Simon Rogan’s highly popular bakery and wine bar in Hong Kong, The Baker & The Bottleman, has announced the appointment of Benjamin Lee as its new Head Chef and is celebrating with a brand-new pastries collection.
A modern sustainable bakery by day and natural wine bar by night, The Baker & The Bottleman is well known for its refreshing take on quintessential British bakes at the gourmet and lifestyle oasis of Wan Chai’s Lee Tung Avenue and has garnered a significant following since it opened in Jan 2022.
To celebrate the appointment of the bakery’s new Head Chef, Benjamin Lee, The Baker & The Bottleman has unveiled a brand new menu of pastries and baked goods available for dine-in and takeaway.
Chef Benjamin arrives at his new post after having enjoyed an illustrious career at multiple three Michelin-starred establishments and, most recently, at the acclaimed Sub Rosa Bakery in Richmond, Virginia.
The new menu reflects his years of experience training with the world’s best pastry chefs, showcasing the result of many months of recipe trials and development.
What’s in the New Pastry Collection?
Available on the shelves daily, the new menu selection at The Baker & The Bottleman will feature traditional French crowd-favourite pastries such as Plain Croissant (HK$28), Chocolate Croissants (HK$30), Almond Croissants (HK$40), and Chocolate Almond Croissant (HK$45).
The Chelsea Bun (HK$30), a traditional spiced British yeast dough bun topped with currants and brown sugar, is an exciting new addition to the pastry collection, as well as the Sub Rosa Bun (HK$34), which pays homage to Chef Benjamin’s learnings at the award-winning bakery.
Sourdough lovers can try a new version of Chef Benjamin’s Sourdough Bread (HK$48 for Whole, HK$25 for Half) and the upgraded savoury Breakfast Croissant (HK$50) featuring fried egg, truffle ham and red Leicester cheese. Other new treats to look forward to at the bakery include Caramelised White Chocolate Donut (HK$20), Hazelnut Coffee Cookie (HK$25) and Almond Citrus Cookie (HK$25).
About the Baker & The Bottleman’s New Head Chef
Benjamin Lee has worked with some of the most celebrated culinary names from the US to Hong Kong throughout his decade-long career in fine pastry. Starting at the critically acclaimed Blackbird in Chicago, Benjamin worked his way up the ladder with formative experiences at three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, three Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, along with the role of Pastry Sous Chef at one Michelin-starred Gunter Seeger NY as part of their opening team.
In 2017, he joined Richmond’s Sub Rosa Bakery and learned directly from sibling bakers and co-founders Evrim and Evin Dogu. There, he developed a passion for wood-fired baking, from creating naturally leavened bread and laminated doughs to milling grain into flour with their own stone mill.
In late 2022, Benjamin moved to Asia, where he joined Simon Rogan’s award-winning team of chefs at The Baker & The Bottleman Hong Kong. Here, he works closely with Executive Chef Oli Marlow to craft classic British bakes with modern touches that keep to Simon Rogan’s core sustainability ethos by sourcing all-ethical, non-GMO and unbleached ingredients.
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