CRAFT Bakers Story Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni
Q
uality is the cornerstone of everything made at Johnny Ripe. Given that its proprietors Michelle Ball and Adam Dargan are fully qualified world-class chefs, it’s not surprising that their baked goods are distinctive and delicious. If anything, they are overqualified, but as they are also raising three young children, quality of life is just as important to them as the quality of their products.
Their little factory in Mornington is humming away six days a week with a team of ten, including Michelle and Adam, hand making every single meat pie, fruit pie, brownie, savoury tart, doughnut, cronut, sausage roll and slice.
Every part of the process from preparing the ingredients to baking to packaging is done onsite and handcrafted with care using real top quality ingredients. (Yes, that means real butter and lots of it. They go through a tonne of butter a week!) None of their products contain fillers or preservatives. While quality does not come cheap, their products are worth it, not just for their great taste, but also for what customers get. Their family pies are 1.2kg of real goodness. Their baked goods are made to come to a customer’s table just as they were when they left the factory. That takes hard work - something this dynamic duo knows all about. continued next page...
October 2019
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