For all the many soul-soothing additions to the comfort food canon the French are responsible for – onion soup, boeuf bourguignon, Paris mash, yes, I’m looking at you – the one that has brought me the most sunshine-on-a-grey-day joy is the croque madame. Sure, growing up I knew it by its more colloquial name – the ham, cheese and egg jaffle – but as an adult I know it’s the French who first discovered there is no wrong that a mash-up of fat, salt, dairy and yolk cannot right.

And at the first Australian outpost of French uber-baker Gontran Cherrier, I think I’ve found the version that beats all others.

It’s a hefty meal unto itself, with two large planks of loaf toasted in the pan to a tanned crunch. In between, a generous dollop of drooping béchamel with a lovely gruyere kick snuggles thick slices of namechecked ham (free-range from Pacdon Park in NSW) at once both sweet and salty. Unapologetically smeared with Dijon to cut through, topped with two crisp-edged fried eggs ready to burst their yolky sauce, and served with a brilliant sweet pickle to the side, it’s arguably the best way to spend $14 in Collingwood.

But there’s a lot to be said about the timeless pleasure of a fresh French baguette with a conversation-stopping crack to its crust simply slathered in good butter. Gontran does them, too.

As well as his signature range of coloured buns – red (paprika), black (squid ink) and green (rocket) – that first caused queues outside his sneak-peek pop-up bakery during the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival earlier this year and that are now filled to good effect for a sit-in brunch in this simple and stylish Smith Street café.

Slow-roasted lamb shoulder bookended with tabouli and smoked yoghurt is a fine match with the paprika-spiced soft roll, but bettered by the hit of curry in the bun that houses a crumbed pork fillet with squiggles of tonkatsu and Kewpie mayo.

There’s glossy-sheened croissants piled high behind the counter, where Collingwood’s growing apartment class lines up to grab and go, alongside an impressive selection of picture-perfect patisserie.

The excellently named squirrel cake is a winter’s worth of nuts in a savoury miso-spiked caramel, while the Opera cake is an elegant rendition of the classic.

Coffee, courtesy of St Ali, is thankfully more Melbourne than Montmartre, which we’ll take for the win, as is table service that comes with a smile. My own, after that croque, lasted through the day.