Page 18 - foodservice magazine September 2018

18
DINING
Then, by chance, Broadsheet published a story with ‘Sydney’s Prettiest Breakfast’ in the title – and everything changed. “It really helped people understand what we were doing,” recounts Jackson, who says the organic support of local and social media have played instrumental roles in their ongoing success. “Whenever there’s a story on one of our dishes, we get smashed.” At the time of our interview, Time Out has just run a piece on Edition Haymarket’s pancakes - ‘Sydney’s fluffiest’. Business doubled, maybe even tripled after,” Jackson says.
Pancakes generally have been a winning ticket for Edition, but don’t expect a regular stack. At Darlinghurst, sake cherries, miso butterscotch, shichimi-roasted pineapple and even gold dust crown giant fluffy rounds. At Haymarket, they’re soufflé-style, more dessert than breakfast and downright devilish. “It’s an example of something cafe-inspired, but not the normal you get everywhere else.”
The next coup was unimaginable. René Redzepi came in for breakfast. “Everyone freaked out,” says Jackson, laughing at the memory. “Even the chef said, ‘I’m not feeding that man!’” Redzepi, in town for Noma Australia, came back, then back again. “He asked if one of our dishes was inspired by his (it was) and said it was really good,” says Jackson, still shaking his head. Not long after, Jackson received an email from an executive officer at Lendlease: Redzepi
Clockwise ( from left): Edition Coffee Roasters, Haymarket; miso glazed lamb rump, smoked mash, charred sprouts; and miso and dark chocolate cookie.
wanted them close by at Baranagaroo. “It’s humbling to know best chef in world thinks you’re doing pretty good stuff.”
Following a 10-week coffee cart outside Noma, Lendlease offered Edition a permanent space... but Jackson turned it down. “It was a hard decision, but I felt like Edition didn’t have the infrastructure and staff to expand that quickly,” he explains. It was also the build; slated as a two- year construction zone, he wasn’t comfortable going into the unknown. The tough call has paid dividends. Barangaroo is now saturated with specialty coffee suppliers and when Lendlease came knocking about their new development, Steam Mill Lane, Jackson negotiated stricter terms.
And five weeks in, Edition Haymarket is booming. By April next year, there’ll be another 600 apartments and 60 retailers. The space mirrors its sibling in minimalism and cool, but has its own identity, shaped by the building and surrounds. “My goal is to open an Edition in every major capital city in the world,” says Jackson. He names Aesop as inspiration. “None of their stores look the same, but when you walk, you instantly know it’s Aesop.”
Apple is another brand Jackson admires and he’s read widely on Steve Jobs. “I put the ongoing success of Edition down to what we don’t do, not what we do – that was Apple’s success too.” Both brands, clear in their look and vision, took the world by storm. I suspect we’ll be seeing Edition take on new lands not too long from now.