2024 🥧 Tour
Review no 38
Connell’s Family Bakery
(Perth WA)
With the Victorian reviews over for now, it was time to jump on a plane and make my way over to Perth to catch up with my daughter, Georgia. This was a quick trip, only six days in total and the focus was spending time with Georgia and seeing the sights. However, I had the chance to visit the odd bakery here and there while she was working and I wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. The first bakery on the list was Connells Family Bakery.
As the name suggests this bakery is a real family affair with the place being owned and operated by Sean and his wife Martina with the help of their son Emmett. Sean did his apprenticeship in bread and pastry back in Ireland before moving to Australia. After working in several places around Perth he decided to open up his first shop at Mount Claremont and then more recently opened the shop in Osbourne Park.
I visited the Osbourne Park location and the WOW factor will hit you as soon as you walk in. The place is colorful, vibrant and the cabinet display is super impressive. From the bread, pastries, cakes, and pies everything was inviting and looked first class. I was impressed by the cabinet display, but it was out the back that totally blew my mind. Sean has created one of the best production facilities I have seen for a very long time. The area was spotless clean and it was filled with the most state of the art machinery that allows his team to produce the best products on a daily basis.
One piece of machinery that caught my eye was the Lamington machine. Sean has brought back the old fashioned Lamington drives and gee wiz does this bakery pump out some Lamingtons. It doesn’t matter if you’re a school, sporting group or a charity, Sean’s lamgington drives are a great fundraising idea. I’ve never seen a machine like this before, it literally dips and coconuts the lamgington all by itself !!! absolutely amazing. After getting what was an impressive tour, it was time to head to the pie warmer and choose a pie for this weeks review.
The selection on offer here is terrific with a great variety of traditional 🥧’s and gourmet. I went for something very different this week choosing the “fresh chicken with honey seeded mustard and mushroom”. This combination was something I’ve never had before which got me a little excited.
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – Yes $8 is creeping up there in price for 🥧 that would not be considered in the gourmet range. However the weight of this 🥧 was nearing 260 grams which is a decent sized 🥧 by any standards. Also the 🥧 was just about full too so the value for money is more than reasonable. 8/10
2. Meat & Fill Ratio – About 95% full, there was a little bit of room just under the lid, but this was only minimal. Overall you would be very happy with the fill in this 🥧. 9.5/10
3. Flavour – The flavor in this 🥧 was absolutely incredible. I had no idea what to expect with the honey seeded mustard, but it wasn’t overpowering and it was the exact perfect mix. Every bite you got a huge piece of fresh chicken and the mushrooms were beautiful. This was a very different combination and one that has worked a treat. Great job guys. 10/10
4. Pastry – Overall the pastry was of a fairly high standard. The color was absolutely sensational and it was up there with the best I have seen. The shape shrinkage and stability were all perfect as well, when tipped upside down the 🥧 did not move. The top bake thickness was perfect, but the bake itself had a small visible wet line. The side and bottom, bakes were also a little thick and slightly underbaked. The pastry flavour itself was really good. A few things to work on by nothing over the top. 8.5/10
5. Serving Temperature – Serving temp was perfect !!! 10/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 46/50 🥧🥧
In my opinion the baking team have done a wonderful job with this product. The scores were very consistent across all the categories and to be honest there wasn’t much wrong with this 🥧. The color and flavour was magnificent. I loved the honey seeded mustard it really made the flavour what it was. Chicken 🥧’s are normally not my go to, but this one was fantastic and I’m so glad I tried and reviewed this 🥧. If chicken 🥧’s are your go, your going to love this one. Add this awesome little bakery to the list. It’s a funky joint with so much on offer and you won’t be disappointed.
To Sean and the team, a massive thanks for having me in. This was more than a review it was a real learning experience. Your production area is state of the art and up there with the best I’ve seen. Your ongoing drive and commitment to better yourself as bakers and business owners is very inspiring. The products you put out and the staff that sell them are a real credit to you and your managment style. You guys deserve every success that comes your way. See you later in the year.
