Iconic Melbourne café, Il Fornaio, is returning to its roots with a fresh artisan bread selection created by new head baker Maxime Lucmort.

Maxime hails from France – the birthplace of artisan bread making – and will use traditional French techniques learnt through 15 years of experience as a baker, as well as many innovative modern approaches.

“We are keeping it simple, using only organic flours and making all bread by hand. We take pride in the small details; our organic multigrain has a super-seed mix of sunflower, linseed, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, soya gritz and almond flakes,” Maxime said.

“We are trying to fill a gap in the market by providing, where possible, completely organic foods and by sustaining health through using naturally occurring seeds, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

“Our customers appreciate all the small, extra details.”

Maxime will also be delving into his other specialties – pain du choc croissants, pain au raisin and fruit danishes – in collaboration with Il Fornaio’s pastry chef.

All bread and pastry will be made by hand on site in Il Fornaio’s the newly installed state-of-the-art Europa Deck Oven.