ARE you on a diet yet?

If like this plump Chook you seriously over-indulged during the festive period, then going out for a big meal is probably low on your list of priorities right now.

So instead of a five-course feast, the Voice decided to kick off the new year with a light lunch at Le Bakehouse in Leederville.

Situated at the edge of Leederville Village, opposite The Good Grocer IGA and The Avenue car park, it’s easy to get parked beside this busy little bakery.

In terms of choice, it has all your needs covered with everything from fresh bread to cakes, tarts, baguettes, wraps, hot pies and sausage rolls.

Its attractive display of sundries drew in a lot of people on a hot Tuesday lunchtime.

The price point was good with Le Bakehouse occupying the middle zone between budget and fine patisserie (for instance, you could get full cakes for well under $20).

In some western suburbs bakeries you need to sell one of your kidneys to buy a pavlova.

I went for a pesto chicken wrap ($11) and roast beef baguette ($8.80). I also got a carrot cake ($14.90) to take home for the visiting mother-in-law from Victoria (always be one step ahead of the game).

You could get the roast beef with the traditional crunchy French-style baguette, but I went for the soft roll instead.

The baked on-site bread was top notch – super light and fresh with no stodginess or lots of gnawing to get this bad boy down.

It was top quality roast beef and wasn’t dried-out like the poor quality stuff you get in other bakeries.

Toppings included mustard, tomato, mild cheese and lettuce, with the mustard particularly creamy and complementing the beef well.

All-in-all a top sarnie to kick off the new year.

The chicken pesto wrap didn’t quite hit the same heights. There was plenty of tender chicken, lettuce, sun-dried tomato and shredded carrot, but it needed some more pesto or a drizzle of mayo to make it a bit more moist.

The ingredients were all great and the wrap was super soft and large, so great value for money, but it just need a little flavour boost.

Sounds like a given, but it was tightly wrapped and held together really well. I’ve had plenty where the filling spills out everywhere, leaving embarrassing stains on your denims.

The staff at the busy Bakehouse could have been a bit flat and suffering from a new year hangover, but they were super friendly and smiley, and we had a good laugh as one of the ladies behind the till nearly splatted the other in the face with the cake I was buying. 

On arriving home, the carrot cream cheese cake seemed to pacify the mother-in law, who was struggling with the rising summer temperatures.

Like some modern day Julius Caesar, she gave the cake a ceremonial thumbs up and washed it down with her 15th cup of tea that day.

“There’s plenty of sweet carrot in there and it’s nice and light,” she said. “A solid carrot cake that compares well with most I’ve had in Victoria.”

The inter-state approval was enough for me and I sat back in my chair, having bought myself another few precious minutes of peace and quiet.

Le Bakehouse Leederville Leederville Village
5/139 Oxford St, West Leederville
9443 1225

by STEPHEN POLLOCK