Fourth generation bakery apprentice Jack Mylott is in his last weeks of intense practice for the Bake Skills Australia National Pastry Chef Championships in September.

The TAFE NSW Hamilton graduate is the sole NSW representative in the program to be held at the International Conference Centre in Sydney, vying for the prestigious title of National Pastry Champion 2019.

With baking an in-demand occupation - employment of bakers and pastry cooks increased by 3.4% over the year to August 2018, above the national average of 2.5% across all occupations* - Jack will have plenty of opportunities upon completing his apprenticeship in 24 months.

Jack completed his Certificate III in Retail Baking (Combined) in Hamilton earlier this year and is now being mentored by Francessco Gulisano at the prestigious Dolcettini Pattisserie in Sydney.

The three day competition involves students competiting in eight hour competitions with day one focussing on preperation, day two on pastries and day three on multi layered occasion cakes.

Jack said he has been training for the competition for the past four months and will now step up his training sessions to three times per week.

“It’s getting to crunch time now and it’s all just testing and trial runs. Part of the rules are that you must only make what you will serve to the judges, you can’t have spares, so scaling the amount you’ll need is important to practice.

“I have cakes in the back of my car which I need to drop to my mums place so she can hand them out to all of her friends. I have plenty of baked goods but they aren’t hard to give away and it’s great to get the feedback from people so I can keep improving.

“Some of the things I’ll be baking are eclairs, paris brest, gourmet seafood pie and baked cheesecake. I love the artistic side of baking, I love taking on something difficult which uses a more intricate skill set.”

Event Director of the Bake Skills Australia Minnie Constan said they have seen some amazing talents come through this program.

“Fine Food Australia is proud to be able to support our up-and-coming Bakers & Pâtissiers by offering a platform in which to show off their skills. The competitions are a high pressure working environment where they are constantly being assessed, by both judges and onlookers, not too dis-similar to working in a real life bakery or patisserie.”

TAFE NSW is Australia’s largest training provider, offering over 1,200 courses, from certificates to degrees. Many can be studied online via TAFE Digital. Visit www.tafensw.edu.au or call 131 601.

* Dept of Jobs and Small Business report, November 2018

Media contact: Sarah Lievore, TAFE NSW Media Officer, sarah.lievore1@tafensw.edu.au