Some of Australia’s best apprentice pastry chefs and bakers travelled to Melbourne in late August to take part in the national Bake Skills finals. Baking Business caught up with winners Sophie Weeding and Stavriana Taliadoras to hear about their experience.

Sophie Weeding, Bake Skills National Apprentice Pastry Chef of the Year

Sophie Weeding

Congratulations on your win at Bake Skills. Can you tell us about your competition experience?

Thank you! Winning Bake Skills and being named National Apprentice Pastry Chef of the Year is an incredible achievement, and one I’m extremely proud of. It was the result of a great deal of preparation, hard work and support from the people around me.

The competition was challenging, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There were certainly moments when I felt the pressure, but I focused on staying calm, trusting my preparation and taking each stage as it came. It was a fantastic opportunity to challenge myself, develop my skills and see what I was capable of.

What was the preparation for the competition like?

The preparation was intense and required careful planning, practice and organisation. I wanted to be ready for every part of the competition and able to perform consistently under pressure.

I spent a lot of time practising each product, focusing on consistency, timing, presentation and technique. Organisation was equally important, as producing several items within a set timeframe meant planning carefully and managing my time effectively.

There were long days and plenty of mistakes along the way, but each one taught me something and helped me improve. The encouragement and support I received throughout the process also made a huge difference.

What was your favourite thing to make for the competition? And was there anything you found challenging?

I particularly enjoyed making the pastries because I love the technical side of pastry and the process of seeing everything come together. It’s incredibly rewarding to take simple ingredients and transform them into something that looks beautiful and tastes delicious.

The most challenging aspect was working under pressure while producing several different products to a consistently high standard. It required careful planning, precision and the ability to stay focused when things didn’t go exactly as planned. Learning to adapt and keep moving forward was an important part of the experience.

What drew you to working as a pastry chef?

I’ve always loved baking, but what really attracted me to pastry was the combination of creativity, precision and practical skill. I enjoy working with my hands and seeing an idea develop into a finished product that people can enjoy.

There is also always something new to learn. Pastry is highly technical, with so many techniques, ingredients and methods to explore. That constant opportunity to improve and develop is one of the things I find most exciting about the industry.

What are your ambitions for the future?

I want to continue learning, developing my skills and challenging myself within the baking and pastry industry. Winning Bake Skills has given me even more confidence and motivation to see where my career can take me.

I’d love to continue competing, take on new opportunities and expand my knowledge and experience. In the future, I’d also like to share what I’ve learned and support other apprentices as they begin their own careers.

Most importantly, I want to continue doing something I genuinely love and produce work that I can be proud of.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported me throughout my apprenticeship and during the Bake Skills competition. So many people helped me along the way by teaching me, encouraging me, creating opportunities and believing in my abilities.

A very special thank you to Tash and Scott for their constant support and encouragement, and for giving me so many incredible opportunities throughout my apprenticeship and beyond. I’m incredibly grateful for everything they have done for me and for believing in me.

Working at Brighton Best Bakehouse has given me countless opportunities to learn, grow and challenge myself. I truly appreciate everything the team has done to help me reach this point.

Winning National Apprentice Pastry Chef of the Year is something I will always be incredibly proud of, and I’m excited to continue learning and see what the future holds.

Stavriana Taliadoros

Stravriana Taliadoros, Bake Skills National Apprentice Bakery of the Year

Congratulations on your win at Bake Skills. Can you tell us about your competition experience?

BakeSkills was such an incredible experience and an opportunity to challenge myself beyond what I encounter in my everyday work. Producing such a broad range of products within a limited timeframe was intense, but I loved being able to put months of preparation into practice. It challenged me to manage my time effectively while maintaining product quality, organisation and hygiene throughout production, and showed me how much I had developed along the way.

One of the best parts was being surrounded by other apprentices and industry professionals who share the same passion for baking. It gave me the opportunity to meet new people, learn from those around me and experience different approaches to the trade. Being immersed in the industry like that was really inspiring and reinforced how much I want to continue learning, improving and taking every opportunity I can within baking.

I came away from BakeSkills with greater confidence in my abilities, new connections within the industry and even more excitement about where baking can take me.

What was the preparation for the competition like?

Preparation was pretty full-on! I spent several months practising and refining my products, particularly in the final weeks. A lot of that involved travelling five hours from home to Federation TAFE in Ballarat, often fortnightly, to train with my TAFE trainer, Brendan Carter. I also practised whenever I could at work, often coming in before shifts, staying back afterwards and completing full practice runs on weekends.

Preparation went far beyond perfecting individual products. I had to learn how to manage the competition as a whole, including developing a production schedule, managing proofing times, anticipating overlaps and adapting when things didn’t go to plan. Every practice highlighted something I could improve, and by competition time I had developed not only my products, but my confidence, problem-solving and ability to perform under pressure.

What was your favourite thing to make for the competition? And was there an item you found challenging?

Croissants became one of my favourite products to make. I had limited experience with them before preparing for BakeSkills, so watching my skills develop with every practice was incredibly rewarding. They rely on so many factors, including temperature, lamination, shaping and proofing, so reaching the point where I understood the process and could produce something I was proud of made all the work worthwhile.

Spanakopita was probably my biggest challenge, particularly because I had to produce the filo pastry from scratch. I had very little experience with it, so I researched extensively and reached out to bakeries and patisseries to learn wherever I could. There was plenty of trial and error, but seeing how far the final product had progressed from my first attempts was extremely rewarding.

What drew you to working as a baker?

I’ve always loved working with food and creating things in the kitchen. I explored that interest through a Certificate II in Cookery at school, which led me to complete work experience at Sunraysia Bread and Butter Bakery. Experiencing a commercial bakery broadened my interest in the industry, and when I was offered a school-based apprenticeship at the end of that week, I knew it was an opportunity I wanted to take.

My employer, Dean, also opened my eyes to the opportunities available within the profession and encouraged me to see how far I could take it. Alongside my apprenticeship, I continued exploring the industry through patisserie studies as part of my school VET program.

What has kept me passionate about baking is the combination of creativity, technical knowledge and precision. There is always something new to learn and so many directions you can take within the industry.

What are your ambitions for the future?

In the short term, I want to continue developing my skills and complete my apprenticeship, learning as much as I can from the experienced people around me and continuing to challenge myself through opportunities within the industry.

I’d also love to travel and learn from bakers around the world, experiencing different techniques, products and approaches to the trade that can broaden my own skills and perspective as a baker. Further into my career, I hope to pass that experience on through training and mentoring other young bakers. I’ve been fortunate to have people invest their time and knowledge in my development, and I’d love to eventually have that same positive influence on others entering the industry.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d really like to thank everyone who supported me throughout the competition and preparation. In particular, my Federation TAFE trainer, Brendan Carter, who dedicated so much of his time into helping me train, refine my products and prepare for the competition; my employers, Dean and Shauna, for their constant encouragement and support, and for always giving me the opportunity to push myself and pursue opportunities like this; and the entire team at Sunraysia Bread and Butter Bakery for sharing their knowledge, encouraging me throughout the process and helping me wherever they could.

I’d also like to thank the Baking Association of Australia, the judges and sponsors for making opportunities like BakeSkills possible. So many people within the industry give their time and knowledge to support apprentices, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has played a part in helping me get to this point.