At a time when we’re being bombarded by mass-produced fruit mince pies in the big supermarket chain stores, this Grampians baker’s mission of hand-making 2000 mince pies is the refreshing news we need this festive season.

Great Western Granary bakery’s Anthony Kumnick has only been baking for two years, but rumour has it he has perfected the holiest of Christmas delicacies with his fruit mince pie.

And the ingredients are as low-mile and local as you can get. Anthony mills his own wholemeal flour using a bench top mill with grain grown on a friend’s biodynamic farm 40 minutes to the north. The flour is then mixed with eggs from a neighbouring farm and butter from a boutique dairy to make the pastry dough, which is filled with dried fruit grown near the Murray River, soaked in brandy from a nearby winery, and mixed with suet from the local butcher and finished with citrus zest from his neighbour’s trees.

Anthony also bakes bread and pastries using local and native ingredients, which he sells wholesale to surrounding general stores.

Great Western Granary fruit mince pies are available from viccountrymarket.com.au, $18.45 for six. They are also available in stores in Ararat, Stawell, Horsham, Dimboola, Pomonal Great Western and Moyston (some stores are available for order only).

They are popular so Great Western Granary suggests ordering on Tuesday for local delivery on Friday.