Milly Vanilla

Unlike the band, the vanilla slices on show at Mildura’s Vanilla Slice Triumph had nothing to hide, delivering on taste, innovation and entertainment.

Held over one day in August, the Triumph saw bakers converge on the Victorian town to show off their vanilla slice chops. Fifty-two vanilla slices were entered into the event across three major categories: Professional, Apprentice and Innovative.

Head Judge, Corey Howard, tasted his way through the entries.

“We look for a golden flaky pastry that has been baked well, a smooth custard with a nice vanilla flavour, the icing has to be nice and thin but not too thin that you can see through it—it also has to have a nice shine. And all pieces submitted must be the same size,” he says.

Corey, now in his fourth year as Head Judge, headed up the judging team comprising Jason Riley, Paul Brown, Ty Baxter and Brendan Bullen.

Corey says he particularly enjoyed the lime and coconut entry but points to the Saffron Cheesecake vanilla slice as the standout.

“If you’re travelling to the Triumph you should take a few days to have a good look around Mildura,” he says.

“It’s always a great atmosphere. The Mildura City Heart organises great activities for children and adults with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, vanilla slice making for the kids, jumping castle, face painting and a milly vanilla slice eating competition.”

Congratulations to the Winners:

Professional
1st place – Bridgewater Bakery
2nd place – Hudaks Bakery
3rd place – Terang Country Bakery

Innovative
1st place – Rob, Mawson’s Bakery
2nd place – Ryan, Country Cob Bakery
3rd place – Hannah, Mawson’s Bakery

Apprentice
1st place – Linette, The Elmore Bakery
2nd place – Kaitlin, Deakin Bakery
3rd place – Lina, Country Cob Bakery

Primary
1st place – Maggie Spencer
2nd place – Bianca DeMaria
3rd place – Doug Whittle

Secondary
1st place – Charli Sutton
2nd place – Rebecca Clark
3rd place – Claire Kennewell

Open
1st place – Natalie Cavallaro
2nd place – Molly Wilson
3rd place – Megan Frankel – Vaughan

Over 50s
1st place – Kath Underwood
2nd place – Diana Muir
3rd place – Julie Cox

People’s Choice
Deakin Bakery.