Overview
Long gone are the days when the gluten intolerant were stuck with just a couple of boring options wherever they went to eat. Here in 2022, the choice of gluten-free eats is as big as it's ever been and coeliac-friendly fare has become so creative, it's easily camouflaged amongst its everyday, gluten-filled peers.
In fact, you'd be forgiven for not even noticing the fact that the CBD's new bakery-cafe Kudo, with its wafting scents of freshly baked bread and tempting-looking pastries, is entirely, 100-percent gluten-free.
You'll find this standing-room-only spot nestled around the side of the ground level of The Hotel Windsor, the work of husband and wife chef duo Felix Goodwin (Sunda, Saigon Sally) and Elena Nguyen (Saigon Sally, The European). Two years in the making, Kudo was born out of the couple's desire to find reliably tasty baked goods they could both enjoy, with Goodwin himself a coeliac.
Through extensive research, experimentation and taste-testing (as you might have spied over on their Instagram), the pair has created a daily-changing menu of cakes, pastries, breads and other gluten-free treats to showcase at their diminutive debut venture.
Native ingredients get quite a look-in here, as you'll discover in creations like the chefs' take on a classic Taiwanese pineapple cookie, finished with a vibrant coating of pink Davidson Plum powder, and the rye-style miche loaf that features wattleseed and miso.
Traditionally made canelés come in flavours ranging from lemon brûlée, to almond, to ondeh ondeh (a Southeast Asian dessert of glutinous rice balls flavoured with pandan). You can get a further sweet tooth fix with goodies like choux puffs, madeleines and the chewy Mars Bar-inspired cookie with chocolate and wattleseed; while the rotating lineup of gluten-free breads might include anything from sesame rolls and baguettes, to sourdough loaves and a new take on a Danish-style seeded rugbrød.
You can admire Kudo's timber-filled, terrazzo-floored fitout by architect Kei Kitayama, as you wait for your Ona coffee — there are two single origins on rotation, with both batch brew and espresso options.
In fab news for CBD workers and locals, the cafe's also set to launch an online pre-order service in the not too distant future, as well as adding a changing selection of grab-and-go sandwiches to the menu.
Find Kudo at 8 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. It's open 8am–4pm Thursday to Sunday.
Images: Parker Blain