Banana Boogie Bakery is once again back on the award radar, this time reclaiming a title it lost last year.
The South Australian favourite has reclaimed the title of Australia’s Best Vanilla Slice, taking out the top spot at the National Vanilla Slice Triumph in Merbein over the weekend.
And this one came down to the wire.
After finishing second last year, the Banana Boogie team headed across to Merbein hungry to get their hands back on the trophy.
According to co-owner Jason Woner, the results were delayed by around an hour and a half before the team discovered that the top three bakeries had all finished on exactly the same number of points.
Cue a second round of judging and a nail-biting, grand final-style wait.
“It was really nerve-wracking,” Jason said. “When we heard that, we were like, ‘Oh, wow.’”
After the re-judging, there was just one bakery left to be crowned the nation’s best for vanilla slice: Banana Boogie.
“Thank God it was,” Jason said.
Rather than travelling with their precious vanilla slices from Adelaide, the team made them on the road, setting up in their caravan park cabins in Mildura.
The girls worked on the innovative vanilla slices, while the boys tackled the professional category, proving the quest for Australia’s best vanilla slice doesn’t stop just because you’ve left the bakery behind.
And this year, it was all about the details.
Vanilla slice might look deceptively simple, but the competition is anything but. The judges scrutinise everything from the icing and presentation to the exact dimensions of every slice, even bringing out a ruler to make sure they are all the same size.
“We made sure we spent that bit more time this year and had that perfection going into it,” Jason said.
“We were confident with our slices when we dropped them off, but you just never know.”
In the end, all the hard work and determination for the team paid off.
Apprentice Mitch claimed second place in the apprentice category, Bert took third, and Lauren came second with her Pavlova Vanilla Slice.
For Jason, though, the biggest win was the team effort behind the trophy.
“All the guys and girls who take pride in their work every day really shone through this year,” he said.
It’s another major accolade for the bakery, which has become something of a heavyweight when it comes to Australian baking competitions, already known for collecting trophies for its sausage rolls, pies and pastries.
And Jason isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.
The team will head into the Great Aussie Pie Competition in a couple of weeks and, hopefully add a few more trophies to the cabinet.
For now, we’ll be trying to get our hands on that vanilla slice recipie.
Banana Boogie Bakery
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