The annual King of Bakers Bread Show went ahead in March as part of the Heritage Bank Toowoomba Royal Show. Receiving more than 550 entries, the competition was fierce, and pressure was on the judges to decide who would receive the major, regional, and class awards at the presentation dinner, and who would be named the overall King of Bakers.

Unfortunately, some entries couldn’t be delivered this year due to flooding in South East Queensland, but event coordinator Damon Phillips said the quality of exhibits wasn’t affected.

“The quality of product being exhibited is getting better and better each year, and supply shortages due to COVID and local flooding this year, have not been a deterrent,” Mr Phillips said.

This year’s competition was also bigger than before, with 47 total classes across eight sections—Bread, Cake, Apprentice Section, Commercial, Meat Pies, Sausage Rolls, Pasties, School Based Section, and Feature Products—including a new Donut class which featured in the Feature Products section for the first time.

When it came down to the King of Bakers Championship, for the first time in its over 20 years, two bakeries—Born and Bread Bakery and winner of the previous three years, Antony’s Bakery—received the same final score. However, as per competition rules, the bakery with the most first places throughout the competition is awarded the title. This year, Born and Bread Bakery managed to knock Antony’s Bakery off the throne.

Chief steward Mark Dennien said, “The quality of the exhibits is rising each year, making it harder to judge. Our judges are focusing on the finer details to help with choosing a winner”.