Tart Bakery Auckland

Nick and I started our North Island adventure in Auckland and one place that was on my radar before the plane even touched down was Tart Bakery. I'd seen pic's of their delicious looking baked goods online and peeked at their five star Happy Cow reviews but there were a couple of things that I didn't know about them. I didn't know that they'd won the NZ Bakery of the year competition in 2016 - pretty epic for a vegan business! And I didn't know that they run on a business model that focusses on charitable giving. 

Tart's owners are very focussed on caring for animals and spreading the vegan message and one way that they do that is by working with someone who helps farmers convert grazing land into arable land for growing crops. With the majority of New Zealand's countryside being covered in farms this is so necessary for the future of the planet and unless we can find ways to convince farmers that they can make money in other ways animal agriculture is going to take a long time to grind to a halt.

The other way that Tart Bakery helps animals is by getting people to reduce their consumption of animal products by offering amazing vegan alternatives to classic bakery staples like pies and slices. Their ridiculous bakery case was the first thing that I spotted as I walked towards the store and as I was waiting to order I realised that this place is popular with everyone! The line definitely wasn't just made up of the young vegan hipster crew but roadies, business peeps, and students too.

One bakery case clearly isn't enough for this biz so they have a second filled with doughnuts and pastries. 

They also have a pie case becuase New Zealanders, like Australians, are really, really into pies. I've never eaten as many vegan pies as I did during this leg of my travels, they're everywhere and I loved it. From classic pies like steak and onion to the more out there mac and cheese pie you can get almost anything you've been dreaming of. I went for a chicken and cheese pie which is basically my dream pie and I was not disappointed.

Next I moved over to the sweet side of things and picked up a croissant and a simple but classic cinnamon sugar doughnut.

These were both delicious, the croissant had a generous amount of chocolate inside and the doughnut was one of the best I've tried. Classic baked goods executed well are always exciting and they're such a great way to convince people that they don't need to eat animal products. Lastly, and I've really saved the best 'till last here, I bought and ate a fairly decent amount of Tart's fantastic Danish pastries. More pastries than you would think that one human could eat in two days! 

I rotated between the two flavours on offer, blueberry and raspberry, and if I was forced to pick a favourite I'd choose raspberry, I love the tartness that raspberries bring to the table and I find that they perfectly offset the sweetness of the custardy centre. 

Pastries like these really aren't all that easy to come by as a vegan, I can probably count the bakeries I know that make them on one hand. I suspect that it's because they're labour intensive and hard to transport, they definitely wouldn't be my first choice if I was setting up a market stall, but they are oh so worth it.

Tart Bakery recently opened a second location on Auckland's bustling K Road which is even bigger than this first location and, if what I've heard is true, they even have indoor seating so you can chill there even on the rainiest of days.

Do you have a bakery like Tart in your hometown? What would you pick if you were visiting?

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