Every Friday and Saturday morning in Stafford, hungry locals line up as early as 7 a.m. outside Bella & Tortie, a tiny bakery that’s built a loyal following for its unexpectedly addictive sausage roll inspired by siu mai dumplings.
A Fusion That Started With Cravings
The bakery’s founder, Suzi Unwin, didn’t set out to reinvent a classic. One weekend, she was simply craving yum cha. Sitting down to plates of siu mai, the familiar flavours sparked an idea: what if the traditional pork and prawn dumpling could be reimagined inside puff pastry?
She experimented with the ingredients by swapping mushrooms for crunchy water chestnuts, boosting the ginger, and adding carrot and shallots. The result was a flaky, juicy, and full-flavored sausage roll. Alongside it comes a chilli soy dipping sauce made with sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds, which customers now request by the bottle.
Suzi says this particular sausage roll has become her signature. Although Bella & Tortie offers other variations, this is the one she always comes back to. She recommends enjoying it fresh from the oven or crisped up at home in an air fryer or hot oven. Frozen versions are also available to take home.
A Business Built on Determination and Change
Bella & Tortie didn’t always look like this. It began in 2018 as a modest market stall and online shop, run by Suzi, a former interior designer who changed careers after living abroad in Sweden and South Korea. Her time in Korea, where she started selling baked goods at local markets, marked the beginning of her food journey.
After returning to Brisbane in 2014, she trained as a pastry chef and worked at several local institutions before launching her own business. The first version of Bella & Tortie opened in late 2019 and quickly grew, with a whole team and a growing customer base. But the pressures of rapid expansion, paired with COVID-19, floods, and supply chain issues, eventually led to the closure of the original store in 2022.
Within months, Suzi relaunched Bella & Tortie in a smaller, more manageable setup behind a Stafford shopping precinct. This time, she focused on quality, not scale. The current model is intentionally compact, with limited trading hours—Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to midday—and a weekly menu.
One-Woman Kitchen, Big Plans Ahead
For much of 2023 and 2024, Suzi ran the bakery solo—testing new recipes, managing walk-in trade, and baking everything herself. She described the period as the hardest work she’s ever done. With no other chefs or kitchen staff, the demands were intense, and the experience nearly pushed her to the edge. Still, she kept going.
Now, Bella & Tortie is entering a new phase. Suzi has hired a senior pastry chef and is preparing to renovate the space. Her goal is to create a more sustainable work environment, expand her small team, and improve the layout for both customers and staff. She says she wants to keep the quality high, reduce her working hours from 90 to 60 per week, and make the space more comfortable for everyone who walks in.
After years of setbacks and lessons, Suzi says she’s starting to believe in herself and the direction Bella & Tortie is heading. The bakery, once built out of necessity and survival, is now slowly shaping into the business she always hoped for.
Published 10-May-2025
