Hartsyard pastry king Andrew Bowden goes it alone

He's one of the hottest pastry chefs in the country with nearly 25,000 Instagram followers checking in on his work, now Hartsyard's Andrew Bowden is striking out on his own.

The young chef confirmed he'll leave the Newtown restaurant later this month. Fans of Bowden's repertoire, which includes pumpkin pie dressed with smoked maple cream and "pumpkin gel" and a fried apple pie made with cheddar custard and served with sorrel granita, will still be able to eat his food.

"I've got a production kitchen, I'll start taking orders in August. It'll be doing bespoke stuff and cakes in three sizes," he says.

Bowden will also do regular pop-ups. "I might set up for a weekend selling from a coffee roaster."