There’s a new kid on the block in Melbourne, and he’s bringing France with him. Late November last year, Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef Jonathan Camillieri opened bakery café JC Pâtisserie Boulangerie in Abbotsford in Melbourne. The bakery offers high-class baked goods, inspired by Jonathan’s training in France.

Native to Melbourne, Jonathan was accepted into Le Cordon Bleu in Paris straight out of high school, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“I applied thinking I was going to get denied, it’s not an easy place to get into. I finished high school, moved to Paris, and got to travel all over France to learn about pastry,” Jonathan told Urban List.

Following his three years of training abroad, Jonathan came back to his home in Melbourne, where he has set up shop at JC Pâtisserie Boulangerie.

In addition to cakes, pastries, and bread, JC Pâtisserie Boulangerie also offers customers their own house blend coffee, which is the only part of the bakery that deviates from its French origins and takes a step in the classic Melburnian direction.

Since opening in late 2022, the bakery has been making waves on social media, with many customers sharing videos on TikTok of their visits and the treats they ordered there. Users are likening the bakery to a visit to Paris, but without the “grotty” atmosphere of the city of love. JC Pâtisserie Boulangerie is quickly earning a reputation as the closest thing we have to Paris in Australia.