A British institution, the partaking of ‘elevensies’ is a way of punctuating the morning with a fortifying little treat, to break the monotony of the long hours spent at work… or a quaint Hobbity ritual that adds refreshment to the morning. While our spelling is non-conformist, let it free you to partake of these morsels at any time of day.

We have always made a few pies and sausage rolls to try to soothe the customers who complain about the over-abundance of sweeties, and also to pick up a few punters who want the whole experience of being at Sweet Envy to be clad in butter, savoury or sweet.

At football and other sporting matches, one cannot barrack effectively without lubricating one’s gullet with a bag of pastry-encrusted flesh and a warm flat beer. But the days of the pie are changing, and slowly the mega-factories are opening up a market for better-cooked bespoke pie and sausage roll concoctions.

Pies define the Australian bakery mindset; on our overseas adventures we even remember pining for a traditional bag of ‘ears and lips’ (those bad cuts of meat that large manufacturers normally use in pies). Nowadays we read up on all the mega-trendy bakeries, find out what they are doing and have a crack at the flavour combinations ourselves. This is a great way to get the creative juices flowing, put our own spin on new ideas and end up with some pretty delicious results.

It’s important to make the pastry from scratch, where possible. Slow braising also invites the use of many interesting meats and cuts: tongues and cheeks, rabbits and wilder beasts, whatever we can find. We can’t compete with the big bakeries and their thousands of pie pallets. All our pies are hand formed, and the filling doted upon like the youngest sibling in a large family… but delicious is defined by the time taken to prepare the fillings.

While most of our pies are consumed around lunchtime, we recommend you eat them when you feel like it, be it breakfast or dinner. Get out the good sauce and indulge.