OMG! Decadent Donuts sweep Best Gourmet Donut section of Baking Association of Australia Awards

Gourmet doughnuts sold in Adelaide have been named best in the country – and even better, pretty much anyone can eat one.

A national “inclusive” doughnut brand has been crowned the best in the country – with its local operators sharing how it will help keep a legacy going.

Adelaide branch owner of OMG! Decadent Donuts, Ash Nuske, wasn’t the brainchild behind opening it here – that was his childhood sweetheart Fiona’s.

But following her battle with cancer and death in July of 2022, Mr Nuske continued to share the doughnuts with Adelaide, to keep her legacy going.

“She was very generous, her generosity is what people knew her for, and I think she shares that with the brand … we’re about giving and including as many people as we can,” Mr Nuske said.

“The exciting thing for us about this award is that means we have award-winning doughnuts that anyone can eat … from corporate, to schools, to community groups, to people and birthday parties.

“And I think that is a really big part of Fiona’s legacy.”

Mr Nuske said his wife lived with coeliac disease and was dairy-free, and finding desserts was a problem – until she found OMG!

Ashley Nuske and Ally Sullivan with the award-winning OMG Decadent Donuts. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“With the national brand winning, that’s something that everyone can enjoy, that was very much what she was all about, so this is fantastic,” he said.

Mr Nuske said the business would continue to grow and reach more people, but never shy away from its “small, community-based” roots.

“It connects back to her legacy, about connecting to as many people as she could but being genuine about it,” he said.

The brand, founded in Melbourne, was awarded gold, silver and bronze in the Best Gourmet Donut section of the Baking Association of Australia Awards hosted on June 19 in Victoria.

They also won silver in the Best Cinnamon Donut category.

Both categories were judged by blind tasting – which the brand says is “extra sweet” because their doughnuts contain no gluten, dairy, egg, wheat, yeast, nuts and sulfites, while being 100 per cent natural and vegan.

Mr Nuske runs a store at Port Adelaide Plaza, while Hills branch owners – office worker Ally Avery and deputy principal Darrell Avery – have recently joined the team.

They are working Mount Barker markets and their Hahndorf location, eager to continue growing their “crowd-drawing” business.

“Our customers are always telling us that our doughnuts are the best, and that’s what we think too, but now we can tell our customers they are 100 per cent confirmed as being correct!”, Ms Avery said.

OMG! Decadent Donuts won gold for its Spicy Ranga doughnut – a combination ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves – and silver for the Dusty Queen, which has orange and cinnamon flavours.