Bespoke patissier Otti and Olli has made more than 90 gingerbread houses for Christmas clients.

At first they only sold cheesecake.

Now they've topped more than 90 gingerbread houses, and their handmade cookies, cakes and slices are a familiar sight at Auckland markets, including the Coatesville Market.

Otti and Olli is the creation of husband and wife team, Andrew and Susan Price.

Amy Baker Fellow chef Tom Belien said the gingerbread houses were unlike any others he'd seen in New Zealand before.

Andrew, one of the country's top patissiers, was still hard at work as the sole pastry chef at the Northern Club, when Susan decided to try out a stall on the North Shore in mid-2015.

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"I said to him, 'I don't want to start something big, I want to start something small, low risk'," she said.

Amy Baker Andrew has worked as a pastry chef for more than 30 years and was once awarded, 'Pastry Chef of the Nation'.

When deciding what to start with, Susan said the choice was simple. She opted for her favourite: cheesecake.

Andrew made the cakes in three initial flavours, while Susan ran the stall.

Bolstered by the positive reception, she then started a stand at the Coatesville Market, and convinced Andrew, who was in need of a change, to take on the business full-time.

Amy Baker Susan Price (right) at the General Collective market day.

Their red and white dotted logo now can be spotted at many markets, including Crafternoon Tea, the Te Atatu Night Markets and General Collective.

Andrew uses a custom-built commercial kitchen out the back of their Titirangi home to create all their bespoke treats.

Incidentally, the couple first met in a hotel kitchen some 18 years ago, when Susan was working a commis chef and Andrew supervising the pastry team.

Amy Baker Helping a customer.

She had trained in hospitality and also tried her hand at being a pastry chef.

"But... when I met Andrew, I was like, 'No, you're way better, way better than me - you can do that!"

They ended up moving to Sydney where they stayed for three years before moving back to New Zealand, eventually opening a gift shop in Browns Bay - now closed - which was also named Otti and Olli.

Amy Baker Gingerbread cookies for Christmas - even in the shape of a kiwi.

Quality ingredients combined with Andrew's visual skill, are the secret recipe behind their pastry business, Susan said.

Andrew and his twin brother, who happens to work as an award-winning chef in Scotland, are also both profoundly deaf.

Neither use sign language however, Susan said this hasn't impeded Andrew, who lip reads and writes to communicate. When training and working in Switzerland for two years, he also learnt to lip read in German.

Friend and fellow chef Tom Belien said Andrew has a "different approach" from most pastry chefs.

His experience in Europe, decoration and level of detail, as well as knowing the best recipes, make Andrew's work exceptional, Belien said.

"He makes it look really, really easy, but I'm sure it's not."

But the best taste of all?

"To be able to create something that puts a smile on people faces," Andrew said.

Otti and Olli will be at the Coatesville Market on December 17 and the Te Atatu Night Market on December 22.