One Smart Apple – Miami Bakehouse Apprentice Anthony Barber
It was a busy evening for the Miami Bakehouse Team last night as they prepared for the annual Western Australian Baking Industry Awards competition. This year’s awards have expanded to 50 categories including bread, pastries, cakes and savoury baking.
The Miami team placed their entries some weeks ago and have been practising and perfecting their submissions ever since. The competition was put on hold in 2020, due to the COVID lockdown and so the team are excited to be back this year.
One of the specialist baking team is Anthony Barber, in the final year of his dual Bread Baking and Pastrycooking Apprenticeship with Miami Bakehouse. He was hard at work on his creations for the Apprentice categories. For 2021 there are eight categories for Apprentices and Anthony has entered 7 of these.
Well known in the Miami team for his sartorial style, he set a gold standard not only for his fashionable, dusky pink suit at the Awards gala dinner in 2019, but took out the hat trick with a bronze, silver and gold medal in the Apprentice section that year.
He’s hoping for even more success this year and has put his pastrycooking skills to the test in the Apprentice Birthday Cake section with an apple crumble inspired birthday cake for this year’s entry. Who knows, it might have some of that dusky pink inspiration there too!
One of the other categories is a special bread loaf, called the four-strand plait. Generally not seen in bakeries anymore but it is an excellent demonstration of hand, dough-moulding skills. Four long strands of dough are plaited into a loaf. This may sound easy but the art is in ensuring each twist is perfectly even across the whole loaf in readiness for the judges.
“I first started work with Miami Bakehouse back in 2017 as an all-rounder bakery assistant. I left for a short while to try other things and returned to take up my apprenticeship two and a half years ago,” Anthony explained.
“I really enjoy food and cooking and I’ve just recently moved in with some housemates and I do a lot of cooking for them, so I guess they’re the lucky ones!”
Anthony even has a sous vide set-up at home, so perhaps next year as a fully qualified tradesperson he might like to try his hand in the savoury section of the competition with some award-winning pie recipes.
Miami Bakehouse has trained more than 17 apprentices in the dual Apprenticeship of Bread Baking and Pastrycooking. Miami is one of only a handful of employers that offer this combined course. It is looking forward to continuing its development of the baking industry in WA through its commitment to apprentice training.
The Federal Government announced significant funding for apprenticeships in the recent 2021 Budget.
Mr Palmer, co-owner of Miami Bakehouse commended the Government’s initiative.
“This type of funding is imperative in supporting businesses in the training for future skills.
“It not only improves employment and training opportunities for young apprentices but also for mature age candidates.
“It’s essential that our society has the skills required in the years ahead and it is only through well-focused training that this can be achieved,” Mr Palmer said.
WA Baking Industry Awards
The competition is run by the Baking Industry Employers Association of WA, which was formed more than 100 years ago. Today, it remains a not for profit association which uses its funds to promote and assist Western Australian baking businesses and support the development of the baking industry in the State.
About Miami Bakehouse:
Miami Bakehouse is an innovative and creative locally owned business based in Mandurah Western Australia, with a central bakery and bakery cafes in the Perth, Peel and South West regions.
With legendary baking status in Western Australia, the team of passionate local West Australian foodies include 30 pastrycooks, bakers, apprentices and bakers’ assistants combined, working tirelessly to deliver locals and holiday makers with healthy and delicious gourmet bakery products.
Miami Bakehouse still handmake their own food from scratch creating more than 200 varieties of unique gourmet bakery products, baked fresh each day including award-winning pies, speciality breads, sandwiches, cakes, pastries, catering and a growing selection of healthy, delicious and convenient food to eat on the go.
Gaining 20+ years of baking success and over 900 National and State baking industry awards to date, Miami Bakehouse is renowned for using local, fresh West Australian ingredients and creating unique flavours at the centre of it’s exciting baked food experience customer promise.
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