Baking is in Christoph Ott’s family. Born in Germany, where his great grandparents owned a cafe, Christoph was inspired to pursue a career in pastry and began a three-year Pastry Chef apprenticeship at the age of 17. Following this, he moved to London, working on his English-language skills and gaining experience in world-renowned Harrods.
Christoph has been in New Zealand for the last 20 years, working in 5-star hotels such as Hilton, Park Hyatt, and The Langham. It was from his experiences in these kitchens that ten years ago, he decided to start his own business - OTT Patisserie.
Located in Birkenhead, the patisserie and café serve a range of bread, cakes, desserts and savouries baked daily alongside delicious Kōkako organic fairtrade coffee.
In Birkenhead village, Christoph enjoys the community feel that allows him to give back and support other local businesses, schools and community organisations.
“The community feel is what I find most rewarding.”
Pistachio eclairs, chocolate truffle cake and mille-feuille are the patisserie's most popular items and Christoph has found that sourdough bread goes down pretty well with their customers too. However, his favourite baked good to make is a traditional apple strudel.
“After 25 years, I have finally mastered the technique! And it’s my favourite to eat too.”
Christoph remains very much hands-on in the kitchen, picking up the tools and producing items with his team.
“I enjoy sticking with traditional methods, keeping it simple with a focus on taste.”
The patisserie offers goodies at its shopfront, but orders can also be placed online for collection and the team are happy to hear requests for large orders, catering or regular wholesale for most of their items.
During Christmas time, in the build-up to festivities, OTT Patisserie specialise in classic German Christmas items such as stollen and German cookies. The Birkenhead café is also known to serve some of the best Christmas mince pies in the country!
In the future, Christoph hopes to expand the patisserie offerings, and continue to expand the business while celebrating their 10-year milestone anniversary. For Christoph personally, travel back to Germany may also be ahead as the world reopens and he is able to visit family once again.
In his downtime from pastry-cheffing, Christoph enjoys spending time with his two young children and wife, as well as go-karting and golfing.
In an industry that is constantly changing, and “will always be in need”, Christoph has committed to the times of very hard work.
“We have an amazing team and community supporting us and we are looking forward to the future.”
