BUTTER
BUTTER
BUTTER

We are thrilled to host Petra Galler as our second baker in residence. Please join us for a luscious brunch spread of Pissaladiere’s, Babka’s, Crepe Cakes and more with coffee by our neighbours at Daily Daily - or momosa’s if you are feeling cheeky!

Petra has floated in and out of our lives peripherally for over a decade - in that very Auckland way we all do. Emil (the third leg in the Roses Tripod) even went to primary school with her. 

Petra is Butter Butter Butter. She started baking when she was about 7 years old - out of what she describes as a necessity given her mum was apparently not a natural in the kitchen. Petra however, was. She was an instinctive baker even from a young age, finding satisfaction throughout all aspects - process and end result. 

Petra started cooking professionally at 20 years old. Having never formally trained and with no professional experience she grovelled her way into a job at Esther Lambs Sunday Painters (where Ophelia - of Roses - also worked the front of house) assuring the team she really could cook and just needed the chance to prove herself. They hired her into the all-female kitchen (a real rarity!) and for the first month she was absolutely terrified but as she learnt the ropes, her groove came.

She then moved into private catering before working on the other side of the kitchen pass - doing recipe development. Petra then moved to Melbourne and worked at King and Godfrey, which at the time was really the first of its kind to create such an all-inclusive hub of hospitality - comprising of a Restuarant, deli, winebar, butcher and of course a patisserie. This was Petras's first official foray into Pastry and she wasn’t quite sure how she landed herself there but figured she may as well give it a go. She landed deeeep in the deep end but it cemented that this was the part of the kitchen she most belonged in. 

Fast forward and covid hits and Petra is stranded in Australia. With her day job on hold she, like many others tapped into her skillset and created a side hustle, Butter Butter Butter was born. Petra then moved back to Auckland and landed herself a gig as a pastry chef at Peter Gordon’s Homeland, whilst continuing to grow Butter Butter Butter (clearly a sucker for punishment). So now with 10 years of learning under her belt, she’s gone and tidied up a decade of experience and written a bloody tasty-looking book. Butter, Butter has just hit shelves and will also be available to purchase during Petra’s day at Roses, with a complimentary slice of cake given with each copy bought.

When we spoke to Petra about her baking ethos, she says she aims for minimum effort and maximum reward. She wants her recipes to be accessible for the baker and impressive for the consumer. Petra wants people to push their baking repertoire - banana cakes are out and Tiramisu Crepe Towers are in. Whichever way you slice it baking is a treat so if we are going to put the effort in let's really reap the reward, let's leave nut butters alone and stick with the real stuff and create indulgent, luxurious, wildly delish goods that make us close our eyes and go mmmmm in that way you do when you prematurely swipe the icing off a cake as a kid. 

In many cultures worldwide, food is the ultimate love language - combining care, thought, time and nourishment into a delicious morsel to gift, share and feed our loved ones. Throughout Petra’s life, she has always witnessed food as a language of care - a chicken soup for someone sick, a cake for a new neighbour and a banquet for her parent's friends and so she has always witnessed food as the great connector. We all have unique relationships to food - and love languages, but ultimately we are all looking for our own version of that great connector so we invite you to come and connect with us, and Petra - over a really excellent piece of cake.  

Petra’s favourite flower is the Dhalia, much like her baking it’s a little over the top and in full bloom, certainly the star of the show.