D
anPuskasis thefirsttoadmitthatit takesa villageto
runa restaurant– orinthetimeofcoronavirus,a bakery.
Forthreemonths,hisfine-dinerinSydney’sStanmore
operatedasa generalstore;andinsteadofpreparing
a modern-Australiantastingmenufor 34 diners,Puskasandhisteam
bakedcakesandloavesofsourdough,madejam,andfilledbottleswith
Sixpennychillisaucetobesoldtoa never-endinglineofcustomers
thatformedoutsidetherestaurant-turned-storeeveryweekend.
“We’dopenonlineordersat fiveo’clockonFriday,andbySaturday
morningtherewouldbe 90 orsoorders.Somepeoplespent$300on
cake!”recallsPuskas.“Weweren’texpectingsucha positiveresponse.”
TheconceptwasinspiredbyoneofPuskas’favouriteplaces:
BeatrixbakeryinNorthMelbourne.“MyheadchefAaron(Ward)
lovesbaking,sowethought‘whydon’twejustdoa littlecakeshop?’”
hesays.“Butwerealisedveryquicklythatweweren’tbuiltfor
production.We’rebuiltfora smallnumberofpeopleona tasting
menu– it’scompletelydifferentstorage-wise.Wehadtohirea van
thatsatoutside,whichwasconnectedtoourpowersowehadextra
fridgespace.Wehad 20 or 30 cakesinthefridgeat anyonetime.”
Thequickpivotwaschallenging,saysPuskas,butit wouldn’t
havebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportofhisco-workersandfriends
inthehospitalityindustry.“Whenlockdownwasinstated,I rangup
myclosefriends– a lotofthedishideasforthegeneralstoreand
take-homemenustemmedfromthem.”HecalledonLuMiDining’s
FedericoZanellatoforhispasta-makingtips;SebastianoPisasale,
restaurantmanagerat Brae,forhismother’spestoallaTrapanese
recipe;andanex-pastrychefforherinfamoustreslechescake.
“Everyonewentaboveandbeyond,”saysPuskas.“It’salways
a groupeffort,it’sjustamplifiedduringsuchhardtimes.”
Sixpennyhasrecentlyreturnedtoitsregularfine-diningformat,
butwewantedtocapturethedishesthatkeptthemafloatduring
thisuniquechapterinhospitalityhistory.
Sixpenny, 83 Percival Rd, Stanmore, NSW, (02) 9572 6666, sixpenny.com.auClockwisefromtopleft:HeadchefAaronWard(left),
ownerDanPuskas,andsouschefGeorgiaDoherty;
fresh sopressini pasta; a table set in the dining room.86 GOURMET TRAVELLER