Ardrossan Bakery
Our stay at Wauraltee Beach was going gang busters till the weather gods decided to chime in and start blowing 40kph westerly winds straight into our van. Anyone who been camped at Wauraltee Beach knows when it blows a westerly your stay isn’t pleasant. With the winds sticking around for the next 4/5 days we decided to pack up and head over to the east side of the Yorke Peninsula. We ended up at the beautiful camp just on the outskirts of the port town of Ardrossan.
Ardrossan, a port and bulk grain facility, is located at the top of the Yorke Peninsula 149 km northwest of Adelaide. As usual after setting up camp i ventured into town to look for a potential bakery to review. I didn’t have to look real hard because right in the centre of town is the
Ardrossan Bakery.
The bakery has been operating for over 100 years and current owner Greg has been at the helm for just over 9 of them. Before we get into Greg’s incredible story I need to mention the bakeries unique oven. Originally a wood fired oven it has now been converted into a diesel heated oven. When this oven is first fired up it’s a sight to behold. It was pretty amazing to see this thing in action. I have attached a few photos.
Speaking of amazing Greg’s journey to this bakery is incredible. As mentioned earlier Greg took over the bakery 9 years ago with ZERO baking experience. Before entering into the baking game he was with the SA Fire Department for over 33 years and this stint included a few years as a fire investigator. After hanging up the fire hose he spent 2 years up in the Flinders Ranges as a facility manager at a property helping children at risk. Seriously this legend has been around the traps and done some epic things.
The bakery itself is open 7 days a week and like most places offers a huge variety of choices. If you wanna sit down and relax there is also stacks of seating inside and out. The baking area is also a decent size and during my visit I got to meet the men behind the 🥧’s. Speaking of 🥧’s we decided to get this review under way.
This weeks 🥧 of choice I left up to Greg. He gave me a few options and in the end I decided to run with a “Chunky Steak, Bacon & Cheese”
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – Compared to similar SBC 🥧’s I’ve had on this tour, this was on the high ish price end. Standard size 🥧 in height and depth. Overall not bad value. 8/10
2. Meat Ratio – Very good, full with decent sized chunks of meat. No room left. 10/10
3. Flavour – Chunks of slow cooked beef, bacon and cheese, then bathed in a darkish gravy sauce. The meat was super tender and the bacon and cheese was the right blend. Overall this was a great flavoured 🥧. I especially loved the dark crazy sauce 8.5/10
4. Pastry – The overall pastry was a little hit and miss. The top color, shape and shrinkage were all very good. The top bake was pretty good, but could have been baked a little more. The bottom bake was under done and relatively soft. While the 🥧 held together to the last bite, you still had to be strategic with every bite. 6.5/10
5. Serving Temperature – No issues here. The serving temp was perfect 10/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 43/50 🥧🥧
This was a nice product, even though the score line might think otherwise. The 🥧 was completely full and the overall flavour was terrific. I particularly liked the huge meat chunks and the dark gravy sauce. Yeah there’s a few points to work on, but all these areas can easily be fixed. The price tag was a little high compared to similar flavoured 🥧’s I’ve reviewed on this tour, but nothing to jump up and down about. The bottom pasty bake is a easy fix and could have been a one off. Overall this was a great 🥧 and one I thoughly enjoyed.
A massive thanks to Greg and his team for their amazing hospitality. Greg’s journey to this bakery is quite remarkable plus he’s a ripping fella and I loved hearing his story. Another review where the owner had no baking experience when taking over. It just shows with hard work and the right team around you anything’s possible. This is a great little bakery and a place 100% worth checking out if your in the area.
Our time at Wauraltee Beach and Ardrossan was incredible. The beach camping at Wauraltee was something else while the campground at Ardrossan and the town itself is 100% worth the stay. Once again with so much to see and explore give yourself plenty of time.
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