Adelaide's Finest Supermarkets' winning croissant sits on white tray. Behind it is a blue and white ribbon.

Adelaide's Finest Supermarkets' winning entry

South Australian supermarket Adelaide’s Finest supermarkets have taken home the croissant at the Royal Adelaide Show.

The supermarket, which has an operational patisserie inside the store, won a total of five awards in the professional baking competition, including Best Ciabatta, Best Sourdough, Best Apprentice and Australia’s Best Croissant.

Best Apprentice winner Christie-Lee Roberts’ pear Danish was also awarded Champion Product of the Show, beating every other professional entry.

The awards are the result of a four-year journey for the in-store patisserie, which began during the pandemic. It was during this time that Adelaide’s Finest director Spero Chapley put the focus on employing pâtissiers who had lost their jobs due to lockdowns.

According to Glam Adelaide, the store now employs nine full-time employees plus three TAFE students, and is led by Huy Nguyen, formerly from Le Cordon Bleu.

Mr Chapley told Glam Adelaide the glass kitchen the patisserie team works from lets the customers see the work that goes into the creations.

“This brings an energy and multi-sensory dimension to the store experience, part of our ambition to make every visit new and exciting,” he said.

“The patisserie is a fine example of how we have been operating for more than 70 years – taking a risk on something new, pushing the boundaries of retail, employing and training staff in an effort to showcase the best South Australia has to offer.”

For the competition each entrant was tasked with producing four croissants as close in shape, size and appearance as possible. The judges focused on a “back to basics” style croissant that was crispy, flaky and with a buttery flavour and aroma.

Some of the results of the show included: