Earlier this year Griff travelled to Queensland to compete in the national finals for the Excellence in Baking competition, where he ultimately claimed the top spot for pastry.

Can you tell us about yourself?

I’m Griffin Lee, a 23-year-old pastry apprentice at Gumnut Patisserie in the Southern Highlands. My family moved to the Southern Highlands from Sydney when I was two-years-old.

After I left school, I went to university in Wollongong to do engineering. After a year of that I hated it. I saw myself heading to an office job and I couldn’t stand that. I needed to do something with my hands. That’s when I decided to switch gears and apply to Gumnut for an apprenticeship (something I always wanted to do).

 When did you first discover a love for pastry? What was it that attracted you?

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and spent time in the kitchen from a very young age, always helping my parents make dinner, so my love for cooking stems from that. My grandmother loved baking and we would spend afternoons making apple pie.

When and where did you begin your apprenticeship? How has it been?

I began my apprenticeship at Gumnut Patisserie in December 2023.  The opportunity popped up only a few months after my decision to drop out of uni so it was perfect timing.

The apprenticeship has been amazing. Gumnut is an excellent place to work and develop my skills, with Tracy and Vicki (Gumnut Patisserie owners) being great mentors. They are very training-focused, always pushing to get the best out of me and my fellow apprentices. I have learnt so much over the past two-and-a-half years.

You recently won the Excellence in Baking (pastry) competition. Did you ever anticipate winning?

No I didn’t, however, as I mentioned before, Gumnut is an amazing place to learn. I am so fortunate for the opportunity to train and learn from some of, in my opinion, the best in the industry (a bit biased I know).

For months in the lead up to the competition, I was able to practice and develop recipes and techniques, with the confidence that Tracy, Vicki or Josh (Nickl) would help to suggest any improvements I could make. The support that I had in the build up to the Competition made a tremendous difference to the outcome on the day.

What was the overall competition experience like?

Intense. We had to produce a large variety of products, sweet and savory, in six-and-a-half hours in the kitchen, all from scratch. One of the challenges was cooking in an entirely different kitchen. Getting used to a different layout and having to use different equipment to what I’m used to was a stress point. But again, I was able to fall back on my training to help get me through the day.

What do you love most about pastry?

Apart from the fact that there is lots of tasty things to eat, from a job perspective there is lots of variety in the work and it allows for opportunity to share and explore my creativity.

What does the rest of 2026 hold for you?

Work. Knuckle down and get my apprenticeship finished.

What are your future career plans?

Travel. One of the reasons I started the apprenticeship in the first place was that people all over the world love pastry. It is enjoyed all over the world and I would love to work in different countries and environments.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I would like to thank Tracy, Vicki and the entire crew at Gumnut for all their encouragement and support.