Hospitality | Albert’s Kitchen Pukekohe
The business of baking Our first breads were developed when humans took wild grass grains, soaked them in water and mashed it into a broth to bake on hot rocks. While our baked goods have come a long way since those early days, those first cooking methods formed the basis of what we enjoy in the modern day. Using traditional, time honoured methods, with some modern day flair and innovation, Albert’s Kitchen is redefining what bread is. And the result is, well, it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Albert Psaros first entered the commercial playing field six years ago with a popular line of dips and hummus, sold at local farmers’ markets. But the recession saw business slow and his familial background saw him move into the bakery business. From Greek heritage, Albert had baking in his blood. “Food is big in Greek families,” he laughs. “Everything revolves around food.” His dad had owned a couple of bakeries himself which Albert had also worked in and, after travelling and a stint in IT, it felt like a natural move, well, as natural as a career move he knew nothing about! “I didn’t know a thing about baking,” Albert laughs. “I bought an oven, a couple of books, spent an evening with a baker in Hamilton and started baking!” “It was the recession that really kicked in that passion.”
He began baking 16-18 hours a day, that went on for some two years before he was completely confident in his ability and felt ready to “kick it up a notch”, opening Albert’s Kitchen in 2012. This somewhat unconventional introduction to the business of baking has proved a recipe to success, with Albert’s Kitchen quickly becoming a successful artisan bakery in its own right. It’s even listed on the New Zealand Herald’s list of 50 foodie things to do before you die. While the bakery is certainly a success, it didn’t happen overnight. With no capital behind them, Albert and his Dutch wife Adrianna had to scratch together to get all the equipment necessary. “There’s a surprising amount of equipment needed to run a bakery, and run it efficiently,” Albert says. “We worked really hard to get our production up to the place we are at now.” But the challenge honed the ability to keep mixing it up. “When you don’t have the money to keep purchasing more stock, you need to develop the ability to keep producing interesting products, to keep pulling people in,” he says. “It pushes you creatively and your focus on processes, on becoming more efficient; there’s no resting on laurels around here,”
he laughs. “We have to keep on our toes at all times.” The bakery began specialising in the popular sourdough, before moving into pastries, and soon after, French desserts. “Then the lunch trade really started taking off and we expanded into everything.” Today the business is moving rapidly into wholesale orders, they have reintroduced their line of hummus, also available wholesale and the latest and greatest – par-baked breads, available in focaccia and sourdough.
“We fully cook the breads, without browning the loaves, so the customer finishes off the last five percent of the cooking process from home, giving them the highest bakery quality freshly baked bread.” And, let’s face it, nothing quite beats the smell of that wafting through the house! The farmers’ markets formed strong relationships with local food producers and today Albert supplies a great range of local produce. Albert’s vanilla slice is one of the bakery’s best sellers, flying off the shelves just as fast
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