The Doughnut Affair, located in the same Mermaid Beach precinct that houses eateries like Goccia Italian, Background Barista and Poké Poké, is the brainchild of sweets-loving entrepreneur Kurt Lehndorf, who has enlisted the skills of executive pastry chef Graciela Jonen (ex-OTTO Brisbane, Sofitel Gold Coast and Palazzo Versace) to develop the innovative menu of doughnuts. We all know doughnuts and coffee are best friends – and you’ll be able to get both your sugar and caffeine fix here, with The Doughnut Affair to be the first venue in Queensland to pour coffees by specialty Melbourne roaster Code Black.
So, back to the doughnuts. The opening menu features six creations, with new flavours added and rotated weekly to ensure a mix of both staples (like the vanilla-fondant glaze) and boundary-pushing varieties. The first line-up of doughnuts, which you’ll find displayed individually along a four-metre concrete bench, come in flavours like Bourbon Bacon (bourbon-soaked maple bacon with deep-fried basil and black sea salt), gluten-free salted caramel with caramel milk-chocolate glaze, and the too-pretty-to-eat Strawberry Champagne, which is lovingly filled with champagne-infused cream, fresh strawberry jam and a candied rose petal. Though, the pièce de résistance (well, in our eyes anyway) is the Pina Colada – a light, fluffy doughnut encasing Malibu-spiked vanilla ganache and pineapple compote, topped with dehydrated pineapple and white chocolate. Prefer savoury? Go for the prosciutto, creamy blue cheese and rocket doughnut ‘sandwich’. Over the coming weeks, keep your eyes peeled for the regular menu additions (including new savoury options and more gluten-free varieties) as well as limited-edition collaborations with local restaurants and producers.
By the way, you’ll notice that The Doughnut Affair occupies part of the building formerly occupied by now-closed Asian eatery FuFu. We’re told there are big plans for the rest of the iconic highway-fronting site, though – more details are set to be revealed in the coming weeks! We’ll keep you posted.
The Doughnut Affair opens on Saturday October 26 at 7:00 am. For opening hours, address and contact details, head to our Stumble Guide.
