2025 Pyney’s 🥧 Reviews
Review No 16
Summer Kitchen Bakery
(Ranelagh TAS)
Feb 2025
After leaving Richmond and Sorell I decided to head down to Huon Valley area for a few days. This part of Tasmania has so much to see and do, also there was a few bakeries I missed on my last trip back in 2022. One of those bakeries was Summer Kitchen Bakery. This hidden gem is tucked away in the small town of Ranelagh.
Ranelagh is approximately 30min drive south west of Hobart. The bakery itself is
in Marguerite Street right in the heart of town. On the day of my visit i was introduced to owner Merlin and his brother Remo. Along with family they have owned and operated this bakery since 1998 which now employs 25 plus staff. The team also wholesale their products all over southern Tasmania even as far as far as Hobart. The building used to be a old hardware store, but has since transformed into a baker’s paradise.
As mentioned this former hardware store is now beautifuly restored while still holding onto it’s historical value. Inside also has a fully functional scotch fired wood oven which is stunning and very rare these days. The serving area is absolutely stunning and the cabinets are filled with a delicious range of pastries, cakes and savouries. From the moment you walk into this place it feels very homely and cosy.
Although Merlin was extremely busy he was kind enough to give me the tour of the production facility. This is a serious operation with people running around everywhere. The scotch oven was in full operation and that alone was worth the visit. As I had another bakery to visit after this one it was time to get started and tuck into a 🥧.
The crew have a terrific variety of flavors on offer here that will cater for everyone. Your traditional meat flavours plus vegetarian and vegan, but there was one on the menu board that caught my eye, and that was the “Bruny Island wallaby, potato and gravy” I’ve never actually had a wallaby 🥧 before, so I was pretty keen to test this one out and get started.
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – Yes $9.50 is 100% up there, but you need to take into account “wallaby ” could be categorized as game meat similar to venison, rabbit, crocodile etc. I’ve reviewed these game meat style 🥧’s before and they have ranged anywhere between $8.50 to $11.50, so the $9.50 was well in the ball park. The 🥧 was a decent size and weighed in at around 240grams. Overall it’s up there, but still very reasonable and comparable to similar 🥧’s I’ve reviewed before. 8/10
2. Meat/Fill Ratio – About 95% full, only a few very small air pockets here and there, but you’d be pretty happy with the fill in this 🥧. 9.5/10
3. Flavour – The overall flavour was really nice. The wallaby tasted fantastic and the added potato complemented the wallaby meat extremely well. The added herbs and seasoning really gave this some extra flavour which I thoroughly enjoyed. The only negative and this was minor there could’ve been a touch more gravy added. Apart from from great job guys !!! 8.5/10
4. Pastry – This was the only category that let the overall score down. The color was ok, maybe a smidge on the dark side. Shape and stability were perfect, but there was a little bit of shrinkage on top. The base of the 🥧 was a little bit greasy and oily which the pics clearly show. Both bakes were also a smidge too thick, but sadly let’s address the elephant in the room !!! There was a huge piece of thick, un-cooked pasty on the top bake. This most likely was a once off, but I need to score what’s in front of me and sadly this has bought the score down. 5/10
5. Serving Temperature – This was the perfect serving temp !!! 10/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 41/50 🥧🥧
Look apart from a few issues with the pastry which can easily be fixed, this was a really nice flavoured 🥧. The wallaby meat was cooked beautifully and tasted fantastic. The added potato was a mastersroke and complimented the wallaby meat. If this is what I’m going to expect from every Wallaby 🥧 then the bar has been set quite high. The $9.50 price tag was acceptable for a game meat gourmet 🥧 and it was almost full which was a bonus. As said it was the pastry that let the total score down. Would I go back and have another one ? Simple answer is YES. That pastry could and most likely was a once off and it can easily happen.
If your around the Houn Valley area 100% pop into Ranelagh and check this joint out. There is loads of seating inside and out, plus the working fire places will keep you warm during the winter months. It’s a great place to sit and relax with friends and family.
A special thanks to Merlin, Remo and the team for having me in and showing me around this epic facility. To see first hand what goes on in the engine room was quite special. The wholesale sourdough these guys pump out is phenomenal and to see a old fashioned working scotch oven is always amazing. This place is a real family business and the hard work put into this business is mind blowing. All the best guys and you deserve every success that comes your way.
