He's been your go-to man for dessert degustations, but it's almost time to say goodbye to pastry chef Pierre Roelofs' Dessert Evenings after six years. The final sessions at the event's current home in Milkwood Café in East Brunswick is set to take place on Thursday, December 29 and Friday, December 30.
When Roelofs began his dessert evenings in 2010, he always knew that it was going to be a long-term project, though it didn't stop people from calling the long-running event a 'pop-up'. Most first heard of Roelofs through his once-weekly Dessert Evenings in the now-defunct Café Rosamond in Fitzroy, where the chef showcased a new dessert degustation menu every week for the first two years. There were usually three plated desserts and one in a tube, and no dish was ever repeated, which meant over six years Roelofs has created more than 800 unique desserts.
Following five years in Café Rosamond, Roelofs migrated to Adriano Zumbo's Fancy Nance, followed by a move to East Brunswick's Milkwood this year, where Dessert Evenings was accompanied by a new project titled Dessert Studies. The latest project saw Roelofs collaborate with Melbourne creatives including designer Beci Orpin, jeweller Julia deVille, and architect Andrew Maynard. Catch his current Dessert Studies collaboration with weaver Maryanne Moody on November 24.
Pierre Roelofs' career has seen him apprentice in tiny bakeries in the Swiss Alps, spin sugar in St Moritz and create Michelin star desserts at the world’s top restaurants. Last summer, we saw Roelofs set up a pop-up soft serve bar at Green Park café in Carlton North. No word yet on Roelofs' next project, though a book may be in the cards.
Don't miss your chance to say goodbye to the long-running event and book yourself into the four-course dessert degustations through www.pierreroelofs.com.