is quite special to me, it’s like time stops when I am doing my work.
“Working while everyone is sleeping and seeing all the products coming out of the oven is a satisfying feeling.”
