The winners of the 2026 Melbourne Royal Food Awards have been revealed, with two prominent names topping the list.

Piece of Cake Bakery was named Champion Australian Bakery and Champion Victorian Bakery, while Backhaus Bakery took home the champion bread trophy for its 7 Fruit Sourdough. The Butcher Club – Williamstown claimed Champion Baked Good for its lamb stroganoff and mushroom pie.

Piece of Cake Bakery owner and baker Kun Du said they were over the moon to be recognised by the Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards.

“It’s very exciting for Piece of Cake Bakery to be celebrated together with other great restaurants and cafes in Victoria,” he said.

“We use high quality ingredients, we bake every batch of our pastries with care, and we pay attention to doing things properly. Our sourdough croissants are made with 100 per cent natural leaven, which takes four days to prepare, proof and bake.

“It makes us very happy to see our customers enjoying pastries, so we hope this award will help introduce Piece of Cake Bakery to more people!”

Backhaus Bakery co-owners Nick Williams and Melissa Matthews said their team was incredibly proud to receive such a high accolade as it recognises how passionate they are about the bakery’s products.

‘For us it comes down to integrity and not taking shortcuts. We use the freshest local ingredients, no nasties and allow long fermentation times,” the duo said.

“We believe it’s the attention to the process, quality and detail that makes our products special.

“It’s very special to us and gives our customers another reason to choose and try our products. Being able to display the medals on our packaging also helps showcase the quality of our products and elevate them in the market.”

Melbourne Royal Senior Manager of Food & Beverage Awards Kirrily Waldhorn said this year’s trophy winners and champions represented the extraordinary depth of talent and exceptional produce being created across the country.

“It’s fantastic to see some incredible producers take home awards across such a diverse range of categories, from dairy to preserves to meat and smallgoods, the returning of olive oil, bread and baked goods, and our new trophies such as the new Apprentice Butcher and Independent Cheesemaker,” she said.

“These awards are a wonderful opportunity to shine a light on the quality and craftsmanship that goes into producing some of Australia’s best food.

“We look forward to celebrating their achievements and sharing their stories with food lovers across the country.”