Mount Gambier’s OK Pie Shop named best bakery in the Limestone Coast
A baker using 100-year-old recipes said “the proof’s in the pudding” when he found out this historic bakery had been named the best in the region.
Mount Gambier
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It’s been serving up freshly baked goods since at least 1944 but now this Mount Gambier institution has been named best bakery in the Limestone Coast.
Dewain and Allison Barrett took over OK Pie Shop almost two years ago and were shocked to come out on top in our latest Delicious Poll.
Only a school kid when he started as Saturday morning casual, Mr Barrett found a passion for baking and after completing his apprenticeship and returned to the store 20 years ago.
He’s never looked back and when the opportunity came to buy the business he knew he wanted to continue its legacy.
Mrs Barrett was proud to watch her husband and the team bake 100-year-old recipes and the staff greet their regulars by name.
“It was a no-brainer for someone like Dewain to keep going with the business, because it’s so old, all the recipes are traditional, they’re all made from scratch,” she said.
“You get people who say ‘I had Cornish pastry and a jam doughnuts when I was 12 and they’re still the same when I’m 70’.
“You get the old fella who walks in every Saturday, ‘have you got my order ready’, because he knows that it’ll be here when he comes in on Saturday.
“We were frightened that the history would disappear.”
Those Cornish pastries, jam doughnuts plus the cheese tarts and little sausage rolls have long been the bestsellers.
Blown away when he found out the historic bakery had been named number one in the region, Mr Barrett thanked the extended OK Pie Shop family of customers, staff and relatives always willing to pitch in.
“The proof’s in the pudding,” he said.
“The first thing we said to our staff, is it’s no just us.”
“Dewain and I can’t do this on our own, we have amazing 15 staff that work very hard, because we can have a really crazy periods, so without them we wouldn’t be sitting here either,” Mrs Barrett said.
“We love it. We’re so glad we did it, I’m more glad that we were able to keep the pie shop alive.”
The family business also prides itself on supporting locals with leftovers going to Foodbank twice a week and pie drives and sponsorship helping raise funds for kindergartens, schools and dance and sport clubs.
“You get so much support from the community, you’ve got to give it back to whoever you can,” Mrs Barrett said.
“We’ve both been here all our lives and we’re involved in a lot of clubs, our kids do dancing and football and cricket and you name it.
“We’ve both been on committees, we know how hard it is to find funds to replace gear and so this is how we can do our little bit.”
TOP SIX BAKERIES IN THE LIMESTONE COAST
1. OK Pie Shop, Mount Gambier
2. Pastry Place, Robe
3. Andy’s Bakery, Millicent
4. Homestyle Bakery, Mount Gambier
5. ScRoll Queen, Moorak
6. Windara Bakery, Penola
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