Adelaide’s Finest Frewville and Pasadena Foodland have claimed top honours nationally, with their croissant and sourdough crowned Australia’s best at the National Artisan Baking Competition.

The coveted Grand Final Australian bake-off saw the South Australian supermarkets awarded National Champion for its sourdough and National Champion for its croissant.

The supermarket in-house bakery and patisseries were also recognised for several other products including first place Danish, first place baguette, first place ciabatta, first place flavoured sourdough, second place rye sourdough, and second place white sourdough.

The bakery and patisserie teams took out 18 podium places for various breads and pastries at the South Australian competition in May and were invited to compete in the National Awards held by the Baking Association of Australia on the Gold Coast last week.

Head Baker Peter Soteriou, Head Pastry Chef Tharindu Ranatunga, and Head of Production Robert Trimboli were all in attendance at the event and described nerves and exhaustion ahead of elation after the announcement.

Mr Ranatunga says his team started baking the winning croissant three days before getting on a plane to bring it here to be judged.

“There’s a whole team and a huge process involved that gives this one little pastry time enough to develop into something special,” he says. “I have to thank my team for their dedication and Adelaide’s Finest for their belief in our pastry program.”

Mr Soteriou says the awards are important because they push the industry as a whole.

“We’re proud to demonstrate that our supermarkets possess the capability to produce artisan breads of exceptional quality with traditional techniques and clean ingredients,” he says.

‘A long time coming’

Adelaide’s Finest Managing Director Spero Chapley says these awards have been a long time coming with his father installing one of the first ‘from scratch’ bakeries in a supermarket in the mid-1980s.

“The jobs, the skills, and the passion the bakery and patisserie departments bring into our business is why we do it, not the awards” says Mr Chapley.

“When you think about those European streets and piazzas, the smell of fresh, warm, bread baking wakes up the neighbourhood. We wanted that flavour to wake up our business, too.

“Being named not just Adelaide’s finest but, Australia’s finest croissant and sourdough does mean a lot to us. It means we can share the best quality in Australia at the best possible price. Award-winning quality at supermarket prices.”

‘Proof’ of Foodland’s promise

Foodland Supermarkets CEO Franklin dos Santos says these awards are proof of the promise that ‘Great Food Lives at Foodland’.

“Not only does Foodland Pasadena and Frewville offer award-winning shopping experiences, but also Australia’s best sourdough and croissants. Authentically artisan and enjoyable at any time of day, our loyal customers will be blown away with these products,” he says.

“This is one of those ‘if you know, you know’ circumstances … and we’ve always known – now, the rest of Australia does too.”