Melbourne baker Daniel Chirico will join a concerted effort to strengthen Australia’s international baking competitiveness.

Southern Cross Baking Group (SCBG) will form a network of skilled bakers across Australia to assist with team selection and training. SCBG president Brett Noy said Daniel has a high level of expertise in all areas of bread.

“He’s very well known for his design flair, so he’s going to be an enormous advantage to not only [the current iba team] but future teams that travel and compete,” Brett said.

Training days will be organised in all major cities. In the new look system, the Australian baking team would be in constant development and could number as many as 30 people.

“People who want to be on these teams can come along and give us an opportunity to keep in touch with them,” Brett said.

Brett said the sessions would enable SCBG to develop and identify the most qualified and committed people to be on future teams and travel overseas.

“It gives us an opportunity to see their level of expertise, skill and knowledge,” Brett said.

SCBG is looking for expressions of interest from bakers and pastry chefs interested in participating in the sessions to be hosted by Daniel and other skilled bakers.

Brett said the previous method of choosing two-to-three people for each competition was a costly exercise.

“Our vision is to change that and do it differently, do it like it’s never been done before, and have a constant pool of people who are interested in doing this. And obviously through that level of commitment that they show, the best people always shine through and they will stand out,” he said.

The sessions will have specialist information designed to develop skills and knowledge to a level needed for international competitions. Visit the SCBG website www.southerncrossbakinggroup.com.au for more details.