Paisano and Daughters have announced Lauren Eldridge as head of pastry for its four new Australia Street venues in Newtown.
Brothers-in-law Joe Valore and Elvis Abrahanowicz founded Continental Deli Bar and Bistro in 2015, alongside Michael Nicolian. Soon after its opening, the bar and bistro became famed for its deli offering, bistro fare and canned goods spanning from seafood to cocktails including the Ameri-can-o, Mar-tinny, and the Can-hatten.
Now, the owners are turning things up a notch, having acquired the surrounding strip of shopfronts in the historic 1911 H.May building. Continental Deli will be joined by vegetarian restaurant Flora at 206 Australia Street, seafood bar Mister Grotto at 208, and Italian restaurant Osteria Mucca at 212. The group will also open boutique apartment suites above, with mini bars stocked by Continental Deli.
Eldridge brings an impressive resume to the table, in roles including pastry chef at hatted Hawkesbury River-front restaurant, Berowra Waters Inn, and group pastry chef for Stokehouse. She trained under Mark Best at Marque, where she rose from apprentice to head pastry chef, and went on to work at 3-michelin-starred restaurants Le Cinq and Guy Savoy in Paris before joining Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana in Italy.
Eldridge will oversee the desert menus across all four venues, which are slated to open in 2025.
The head chefs for each venue will be announced soon.
