A Day in the Life of Our Sydney Bakery: From Dawn to Delicious

A day in the life of a bakery is long, busy, fun and delicious. It’s not easy, but the team at Zest is passionate and committed to what we do - which makes it all worth it. Our team of bakers, drivers and front-of-house staff work hard every day to deliver delicious cakes and pastries to Sydneysiders. You see all our hard work displayed in our patisserie, but what goes on behind the scenes?

Here’s a little look at a day in the life of Zest Patisserie and how we deliver hundreds of delectable desserts to our customers every day.

1am - A Bright and Early Start

The day starts at our off-site kitchen where the majority of our cakes, pastries and other goods are baked fresh every day. Our bakers start as early as 1am to get ready for the day's work, kicking off the day with:

• Setting Up Workstations: Ensuring all equipment (ovens, mixers, etc.) is working, and getting ingredients ready.
• Dough Preparation: Many of our baked goods require dough to rise for several hours, so our bakers begin preparing any dough that needs to ferment or proof (like croissant dough) early.
• Oven Preheating: The ovens are preheated early to ensure they’re at the right temperature by the time baking begins.
• Bake First Batches: The first batch of pastries and cakes that need to be baked early in the day go into the ovens. 
• Prepare Specialty Items: Specialty items or special cake orders to go out for delivery will be made as a priority.

6am - Deliveries & First Customers

Our freshly baked goods are delivered from the off-site kitchen to our patisserie location as soon as they’re ready, ensuring ultimate freshness. At 6am our patisserie doors open and we welcome our first early bird customers.

Our in store team arranges our freshly baked items in the display cases, ready for hungry Sydneysiders. We also start up the coffee machine - because what’s a pastry without a coffee to go with it?

7am – 10am: The Morning Rush

This is often the busiest time of day, with people flocking in for breakfast items, coffee, and snacks. Our croissants, muffins, and breakfast pastries are in high demand, so we always make plenty of our most popular items so we can quickly replenish them as needed.

Our staff are often working non-stop to make coffees, take orders and keep our display cases full. And they do it all with a smile!

10am – 3pm: Mid-Day Maintenance

This is the time we might receive another delivery from our kitchen - often with custom orders or cakes that will be picked up throughout the day. Our staff also use this time for cleaning and restocking, taking advantage of quieter moments to clean workstations and restock ingredients - as well as taking a much deserved break!

Lunchtime sees a rush again, mostly for our savoury pies, sausage rolls and quiches (which also come in family sizes to take home for dinner).

This time of the day is also a great time to drop in if you want to make a special order or ask any questions about our products. If there are any special cake orders or catering orders, the final touches like frosting or decorating happen during this time.

3pm – 5pm: The Afternoon Rush 

As customers start coming in after work or picking up afternoon snacks or desserts, our display cases can start to look a little bare - which is a good thing! We endeavour to sell most (if not all) of our fresh stock so nothing goes to waste. After all, there will be more arriving the next morning!

By this time, our bakers will have also prepped for the next day’s production, so they’re ready to do it all again.

5pm: Pack Up & Close up

As the end of the day approaches, our team starts packing up any leftover products, cleaning the shop, and organising the space for the next day. This includes wiping down surfaces, sanitising equipment, and sweeping the floor. 

Any items that need to be stored overnight (like dough or nonperishable products) are properly packaged and stored.

A Zest For Baking

A day in the life of a bakery is often unpredictable. New products, fluctuations in demand and influx of orders means we always have to be flexible and ready for anything. But there is always one constant - our bakers, pastry chefs, front-of-house staff, and baristas all work together closely to keep things running smoothly and deliver fresh, high-quality products to our customers.

Whether you’re visiting our patisserie or receiving a bakery delivery, you can be sure that a lot of hard work, long hours and passion have gone into your delicious sweet treats.