A WA local has been crowned supermarket giant Woolworths’ baker of the year.
Nicol Strang from the Forest Lakes store has taken out the title for the second year in a row.
Strang — who has been a baker for more than 40 years — said he is thrilled with the award.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic about the win. I was very nervous about the competition and being up against our other brilliant bakers,” Strang said.
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READ NOW“Being a baker can be very rewarding and it’s exciting knowing you have this skill that other people don’t.
“I enjoy my role at Woolworths and I’m well supported by my store team, which makes it all very worthwhile.”
Strang — who originates from Scotland — is known for his perfect hot cross buns.
A typical day for him involves a 2am wake up call, followed by eight hours in the store mixing, preparing and baking fresh bread. Outside of work, he enjoys woodwork and fishing.
Woolworths bakery merchandise manager Donald Keith said the competition is a fantastic way to highlight the workers that put in so much effort behind the scenes.
“It’s a highlight each year to get so many of our team members involved in this competition,” Keith said.
“We take great pride in being the Fresh Food People and it’s thanks to our hard-working and talented team members, who are often behind the scenes. It’s fantastic to be able to put them into the spotlight and recognise them and their skills.
“We had some exceptional talent this year, but Nicol’s hot cross buns once again stood out for being the perfect shape, size and flavour. A huge congratulations to Nicol, but also everyone who was a finalist and participated this year.”