“In Melbourne, pies are a huge deal, and they were the first thing all my Aussie friends wanted me to try. So a pie was the first thing I ate [when I moved here]”, says Frankie’s Pie Shop founder and chef Francesca Giorgi Monfort (ex-Marion, ex-Noisy Ritual).

Giorgi Monfort, who is originally from Switzerland and currently works as a chef instructor at Oz Harvest, launched Frankie’s Pie Shop in July.

“I found every bakery I went to had all the same flavours”, she tells Broadsheet. Rather than the typical meat pie, at her Fitzroy Mills Market stall, you’ll find creations with fillings such as charred cauliflower with leek and aged cheddar, or rainbow trout with leek and herbed bechamel.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

The rectangular shape helps reduce scraps, and is one Giorgi Monfort has borrowed from Farmer’s Daughters, where she first learnt to make pies in a yearlong role as demi chef. She repurposes any leftover pastry into cheese sticks or dehydrates it to make sausage rolls (which come with a more classic pork, fennel and nduja filling or the less familiar wallaby, smoked lard and pepperberry leaf option).

To make her pies even more exciting, the chef sometimes uses flavoured pastry. Recent creations include a curry puff pastry for her curried eggplant, lentil and carrot mash pie, and a rosemary puff for the minced beef and potato pie.

Giorgi Monfort loves the idea that fine-dining food can be for the masses. “Frankie’s is a Hector’s Deli meets Tarts Anon of pies,” she says, referring to two beloved Melbourne brands founded by former fine-dining chefs Dom Wilton and Gareth Whitton, respectively. “I wanted to approach pie-making from a chef’s perspective, not just a baker’s,” she adds.

Currently, you can find Frankie’s Pie Shop at the Fitzroy Mills Market on the first and second Saturdays of the month. The monthly changing menu features four different pies alongside two sausage roll options as well as Basque cheesecake sold by the slice. This month, there’s a special kimchi pie inspired by kimchi and cheese toasties.

Future market dates are announced via Frankie’s Pie Shop’s Instagram account.