We Reap the Harvest: A story about patissier Roman Urosevski and opening his cafe Son of a Baker

July 2018

Reading length 8 - 10 mins

“I’m used to the early wake-ups,” Roman says as he unlocks the door to his bakery cafe.

It’s 4 AM on a Saturday in Sans Souci, a quaint suburb in the south of Sydney. The road next to the bakery is silent. The winter chill envelops us on all sides, with a blanket of fog hanging heavy in the air. A faint wind whistles from Botany Bay. Sunlight is a luxury still hours away. While everyone sleeps, this is the magic hour for a baker.  

Roman fires up the ovens, and starts bringing out the dough for the bureks his bakery sells and supplies.

“Do you want me to close this door?” I ask.

“Nah, it’s fine. You can leave it open,” he replies.

I purse my lips and tighten my scarf.  

Roman wastes no time setting up for the day ahead. He glides around the kitchen setting up his utensils, wheeling out trolleys of dough, and placing them into the oven with the most finesse sleight of hand.

 “We prepare these bureks the night before just to make everything easier, especially with the amount we have to deliver to the other cafes. These ones...” Roman brings out a silver tray with numerous unblemished spherical dough. “…are the ones we use for the cafe for the whole day.”

He lays the tray to his left, wipes the marble bench dry, washes his hands, and then takes a deep breath. The languid blend of house and trap music play overhead.  

The sight reminds me of a painter: the canvas is the bench, the dough the paint, and Roman is the artist.

“See how it shrinks back.” Roman says as he flattens the cream-coloured dough, then stretching it, but retracting instantly. “It needs to settle a little bit more.”

Roman Urosevski grew up working for his father at Alexander’s Bakery in the suburb of Rockdale, learning the trade of being a baker. His father’s bakery’s specialty has always been the Balkan inspired pastry, burek. The legacy of his father's pastries lives on in his own bakery cafe, Son of a Baker.

“After finishing high school, I tried my hand in different things like being a carpenter, and being a personal trainer, but I always found myself coming back to the bakery,” Roman says. “From when I was 18 to 25, I worked at Alexander’s because I love my dad, and I wanted to help him out, especially seeing how hard he worked non-stop.”

It is clear to see that it is not merely admiration that Roman has for his father, but deep gratitude; from the name of his business, to the tag line in his menu ‘Don’t tell dad. This pastry is better than his.’ 

Gratitude is a virtue often overlooked in a fast-paced world, especially when aspiration is what drives most humans. Usually, gratitude is associated with being content with what we have, a weaker disposition to aspiring for bigger and better things. We should firmly pursue these aspirations, but never forget the potential of what gratitude can do for us.

Because gratitude is altogether different from every other virtue. It affects the deepest parts of us, and works its way outwards to shape our attitude. To quote post-liberal theologian Marcus Borg, “…gratitude is a virtue with ethical consequences.”[1]

When we are actively grateful, it affects how we perceive the world, and inevitably on how we interact with everything around us. When we harness a deep conviction for gratefulness, it encourages us that life is valuable: we find hope in the midst of defeat, and joy in our victories. Maybe this is what can bring us to true happiness.          

Roman presses the dough down with flexed arms, palms gentle, and deep concentration.

“What led you to begin Son of a Baker?” I ask.

“It was around about when I was 25 that I told my dad that I had learned as much as I could, and that I wanted to do something different. A pop-up stand selling pastries in the markets seemed like the most natural step. Business was good, especially since I was doing up to five markets a week. Doing that eventually gave me the added income to save up some capital to start Son of a Baker.”

Roman smiles at the memory.

“But why did you want to open a bakery? Why not something else?”

“I had this moment during a trip to the US.”

He brings his phone out and searches for a photo.

“I was walking around Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, and found a bakery called Boudin Bakery. I stood in front of their window for a while, just watching how the whole operation worked. I walked away telling myself that I would open my own bakery one day. Growing up the son of a baker, you either become one, or you do something else.”

Our dreams and aspirations are built with hard labour from a combination of our own effort, and the assistance of others. When the time comes to reap the harvest of this labour, an understanding of gratitude creates the counter-balance of appreciating the toil of our hands, and the sacrifices others gave for our succeess.

Roman hears the timer from the oven ring. He opens the glass door, and the smell of newly-baked pastry sends a burst of silience through me, like a warm drink on a stormy day.

He begins to take out iron plates filled with bureks, substituting them with a fresh set. Another batch begins to cook.

“One of the main things I wanted to do with my bakery was to take the distribution off my dad’s shoulders. The work was going to be harder for me, but I wanted to give him some time off. As a son, that duty of care for your parents is always there,” he says.

After a while, Roman’s sister arrives to pick up a delivery. He hugs her, then places a box of pastries gently in her waiting hands, and thanks her.

Roman jokes that credit doesn’t fall solely to his father as shaping him to be the person he is today, but also to his mother whom he reminds me he doesn’t forget.

The journey continues for Roman who is only on his third month as a business owner.

“There’s so much to learn, especially in the cafe side of things. My business partner is amazing, he really mentors me in this area. He tells me every detail shapes the brand. It could be from someone wanting more water, to sitting down with the customers. Everything matters.”

“What’s your biggest challenge as a business owner?” I ask.

“As a business operator it doesn’t look glamorous behind the scenes. Wages, supplies, costs, the admin side of things.” He shakes his head with a smirk on his face. “…numbers.”

“But really, an even more important challenge for me right now, is balancing my work life, with my pursuit of being a follower of Christ. Even if it’s just 5 minutes to switch off, I want to offer that back, just to centre on why I do what I do.”

Roman’s staff begin to file in as the hours pass. The cafe is setup, awaiting the masses that are willing to wait for up to 20 minutes for a table.

For a while, there is a moment of confusion as a box of pastries goes missing for delivery. Roman remains patient, retracing his steps. He finds it, and sends it off.

It is now 6:50 AM.

“Do you want to go across the road, and check out that sunrise?’ Roman asks me, pointing to the front of the cafe.

I look outside and see the twilight fading as dawn’s first light is blooming through the glass window.

“The view is the biggest bonus of this place,” Roman says as he throws his jumper back on.

It’s not long before we are running towards the sandy shore of Botany Bay.

“What keeps you going?” I ask him, trying to keep up.

“I think above all things, it’s that I like to serve others. When I see people gather around what I do, and it brings them joy, that gives me purpose, it keeps me motivated.”

When we reach the shore, the sand is soft underneath our feet, the cold forgotten against the majesty of the rising sun. The warmth from the run splays through us as we watch a plane cuts through the saffron sky.

We stand in silence for a moment, reflecting.  

“What’s next for you?” I ask.

“I’d love to open a bakery overseas.” The smile on his face says he’s serious.

[1] Borg, Marcus. "Gratitude: One of the Most Important Virtues," Patheos, November 24, 2013, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/marcusborg/2013/11/gratitude-one-of-the-most-important-virtues/

Son of a Baker is open 7 days (6:00 AM - 4:00 PM)

All day brunch cafe/bakery

Instagram: @sonofabakerau

Facebook: Son of a Baker

301 The Grand Parade,

Sans Souci, NSW 2219 

Phone: (02) 9529 3335

Written and Photos by: S.I. Finlayson

Editor: Jenny Jaakkola

Special thanks to: Roman Urosevski