22-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Apprentice baker rises to the top
Canterbury's Delmari Janse Van Rensburg has been living and breathing baking for the past six months.
And it all paid off when she won the Australasian baking industry's prestigious LA Judge award, for baking apprentice of the year, in Sydney.
'You hope and you dream, but to win it is insane,' the 22-year-old said.
'I just didn't want to come last.
'You have really got to back yourself, and when you come up against the best of the best, it is easy to start doubting yourself, so you have to push yourself and know it is time to step up.'
The competition, established in 1967, recognises Australasia's top bakers aged 25 and under.
The win means Van Rensburg will head to Belgium next year for a week to train with global baking group Puratos Headquarters.
The three-day competition tested every aspect of the craft, from technical skills and production efficiency to theory and creativity.
'The judges were looking at your point of difference, creativity and how you handle the challenges in a one-person bakery, like time management and using machinery that is not common such as a tweedy mixer, Eberhardt and Oshikiri,' Van Rensburg said.
'They (the judges) were impressed with how I spoke, how I handled myself and helping the other bakers if needed,' Van Rensberg said.
In the lead-up, she used advice she received during the 2024 NZ Association of Bakers bread baker of the year competition, where she won the young bread baker award and earned her spot in Sydney.
'I remember Nathan Roberts from Bakels saying that the winner would have won before they get to the competition because it is all in the preparation – so I took that on board and gone full on with training.'
Van Rensburg paid tribute to her New World Rolleston bakery manager Janine Bell for her support.
'Janine, she has been amazing and has played a massive role – she would invite me round for dinner to make sure I was eating right – taking mentorship to another level.'
Her win last year came with a $15,000 research grant, which Van Rensburg will put towards studying brand management in the United Kingdom and marketing experience in the Netherlands. She leaves for three months on June 8.
'Europe is the gold standard of baking, it fuels you more because there is always something to look forward to and work towards.'
