Nicol Strang from Woolworths Forest Lakes, in West Australia, has claimed the title of Woolworths Baker of the Year for the second year in a row.

Nicol, who has been baking for more than 40 years, began his career at just 15-years-old in his native Scotland.

He told Food and Drink Business that on a normal day he wakes at 2am to be in-store from 3am until 11am. Here he is mixing, preparing and baking fresh bread daily.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic about the win. I was very nervous about competition and being up against our other brilliant bakers,” he said.

“Being a baker can be very rewarding and it’s exciting knowing you have this skill that other people don’t.”

The final round of the competition saw a hot cross bun bake-off take place with six of the finalists. Judges from Woolworths as well as expert bakers from Allied Pinnacle, judged the buns against a range of criteria as including weight, texture, appearance, crust and overall aroma of the hot cross bun.

Woolworth bakery merchandise manager Donald Keith told Food and Drink business it was fantastic to be able to put the hard-working and talented team members, who are often behind the scenes, into the spotlight and recognise them and their skills.

“We had some exceptional talent this year, but Nicol’s hot cross buns once again stood out for being the perfect shape, size and flavour,” he said.