The team at Shakerz Bakerz in Mandurah have taken out two gold medals at the 2021 Royal Show Awards in two of the most iconic categories: the sausage roll and the lamington.
The news was a welcome break after a string of bad luck for team leaders Shane Dickman and Krystrim Wairau, which involved the bakery being broken into and robbed twice in the space of two months.
"It happened again - he jimmied the doors and stole the till, they caught him which was fantastic," Mr Dickman said.
"He also had a pie and sauce," Mr Wairau added.
"We actually thought that part was funny more than anything else."
"That's our award winning pies," Mr Dickman laughed.
Mr Dickman said that thankfully, the second time around, the thief didn't break any glass - which meant there weren't as many repair costs as the previous time.
"We're pros at it now - we know how to recover from a break-in."
The bakery has undergone a complete transformation over the past few months, with the team adopting a rainforest theme complete with a large elephant statue as a centrepiece.
"That's Peter the elephant," Mr Wairau said.
"We waited until he arrived to name him and when I saw him I just said 'he looks like a Peter' - now our customers know him by name."
Tough competition
The decision to enter the Royal Show Awards was even more last-minute than the Shakerz Bakerz team had originally thought it was.
"It's the funniest story - maybe six months ago or so we knew the competition was coming up, we know we've got some great products here so we thought 'we'll do our best,'" Mr Wairau said.
"We gave it to our bakers and said we were entering into the competition and we would have a month to get it done."
When pastry chef Nicole read through the paperwork, she came to a startling realisation.
"The head baker was reading through the sheet and she just goes... 'you know this is in 48 hours?'"
Mr Dickman said they had filled out and submitted all of the entry paperwork, making it impossible to back out.
"At this point we had already entered seven items - so we were like, okay, we've got 48 hours, let's go."
The entire team gathered together in the kitchen to brainstorm ideas and get their prized pastries ready for tasting.
"We entered the sausage roll, beef pie, two gourmet pies and the lamington," Mr Wairau said.
The day of the competition itself was also riddled with trials the team worried would prove too difficult.
"We got in and we were about five minutes late, luckily there were a few other people who hadn't been seen yet," Mr Dickman said.
"It was a hot mess and I felt super embarrassed," Mr Wairau added.
"We've just chucked it all in an esky, and the bakeries around us - they've got all of these beautiful designer baskets.
"The judges came to our counter and we grabbed three plastic plates and chucked our pies straight on there."
After the tastings took place and the moment was captured forever in a photograph, the Shakerz Bakerz team felt dejected.
"There was an awards night that we didn't make it to, but we were sure we weren't going to win anything," Mr Wairau said.
The next day, the bakery received a visitor in the form of Mandurah bakery royalty.
"The owner of the Miami Bakehouse came in to the shop and said congratulations.
"We thought he meant about the redesign of the shop," Mr Dickman said.
"But he had come in to say congratulations that we had won.
"He said - I won't tell you what you got but you're going to be really happy," Mr Wairau said.
"They're like the experts on winning gold and they came in just to say congratulations and talk to us about what it would mean, and how we would get busier."
Shakerz Bakerz took out the gold medal for their sausage roll and lamington as well as silver and bronze for two of their pies.
"The icon for Australia is a lamington and meat pies," Mr Wairau said.
According to Mr Wairau and Mr Dickman, what makes their lamingtons so special is a secret ingredient their pastry chef adds.
"Nicole is our beautiful pastry chef - she's a killer pastry queen and we love her.
"Cakes are what she really enjoys.
"What makes our lamingtons so special for sure is a secret ingredient."
"It's in the sponge technique," Mr Dickman said.
"We utilise our gold winning sponge in all of our cakes now."
The science of taste testing
Mr Wairau added that another thing that gave Shakerz Bakerz an edge was their collaborative and loving team environment.
"It's about persistence and constant taste testing.
"We are hard on each other when we all try it, like 'what do you actually think?' It's team work.
"I'm a smoker and Shane's not - so some tastebuds are different to others and it's about getting everyone's opinions and finding a happy medium."
Since word of the awards got out, the Shakerz Bakerz team are busier than ever.
"We have been working really hard - now it's about keeping up with production, we have gotten a lot busier since winning," Mr Dickman said.
"We did a whole set of pies on Thursday and we were completely sold out on Saturday so that's another big push for us."
Mr Wairau said that what inspired him most about the environment he, Mr Dickman and their team had created for the shop was the family they had created.
"That's the essence of what I want," he said.
Prepping that food together in the kitchen... that's love.
- Krystrim Wairau
"I'm from the Cook Islands originally and sitting down for food is the most expensive thing you can do.
"But prepping that food together in the kitchen... that's love.
"I don't live there anymore and that's the feeling that I miss and I really want to pass on to the entire world.
"It's so nice - it reminds me of my family and if I can recreate that for everyone it's like I'm giving everybody a hug.
"We want our food to feel like giving a hug."
The business is continuing to grow, with the team partnering with a coffee shop to provide them with their pastries as well as knickknacks they currently sell in store.
Shakerz Bakerz also have a number of ideas currently in the pipeline which they hope will help to grow and nourish their beloved bakery.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
