Artisan doughnuts a hole in one for 15-year-old doughnutier Morgan Hipworth, founder of Melbourne’s Bistro Morgan

YOUNG doughnut king Morgan Hipworth is notable for a few things. First, his mouth watering array of sweet treats. And then there’s the fact he’s just 15.

Year 10 student Morgan Hipworth at home in the kitchen where he prepares his Bistro Morgan gourmet doughnuts which he supplies to about 12 cafes. Picture: Nicole Cleary

MELBOURNE’S doughnut king Morgan Hipworth is notable for a few things. First, his mouth watering array of treats are making major culinary waves in cafes around Melbourne. Second, his creations often come topped with deliciousness-filled syringes, primed to inject extra goodness into his product. And then there’s the fact he’s just 15.

Since a chance chat with staff at a Caulfield cafe in 2013 led to a sample order of the young cook’s baked goodies, Bistro Morgan has grown into a 40 hour a week business for the affable Year 10 student. Every weekend he hand-makes about 500 “artisan” doughnuts for six cafes around the city.

“I’ve pretty much kind of liked cooking since I was seven or eight and that was really just it came on because of MasterChef,” Morgan explains. “I was watching that and thought, ‘You know if they can do it I can do it.’”

As a young boy, every Saturday and Sunday night the self-taught Morgan would cook all day and set up the dining room and invite his parents and sometimes even his grandparents to indulge in a three course meal. “I called it Bistro Morgan, so that’s where the name originated,” he says.

Morgan Hipworth’s delicious doughnuts on display.

An avid baker, it was after moving into gourmet doughnuts (he’s created more than 1500 flavours) that Bistro Morgan took off outside the family dining room. While he’s happy with the success, CommBank’s Australian of the Day refuses to rest on his laurels. “Donuts might not always be the flavour of the month,” he points out. “I’m doing business management at school this year and next year I’m also doing accounting and a hospitality course which at the end will basically qualify me as a chef.”

That’s when his larger goals will come into sharper focus. “I’ve also wanted to have my own restaurants and cafes,” says Morgan. “That’s still my plan. I want fine dining restaurants, you know, top 100 in the world — right down to a casual bistro and then to an everyday cafe.”

If that’s not a recipe for success, nothing is.

CommBank has partnered with News Corp Australia to champion the Australian of the Day initiative which celebrates people in our neighbourhoods and communities who really make a difference to how we live and who we are. You can read all their stories at australianoftheday.com.au, where you can also nominate someone you know.