Our beloved Northern Beaches bakery is rolling out… a fresh start.
Berkelo, the institution that has served our community since 2015, has announced it’s joining forces with sourdough giants, Sonoma Bakery.
Founder Tom Eadie (or Kneadie as he’s affectionately known), who started Berkelo in Brookvale before expanding to Manly and Mosman, shared the news with customers this week.
“For you, our customers, little changes—same bakeries, same team, same core Berkelo loaves alongside a few new ones,” Tom wrote on Berkelo’s instagram page. The partnership brings “the support of another family bakery behind the scenes.”
The partnership with Sonoma, a bakery Tom has “long looked to as the benchmark for artisan sourdough,” marks a significant moment for the local foodie.
We can thank the family behind Sonoma for introducing sourdough to Australia back in 2001. In the late 1990s, son Andrew Connole travelled to California, learning all that he could about the art of wood-fired oven cooking and fermented dough. He returned with the starter from Chad Robertson of LA’s famed Tartine Bakery that erm, started Sydney’s obsession with perfectly crunchy sourdough.
As for what the partnership means for Berkelo, Tom is keen to point out not much is changing. Berkelo’s three locations will continue operating as usual, with the same bakers creating the same breads Northern Beaches and Mosman residents have loved for the past 10 years. Sonoma will be supporting Berkelo bakeries operations behind-the-scenes so Tom says, “We can keep doing what we love.”
With this transition, Tom will now concentrate his efforts on McCarrs House, his restaurant in Terrey Hills (formerly known as Berkelo Kitchen).
“As for me, I’ll be focusing on my restaurant, and growing our pasta range. But I’ll always be part of this community and can’t wait to see Berkelo’s next chapter unfold.”
Locals have been chuffed since Tom took over the space on Mona Vale Road nearly 12 months ago, turning his passion for whole-hearted cooking into a spot where you could grab your morning coffee (and loaf of bread, of course) or dine out on delicious wood fired pizzas and hand cut pasta dishes. Berkelo Kitchen’s evolution to McCarrs House will elevate Tom’s farm-to-table ethos further into refined mains, delicious desserts and botanical creations made with ingredients from his own kitchen garden. Watch this space!
McCarrs House
Formerly Berkelo Kitchen.
205 Mona Vale Rd, Terrey Hills
https://www.instagram.com/mccarrshouse/
Images: Berkelo.
