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In Focus - Another Piece of the Pie
Another piece of the pie
Lumi Dining’s Federico Zanellato has opened a pie shop that celebrates the chef’s cult pastry — the pithivier.
WORDS Aristine Dobson
MAKING PASTRY IS an intricate and laborious task. The trick is to take it layer by layer, folding then rolling to build a delicate stack of butter and dough. It is a crucial component of a pithivier, a classic French pie that can be sweet or savoury. The complex creation has been career-altering for Lumi Dining’s Head Chef Federico Zanellato.
The item first featured on Lumi’s degustation menu and is the centerpiece for Zanellato’s new venture Lode Pies, which is slated to open in Sydney’s Surry Hills this year.
When Zanellato first began making pithivier, there were many trial and error sessions in the kitchen. He went on to master the technique and create a sought-after menu item. “When we went into the first lockdown, we put it on the online menu at Lumi,” says Zanellato. “It was so popular we just couldn’t keep up the production because everything was made by hand.”
The crowd response was overwhelming, and requests were soon made to buy the item outside of dining at the restaurant. The chef listened and is in the midst of launching Lode Pies, which will focus on classic French pastries and comfort food that reference his early career. “When I was working at The Ritz London, there were a lot of these kinds of pastries, but I was never allowed to touch any of those unfortunately,” says Zanellato. “I was very young back then and there were always very skilled and talented chefs looking after the pithiviers and all that stuff.”
Federico Zanellato
Unlike traditional bakeries, Lode will hit pause on bread and instead revolve around Zanellato’s signature puff pastry and croissant dough in varying forms. “Some people use shortcrust pastry to do the pie, but I’ve always loved the flakiness and the flavour of puff pastry,” says the chef.
The shop will be an exploration of iconic pastries that are complex in production, showcasing the craftsmanship involved in pâtisserie. But for Zanellato, the most challenging part of Lode’s inception has been refining his dough recipe. “It all starts with the initial lamination,” he says. “The moment you crack the butter or it’s too warm and gets incorporated into the pastry, you’ve lost layers,” he says.
Following the theme of all things French, the chef is also looking to add traditional pastries to the range such as a galette des rois, chausson with pear and coconut as well as choux au craquelin. Savoury croissants will cover combinations of parmesan and sage along with ‘nduja made by Pino’s Dolce Vita.
The dessert options will be elaborate and in line with the technique exhibited in the pithivier; in fact, Zanellato is planning to construct a rose-shaped cake out of croissant rolls. “We cut very small rolls and we put them next to each other,” says the chef. “But we’re not going to shape anything that looks like a croissant; we will have all different shapes. It’s more interesting than a croissant or a pain au chocolat shape.”
When it comes to shop equipment, Zanellato is taking it back to basics. Lode is currently set up for action with a dough sheeter and a special chiller to store dough, but the next obstacle is finding the right butter for the job. Although Zanellato is searching for Australian options, he says nothing compares to the French. “I would eventually love to get a Lode Pies Australian butter sheet, but it’s very, very hard to beat the French; it is the only thing at the moment that we are importing for the shop.”
The uncertainty of the pandemic has made it tricky to navigate an official opening, but Lode has recently dabbled in a collaboration with Arthur restaurant, which is also located in Surry Hills. “I think there will be other things coming up for sure,” says Zanellato. “We are doing a lot of family sizes for Vic’s Meat at the moment and we’re probably going to do some stuff for CopperTree Farms, but that’s all for now.”
There’s much anticipation around what’s to come, but an ongoing bake sale at Lumi is a window into what consumers can expect from Lode. “We’re going to focus and make sure everything is of a super high standard and has interesting flavour combinations in the pastry.” ■
