Top hot cross bun maker

By Frank Neill

Nada Bakery is a top hot cross bun maker.

With two shops – one in Johnsonville and one in Tawa – Nada bakery has continued its success in Wellington, once again taking out Best Hot cross bun.

The bakery followed that victory with a Silver Medal in the National Baking NZ annual Hot Cross Bun competition.

Nada Bakery’s entry this year was their Traditional Hot Cross bun.

“We entered the exact same Hot Cross Buns that we sell in store,” Nada Bakery’s owner Michael Gray says.

“There is no point in entering something that you don’t make”

Michael puts down his success to three factors.

The first is having a great team where each member takes pride in what they create.

The second is using quality ingredients.

The third factor is team members taking time to blend their own spice blend in-house and having a passion for excellence.

The ingredients in this award-winning bun include sultanas, currants, mixed peel, a blend of spices including cassia, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamomand a touch of cloves.

“We make the dough and then gently fold the fruit and spices through,” Michael says.

“We then let the dough have a briefbulk fermentation to allow the flavours to enhance before rolling each bun by hand, baking to perfection and then glazing with apricot and Yuzu-infused glaze.”

Michael says he has already had a large increase in demand, seeing the inbox full overnight with orders to be sent all over the country or collected instore.

“The support from our customer base has been amazing.

“We love this time of year as the bakery is full of that magical aroma,” he says.

This year is Nada Bakery’s 48th year in business.

The bakery now has another award to add to its trophy cabinet after having success in the last several years of baking competitions including several Gold medals in the Supreme Pie awards.

Nada Bakery is a family business and Michael attributesits success to the fact that the whole family is involved in some way.

“Judith, my mother, is involved with admin and retail and my sister Rebecca and brother Ben have both worked in the business and still come in to lend a hand from time to time.”

Nada Bakery’s Hot Cross Buns are available at their shops in Johnsonville and Tawa, and at Moore Wilsons. People can also order online www.nadabakery.co.nz.

Auckland’s Daily Bread was the winner of the 2023 hot cross bun competition and Copenhagen Bakery of Christchurch was third.

Churton Park fun night

Churton Park School will hold its Family Fun Night from 5pm to 7pm tomorrow evening, 24 March.

There will be pizza, drinks, lollies, a bouncy castle and the magic man himself with his ice cream truck.

There will also be a sausage sizzle to raise funds for the year 6 students’ camp.

EFTPOS will not be available, so sales will be cash only.

The school is also still look- ing for volunteers to help with the road patrol on Thursday afternoons.

All it requires of the volunteers is to stand at the pedestrian crossing with the road patrollers to ensure the children crossing the road are safe. The road patrol parent helpers serve for 15 minutes – from 2:55 to 3:10pm. For more information to join the programme contact mareeg@churtonpark. school.nz.

Contemporary dance classes are now being held from 6:45 to 7:45pm on Tuesday evenings at the Newlands Community Centre.

Laura Ryan is running the classes and for more information people can ring Laura on 027 429 4801.

Onramp closed

The Glenside and Churton Park northbound onramp on State Highway 1 will be closed tonight, 23 March. This is to allow for light pole replacements.

People will need to detour using alternative routes.

Malaysian Society

The New Zealand Malaysian Society will hold its annual meeting at the Johnsonville Collective Community Hub on 16 April, starting at 4pm. The meeting is open to the society’s patron and its financial members.