Chef Matt Stone to open Bakeshop in Brunswick

Melbourne may have lost its only zero-waste cafe last month when Joost Bakker's Brothl closed (due to a stalemate with Council over the position of the cafe's composter), but it's about to gain a similarly spirited Bakeshop.

Matt Stone, former executive chef at Brothl, head chef at Greenhouse in Perth, and the man most likely to serve you insects for lunch will open Bakeshop, in Brunswick, with partners Jo Barrett from Tivoli Road, Sonam Sherpa who opened Collingwood pop-up Placeholder, and Sam King, a partner in Kettle Black.

Due to open in 12 weeks, the Bakeshop, next to Jewell Station, is not a zero-waste cafe, says Stone. "But, it'll have a closed-loop composting machine, and an eWater System [for chemical-free cleaning]."

Bakeshop will bake breads from scratch. "In European style, they'll come out of the oven in the afternoon to eat fresh, and to toast in the morning; I like to eat that way, and we won't have to get up at 2am."

The cafe menu will feature granolas and porridges, and four to six dishes of the day with a native Australian focus. "I'll be doing braised 'roo meat pies," says Stone.

Insects? "I'm hoping to get some tasty bugs in here and there. I'm toying with the idea of savoury pastries, with ants as a souring agent, and I'll probably do a cricket and native spinach pancake."