Out with the new, in with the old.

An interview with JC Patisserie Boulangerie’s Jonathan Camillieri on chasing dreams and refurbished machines.

JC Patisserie Boulangerie opened in November of 2022, and although they are the new kids on the block, they’re fast making a name for themselves. Roasting their own coffee at Criteria Coffee and baking exquisite pastries every day, their dedication to perfection comes through in every facet of the business.

When owner Jonathan Camillieri (24) moved back to Melbourne after a three year stint in Paris, studying at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, he was determined to turn his dream into a reality. When opening JC Patisserie Boulangerie, attention quickly turned to equipment, and he quickly turned to Brewtech. Instead of going down the traditional new machine route, Jonathan opted to purchase a refurbished La Marzocco GB5, and we can’t imagine it sitting on any other bench. It’s as if it was meant to be! Jonathan and I sat down over a coffee to chat about how his first six months open have been, for both him and his equipment.

Hey Jonathan, thanks for chatting with me today! can you tell me a little bit about your years abroad studying what you love?

I spent two years in Paris where I studied for a year at the Courte En Bleu and then got an internship and a job the following year. It wasn't very Emily in Paris, but it was definitely a good journey. It was a very good two years of eating. And working was good too.

 How have your first 6 months of service been since opening your doors?

They've been amazing, every month has been different. It has been an amazing journey, going with the flow and improving things and just enjoying it as much as possible.

Your croissants here are not particularly traditional, how important is it for you to adhere to and then deviate from tradition?

With our croissants, as with all our pastries, I wanted to stick to traditional flavours. However, there are some amazing croissants in Melbourne, so rather than compete with them, I thought I’d do my own twist. In this way, I’ve focused on the part of the croissant that I like most, and I like more flakiness and less cakiness. If it gets all over my shirt and people judge me, well so be it. I have a better life and I get to eat a buttery croissant.

I feel like there are a lot of crossovers between specialty coffee and French patisserie.

Yes! I felt like European cities, especially big cities, a very accepting and encouraging of the arts. Maybe more-so than Australia in the sense that chefs and bakers are looked upon very highly. That respect for art is so beautiful and I can see it’s coming to Melbourne now, it’s more visible than it was maybe five or six years ago. I think people are respecting the process of the final product. The final art piece, the final cake, coffee, latte art, all of it.

You seem to have a bit of a love affair with European exports.

Yeah, definitely. It started at birth, as both of my parents are European. Then living there for three years, I guess I fell in love.

From where we’re sitting, I can see you've got well fitted out kitchen. Everything in its place.

Yes, mise en plus. Look, we haven't got the biggest space or the biggest kitchen, especially considering all the products that we do. But it's the same in Paris, you get very small kitchens and you make do. And I think, having an amazing team helps the flow of everything, making it nice to work in a tight space.

What role does having good quality equipment play in the success of your business? 

I think you can have all the skills in the world, but if the equipment is not good enough, sadly the results are not going to be good enough. With all the technological advancements nowadays, I am so reliant on my equipment and making sure it works and has no issues. And if there are issues, with good quality equipment they can be fixed quite fast.

What made you want to buy a refurbished espresso machine as opposed to new? 

I hate waste in general, from food waste to cardboard waste. All our packaging is recyclable, and we try and recycle as much as we can. Of course, in the food industry, a lot of things aren't recyclable yet. We don't waste any shots of coffee and there is always a coffee product for sale which will reuse all those coffee shots. I think that you can always turn waste into something else. And even from a financial view, if you turn waste into something else, it's usually very profitable. Not that we consider our coffee machine to be waste. In the Louvre, they get artists to go in and touch up the artworks, and it's a very strict process in terms of who does it and when it gets done. I would say that's what our [Brewtech refurbished] coffee machine is like.

What do you love about the La Marzocco GB5 specifically? 

I think when we were building the shop, we wanted our coffee machine to be different. We wanted it to catch your eye and feel like you were being transported to a shop in Paris, London or New York. When I saw the refurbished GB5 one online, I thought - that very much fits into what we want the shop to feel like, it has a vintage look, and it stands out. We knew we wanted our coffee machine to be a focal point on the bench. When you look at it from the outside, and again once you walk in, you're like - oh wow, that's impressive, I haven't seen that machine before. It's definitely something that brought everything together.

Have you had any issues with your machine since you bought it?

No, we haven't. I think we've had Brewtech service it once and it went amazingly. From the grinder to the coffee machine, everything has been really good.

And finally, why did you choose to roast your own coffee?

So that's another thing that I wanted to do differently. Coffee is very important to myself, my team, and even my family. My family probably drink way too much coffee, and I grew up having coffee way too young.I think it's always nice to have a unique blend and to create flavours that match our products. I didn't have much experience roasting coffee, and the team at Criteria Coffee were amazing and helped me through it all. Everything else being so unique; from the coffee machine to the pastries to the coffee itself. I think it all works together to create a unique environment.

Thanks so much for chatting with me today!

For perfect pastries and espresso, drop into JC Patisserie Boulangerie at 17 Henry Street, Abbotsford. 

If you’re interested in purchasing a refurbished La Marzocco espresso machine, you can view our full range of available machines in the refurbished drop down.