Shadow Baking

Overview

The year 2023 was a big one for Gelato Messina. The beloved dessert chain opened its huge Marrickville HQ and then three of the brand's head chefs added even more to their plates, teaming up and turning their attention to baked goods.

Shadow Baking is the project of Messina chefs Tom Mitchell, Florian Fritsch and Remi Talbot. The trio linked up in 2022 to start working on flakey, buttery snacks to serve at The Cannery's monthly markets in their off-time from the Messina kitchen. Things went so well that they set up a standalone bakery in Darlinghurst.

Open three days a week, the bakery is located next to the Victoria Road Messina outpost. From 8am Friday–Sunday, you can head in for the day's baked goods and sandwiches, available until they inevitably sell out. We're talking superb macadamia and mandarin croissants, custard tart danishes, and reuben croissant sandwiches.

There's filter coffee for anyone looking for a caffeine fix to accompany their next-level baked snack of choice. Our pick is an unexpected highlight: the vegemite scroll, topped with creamy guacamole, fermented chilli and pecorino. It's an unusual combo but it's somehow an absolute match made in heaven.

Tiny Shadow Bakery is yet another case of the Messina team's midas touch in action. They really can't miss.