Adriano Zumbo lists former longtime Balmain home
Title TattleDecember 7, 2020
The dessert king Adriano Zumbo is selling his former long-time Balmain home, but is not completely severing his ties with the suburb where he whipped up his reputation.
Zumbo paid $675,000 for the period home in 2003 when he was 21, on returning from France where he'd spent a year working on his amazing craft.
"Central to the home is a spacious living area that leads to a fantastic chef-inspired island kitchen boasting stone benchtops and high quality Ilve gas appliances, a genuine delight for any passionate cook," says the listing agent on the house.
The traditional bungalow adjoining Goodsir Street Reserve has been listed by Coopers Agency father-son agents, Paul and Matt Cooper.
They are marketing the property for a June 23 auction with $1.65 million hopes. It is leased until July 2019, returning over $1,000 a week.
Zumbo has long been associated with trendy inner-west, spending five years working at Victorie Bakerie in his early years doing the pastries.
He opened his own shop in Balmain in 2007 where the sugared-up locals couldn’t get enough.
Then his appearance on the first series of MasterChef Australia took the croquembouche to an even wider audience making him a household name.
Adriano has opened seven stores throughout New South Wales and Victoria including a concept store at The Star Casino.
Zumbo had moved from Coonamble in country NSW when he was 15. His first job was at Dobinson's Cakes in Rose Bay, icing cupcakes and experimenting with flavours.
When he bought the Mullens Street home it wasn't much to look at and he can't have been too impressed with the kitchen.
It was small kitchen with purple painted walls.
He recently celebrated his one year anniversary with My Kitchen Rules series seven contestant, Nelly Riggio, who dipped out of the 2016 series after a three course went awry. The lowest score was a 3 from judge Colin Fassnidge.
The couple describe themselves as "homebodies" who love to cook together.
Zumbo, who has even been dubbed Australia's answer to Willy Wonka, has a tattoo of the eccentric candy making character on his arm.
Zumbo previously ran his expanding empire on the Balmain Peninsula, but as his popularity grew upsized to a new HQ in Lane Cove West from a smaller space in Rozelle.
The St Leonards commercial space is for sale, with Zumbo making up one of three tenants.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.