National awards bring greater slice of the bakery pie

It took owner Matt Aylett nine years to win the honour, so why all the hard work?

Well, Matt says it’s not just the satisfaction, the honour or the huge trophy, although they are no doubt welcome, but also customers through the doors.

“We’ve probably done about triple the amount today (Monday) and then as word gets out on all the news in the next couple of days, it’ll only keep going up,” he said.

It also helps people, who may not have been aware of the business, to notice it. North End Bakehouse is in Grant Crt, an industrial part of Shepparton North, and so does not benefit from High St-style foot traffic.

“People in Shepp still have no idea we exist because we’re tucked away down here. So it’s good to have things like this that draw people in; they come looking for us and once they get in, they never leave,” Matt said.

And if vanilla slice is not your thing, North End Bakehouse also won Australia’s best innovative hot cross bun for its Vegemite bun, and has previously won Australia’s best hot cross bun in 2021 and 2022.

Cold Rock

If you have a sweet tooth for both your treats and for making money, then Kelvin Maude, from Kevin Hicks Real Estate in Shepparton, says he has the perfect answer for you.

Cold Rock Ice Creamery, just off Wyndham St near Victoria Park Lake, is for sale and Kelvin says it offers “impressive financials” thanks to “Shepparton’s sweet tooth”.

He said the business increased turnover during the COVID-19 lockdowns and has maintained that growth ever since, with average weekly takings of $16,350.

Labour Day holiday

Monday is Labour Day, so a public holiday for many, although a significant proportion of the workforce will still be working, including in the hospitality, emergency services and agricultural sectors.

It is the third public holiday of the year and celebrates the eight-hour-day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest, although those lines have become increasingly blurred in recent years, including through work-from-home flexibility.

While work-from-home options, such as those that emerged during the COVID-19 lockdowns that hit Shepparton, have brought greater flexibility for some workers, research released by the left-leaning Australia Institute last year claimed Australian workers were also losing out.

It found that Australian workers were “on average working six weeks’ unpaid overtime per year, costing over $92 billion in unpaid wages across the economy”.

For those who feel they are overworked and underpaid, and are in a position to take public holidays, and for those businesses who have to pay the holiday loadings to operate on a public holiday, there are eight more to come for the remainder of the year.

In safe hands

Goulburn Valley Safety Group may not have won the top prize, but it being named a finalist in WorkSafe’s 2022 awards shows local businesses are in safe hands when it comes to improving safety in the workplace.

GVSG promotes the need for industry trade and commerce to be aware of all aspects of safety and health within the Goulburn Valley.

Vice-president Travis Kreeck said nomination in the OHS Leadership/Achievement category validated the group’s hard work over more than a quarter of a century.

“It was formed 26 years ago by prominent business people looking at a way to help members throughout the GV to share knowledge and information to improve safety throughout the region,” he said.

Mr Kreeck said the volunteer group, which relied on sponsors to do its work, faced giant competition in the award.

“The project that beat us was an old coal-fired power station that was a massive project,” he said.

“It shows we were up against some pretty stiff competition.”