Saturday, September 24, 2022

Weekend Cooking: Our visit to Lune Lab

 


A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be able to attend Lune Lab.



What, you may ask, is Lune Lab? Lune is a foodie haunt which focuses on croissants and pastries. Lune started here in Melbourne around 10 years ago. On the weekends, there is always a queue out the door of people who want to try both the traditional and non-traditional flavours which change on a monthly basis. Based on the flavours we tried, we will definitely be trying to go back to try the flavours in future months. The founder, Kate Reid, was a former Formula 1 Aerodynamicist who decided that she wanted to do something completely different. Her scientific background translates to making croissants, working and reworking recipes until it is perfect using scientific thinking and methodology.



Lune Lab is a degustation menu where you pay a set amount and are treated to a three course menu which changes each couple of months to use the best of seasonal ingredients. 



The first course is a traditional croissant, served whilst still warm after being out of the oven for 10 minutes. The outer shell is so crispy and flaky whilst the inside is soft and buttery! The chef who came out to speak to us even used the word juicy, which I must confess is not a word I would normally associate with a pastry but was apt.





The second course is a savoury course. These menus are not pastries that you would pick up from a normal bakery. Our menu had large vol au vent filled with twice cooked lamb shoulder with an avocado mint puree and micro herbs along with lettuce. The lettuce was actually really zingy and was on the plate to cut through the richness of the lamb. This was absolutely delicious.





The third course was a sweet course and featured a Japanese flower shaped pastry filled with sesame seed frangipane style filling, with a tonka bean cream topping.





It isn't only about the food you eat while you are there. The Lune we went to is the one which makes all the croissants for Melbourne and features a cube inside the building which is temperature controlled to the perfect conditions for making croissants. Inside the cube there is a team of pastry chefs who are rolling out the pastry and then making the different shapes.. It is absolutely mesmerising watching every baker preforming their role in such a precise way.  We watched them making hundreds of perfect croissants, and then using some of the offcuts to create cronuts. There is very little waste, with anything that isn't being used immediately being stored for reuse.  It was really interesting as the process for making a perfect croissant takes 3 days! If I remember correctly the first day the pastry is made. The second day the pastry is shaped and then the third day it is baked to perfection.





Whilst I don't think we will do Lune Lab every time the menu changes because it is not a cheap experience to do, but it was fascinating and delicious! We will do it again at some point I am sure.



 Weekly meals


Saturday - Takeaway
Sunday -  Pork Stir fry
Monday - Char Siu Chicken
Tuesday - Family dinner
Wednesday - Fried Chicken, mash and broccoli
Thursday - Takeaway
Friday - Lasagne




Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

14 comments:

  1. That sounds like an amazing culinary experience! That’s quite an experience.
    Tina @ Squirrel Head Manor
    ( in case I come up as anonymous !)

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  2. You were right, I never heard of Lune Day but it sounds fun, fascinating, and delicious. My husband lived in France and adores a croissant that is made properly but they are hard to find! Thanks for hosting Weekend Cooking!

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    1. These were worth the effort to find. We will definitely be having more at some point.

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  3. Everything looks delicious, that baking flat of fresh rolls, WOW!

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    1. That tray of croissants looks so good Melynda!

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  4. My goodness, those croissants look amazing. The Lune Lab sounds like a fun place to visit.

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    1. It was definitely worth doing at least once Diane.

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  5. Replies
    1. It was a great experience for sure Jinger!

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  6. i think we have a Lune up here in brisbane too. Not that I've been there. I am not a big fan of croissants etc. Just not my thing ...

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    1. There are a couple of Lune's in Brisbane I believe Sherry.

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  7. Maybe there is something similar in Toronto?

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  8. What a neat dining experience! I totally forgot to link up several weeks ago! Thanks for hosting!

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