South Yarra’s Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio Is Closing Next Month

South Yarra: enjoy your white chocolate lollipops, salted caramel tarts and macadamia choc-chip cookies while you still can. Burch & Purchese, the magical “sweet studio” at the top end of Chapel Street, has announced its impending closure.

“We’ve had the time of our lives baking for you but it’s time for us to explore other creative pursuits and of course Darren will be keeping busy in his role as judge on The Great Australian Bake Off,” married owners Darren Purchese and Cath Claringbold wrote on Instagram. “There are also delicious cookbooks to write, online classes to host, pop ups to be had and collaborations to work on. We are launching a new website later this year with recipes, food inspo, videos and much more.”

Purchese and original business partner Ian Burch (both lauded pastry chefs) launched the shopfront in April 2011, following successful pop-ups in the city.

Burch bowed out less than a year later, and in the ensuing decade Purchese and Claringbold (a star chef in her own right) have built it into a formidable supplier of cakes, cookies, tarts and all things sweet and delicious. The couple is keeping online orders open right up until the final day of service, Saturday April 8.

“As we prepare to say goodbye, we want to assure you we’ll do everything we can to ensure that our final days are filled with sweet memories and fond farewells,” they wrote.

burchandpurchese.com.au