Daci And Daci Is The Scent Of Freshly Baked Pastries Wafting Through Hobart’s Kitchen

It’s sunny. Gorgeous summer weather in Hobart and walking home laden from the Bathurst Street Farmgate markets, pastries waft into my brain. Daci and Daci pastries in fact. Having sat there quietly for six years, this paean to pastry in Murray Street keeps turning out delicious morsels day in day out. 

Like many in the hospitality industry, Cheryl (English) and Naser (from Kosovo) had met in a bakery. It was Melbourne, and kindred spirits and a zillion early mornings later, they settled in Hobart determined to lift the quality of pastry and carve a business.

Lucky us Hobartians! Want a special occasion cake? Daci and Daci has it. And the outside dining that slopes down to the harbor where one can watch the world and boats go by, is one of my favourite spots for a coffee and treat.

My Polish friends, Lidia and Bronek, buy the 100% rye bread and have learnt to get there early, before it, like so much of their superb bread and products, is sold out. One has to queue to order, but it’s a good and workable system, and the food is never more than a few minutes away.

The only problem I ever have here is the staggering choice, so I ask Cheryl about that. She muses, “Well, we’re classic, I guess, a bit old school. We both trained in Europe so we try not to stray away too much from classic food done well. And we keep a big range. Here, we’ve built up a big following of regulars, and they can eat here every day for a month and have something different.”

I’ll say! And I particularly like their Danish, and find it hard to stray even when I’m feeling super adventurous. The business grew to a point where they were able to expand, and Naser followed a dream and opened the Black Footed Pig. Tucked at the back of Brooke Street, that Tapas Bar and Kitchen is hitting some high notes, and I would say keeping this couple incredibly busy. More of that another time.

Here we are, Lidia and I, sitting outside in the sun, enjoying excellent coffee, a delicious Danish, and when I ask for cream, it’s brought without fuss. If I’m going to treat I go the whole hog. Lidia has a vegan salad, and declares it delicious. Of course.

I wonder how Cheryl and Naser find time to scratch? It would seem that with the two outlets, and 40 staff between them, they’ve grown to the point where they have enough staff to train newbies, apprentices, and keep the ovens firing. They celebrate their sixth year here this year, have no ideas of moving or changing anything, and I take my hat off to them.

Daci and Daci form part of that solid, excellent hospitality nucleus that makes Hobart such a food and tourist destination. I hear that Millennials actually plan eating holidays to Tasmania these days, and am I surprised? Not a bit. I just hope they find Daci and Daci on their playlist. 

Chrissie