An ACT team of two pastry chef teachers and a baker won the Australian Artisan Baking Cup in June.

Held at the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre, the event pushed contestants to the limits of pastry preparation and presentation.

The three-man ACT team featured Canberra Institute of Technology’s (CIT) pastry instructors, Darrell Morton (team captain) and Dammika Hatharasinghe, as well as Ben Mount from Bakery Culture at Jamison Plaza.

Mr Morton said a key contributor to his team’s victory was their extensive team practice at CIT’s pastry training kitchens.

“In order to win we knew we would have to measure up to some exacting tolerances for our bread and pastries,” he said.

“Three months prior to the event we practiced for a full day a week, and over the last two weeks we were practicing two days a week.

“All that practice has paid off, and as a result the ACT has won the baking cup for the first time ever.”

The team will be among the top contenders for positions in the four-person Australian pastry team that will compete in the 2012 SIGEP Bread Cup international bakery contest in Italy next January.