Baker Ben Cooper entered six categories in the 54th annual North Coast National Baking Show in Lismore, coming away with four firsts.

The competition was open to all bakers, apprentice bakers and pastry chefs and saw more than 800 bread lovers compete in categories for show breads, specialty breads, cakes and pastries.

“It’s good to know our bread, baked in such a small regional town, can match up against the bigger players,” Ben said.

“I didn’t know what to expect going into it – it was just to test the waters and see the quality in the area.

“And there were some extremely good entries this year – the judge saying the overall quality was above the standard of other shows he’d seen nationally.”

The competition saw bakers from Southern Qld and Northern NSW compete.

Loaves were assessed according to strict guidelines, based on their volume and general appearance (35 per cent), aroma (20 per cent), texture (30 per cent), and colour (15 per cent).

Baker Ben is no stranger to the winner’s circle having entered a similar competition in Canberra in 2010 before coming to Nambucca in 2011. His accolades at the Canberra/ACT Combined NSW Baking Show were four firsts, one champion and one third – strikingly similar results to Lismore.

“I specialise in sourdoughs and artisan breads and stick to a more traditional style of baking – using hand crafted methods and baking on a stone instead of conventional oven,” he said.

“I come from a family of bakers, four generations, and thought I’d give it a go … my passion for it grew and now I’ve been in the trade for more than 10 years.”

Ben’s winning loaves were:

Champion loaf – Kalamata Olive and Rosemary Poolish

Reserve Champion – Wholemeal block

First – Ciabatta loaf

First - Organic white sourdough loaf.