Natalie Paull has been baking and loving all things sweet for more than 25 years. She started cooking in professional kitchens at the age of 18 and spent her formative years working with Australian food luminaries Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander. 

Nat opened the blink-and-you'll-miss-it cult cafe and bakery Beatrix Bakes in inner-city Melbourne in 2011 to widespread acclaim. Before closing its doors in August 2022, Beatrix fans lined up in the rain in their hundreds to secure a taste of the day's ever-colourful – and delicious – offerings of perfect cakes, buns, tarts, biscuits and more. In following her heart and baking the cakes she loves to eat, Nat has established a reputation for melding the traditional pillars of cake baking with her distinct brand of irreverent innovation. Her first book Beatrix Bakes was released in 2020 and was an instant hit. It has been reprinted multiple times and is regarded as an essential resource for aspiring and committed bakers alike. Also, she eats a lot of cake. Every day.