“We came third and we were only four points away from the first-place winner,” Rochester Bakery’s vanilla slice creator Phil Latter said.
Mr Latter said he was extremely impressed with the result but admitted he could not take sole credit for making the slice, as it was a team effort with his brother David.
“We made the vanilla slice together,” Mr Latter said.
“It was a combined effort to make the pastry, the custard and the finishing touches of the icing and slicing.”
The brothers have worked together at Rochester Bakery for more than 20 years.
“I was pretty proud that we both had a finger in the pie, so to speak,” Mr Latter said.
The Victoria Baking Show is hosted by the Baking Association of Australia and this year was held in Bendigo.
Mr Latter drove to Bendigo to deliver the slices, which were then judged on a variety of categories.
He was blown away when he received a call later that night (February 26) informing him Rochester Bakery had won third place in the vanilla slice event.
“We did well with the appearance and volume, the pastry bake, the taste and the mouth feel – which is the texture when the judges bite into it,” he said.
Mr Latter explained the bakery had been making and perfecting its vanilla slice for a long time now.
Mr Latter could not recall how many years it had been exactly, but said he had been making it for the majority of his 40-year career as a baker.
He admits they have changed the recipe little by little over the years in search of perfection.
“We’ve probably got to tweak it just that little bit more so that we can get that first-place next time,” Mr Latter said.
Rochester Bakery is looking forward to having a shot at first place again next year. Mr Latter said producing the best vanilla slice in Australia “would be great for Rochester and great for our little bakery too”.
But for now, the Rochester Bakery team is feeling good.
“I was rapt, so was David and so is the team at the bakery. We’re all pretty excited about it,” Mr Latter said.
He hopes their slice being named the third best in the nation will tempt more tourists to visit.
“Hopefully this bring more people to our town to taste the vanilla slice and to spend the day in Rochester,” Mr Latter said.
“It’s just another reason for people to come here after a tough couple of years for all the small businesses in and around this area.”
Mr Latter encouraged people to come in and have a taste of the award-winning slice.
“Come and sample our vanilla slice, have a wander around Rochester and see all the wonderful sights that our town has to offer.”
Rochester Bakery also picked up third in the sourdough competition.
