The 2016 Excellence in Baking competition drew to a close in November, with the state finalists meeting in Sydney on November 17 to compete for the titles of 2016 Apprentice Baker of the Year and 2016 Apprentice Pastry Cook of the Year.

This year’s competition saw a great deal of talent coming up through the ranks of the baking industry, as well as a skill, determination and passion.

The winner of the 2016 Apprentice Baker of the year is Conor McNaught (QLD). Congratulations to Conor on his well-deserved win in his third year of this 2016 Excellence in Baking competition.

Our winner of the 2016 Apprentice Pastry Cook of the year again went to NSW – congratulations to Samantha Trotter on her wonderful results.

The 2016 state baker finalists were:
QLD – Conor McNaught Nicole Fix
NSW – Angus Fitzgerald Sam Trotter
WA – Danielle Markich Kelly Cooper
TAS – Brad Comins Nicole Neal
VIC – Jason Forbes Kyla Wagner
NT – Brett Mullen

The 2016 state pastry finalists were:
QLD – Nicole Fix
NSW – Sam Trotter
WA – Kelly Cooper
TAS – Nicole Neal
VIC – Kyla Wagner

Each state finalist was flown to Sydney for four days, where they produced a strict criterion in the National Bake-Off at Ultimo Tafe on Thursday, November 17, and were then joined by more than 100 guests aboard a Sydney Harbour Cruise for the announcement of this year’s Apprentices of the Year.

The Baking Association, along with Excellence in Baking major sponsor EOI, congratulates all of the contestants that competed from start to finish in this year’s competition and I look forward to seeing you all again for next year’s competition.