By Despina Karpathiou
That first bite of Patricia K’s famous Gluten Free Lemon Cake will melt in your mouth like no other dessert. The texture of the cake, with the way the lemon melts in with the almond meal and the syrup, will make you want to slow down and savour every bite.
This superior taste is the result of years and years of 3am starts, consistent dedication and a passion for pastry making that began in a home garage more than 20 years ago, with one commercial oven.
Patricia always had a passion for baking and pastry creation, and she decided to chase her dreams.
This is a story of how following your ambitions pays off.
Patricia’s husband Aki sat down with The Greek Herald for a candid chat about doing what you love.
“We put everything into this patisserie, it’s our whole life. This love and dedication can be tasted in our pastries. We don’t advertise. The pastries advertise themselves,” Aki said.
He said they feel “very blessed and fortunate to have come out the other end of COVID-19 the way they did.”
“Covid was beneficial for us, people could order from their houses or if they were local, they could come down to pick up their order,” he explained.
Aki and Patricia met when she’d gone over to Greece on a holiday and they fell in love. They married soon after in Greece, he followed her back to Australia, and the rest is history. The couple will soon be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.
“Love, respect and the same dreams – that’s what makes a ‘working’ relationship work,” Aki said.
Aki supports his wife in everything she does. He’s the ‘right-hand man.’ Every design in their new store, down to the gold marble around the coffee counter, was his wife’s vision.
“Patricia is extremely creative and driven, she created everything you see in the patisserie,” he said.
The name ‘Queen’s Pastri’ was derived from the fact that every time Aki would deliver pastries to her customers in the early days, they would say “Oh the Queen’s pastries have come!”
When asked what sells out the fastest, Aki said that Queen’s Pastri’s Chocolate Croissant is their most “popular creation.”
“We go to France every year, and because we’re on vacation we get to sit down and relax. We don’t get to relax in Australia. We try out all the different pastries and gain inspiration from our time there,” he said.
Aki explained why they chose a French patisserie over a Greek one. He emphasised the fact that Greek sweets always get ‘copied,’ for example baklava is also a popular Lebanese sweet called ‘baklawa.’
It is widely believed that ‘baklawa’ first originated in Assyria which then spread to the Mediterranean and various versions created from there developed into baklava. The Greeks dispute this fact, and with good reason.
Whereas French pastries are just French, they can’t be replicated. The croissant is a classic, no matter how hard you try to change it. You can’t exactly change a croissant recipe; you can add ingredients and make varied types and flavours.
For example, Patricia makes a decadent pistachio croissant with alternate layers of buttery green and traditional pastry. The result is a fluffy blend of pistachio blended goodness.
If your mouth isn’t watering by this point, then you probably don’t have a sweet tooth! Fear not, this amazing boutique patisserie also has one of the best mushroom and beef pies I have ever tasted.
With something for everyone, Queen’s Pastri is the ‘Zacharoplasteío’ to be. Head down to Sans Souci in Sydney’s south for a bite you’ll unlikely forget soon.
Follow them on:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenspastrihouse/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/queenspastri/
