Woolworths Baker of the Year: Dargaville’s Karli Colmer-Cornish vying for top spot

Karli Colmer-Cornish from Dargaville Woolworths is vying for the top spot in the annual Baker of the Year competition. Photo / Supplied

Dargaville’s Karli Colmer-Cornish has been named among the top four bakers in the country and will on Tuesday compete for the top spot in Woolworth’s annual Baker of the Year competition.

Colmer-Cornish, 25, will go up against three others in a bid to win the highly coveted prize - the title Baker of the Year and a spot to compete against Australian bakers.

She’s been working at Woolworths Dargaville since the age of 18 and started her career in the bakery as a bread packer.

In the five years following that she’s been perfecting her craft as a bread baker and working toward an apprenticeship which she qualified for in 2022.

“I’ve been making bread since I was little and I just love it. I quite like the feel of the dough, which is a funny thing to say. But I [also] like making a good product.”

Colmer-Cornish recons she’s dedicated to her work but was never expecting to get as far as she has.

“I didn’t really consider it until they [Champion] came in and told me about it and they thought I had a good shot, so I thought I’d give it a go.”

“I’m nervous and excited, I’m really just keen to give it a good go and see what happens, really. Either way, whatever happens, it will be a good experience.”

She said those around her are excited and think she has a good shot after making it this far against a record 146 entries from across the country.

A panel of baking experts from Champion will be checking the quality of her creations at the Manukau Institute of Technology in Auckland.

She will be judged on three submissions of her choosing and if the winning creation passes the commercial test it could find itself on Woolworths shelves across the country next year.

Her top tips for people trying to perfect their baking skills is to learn to read your dough.

“Just knowing what it’s doing and why it’s doing what it’s doing.”

Colmer-Cornish said in the future she would like to work at a bakery where she can start getting creative and work with sourdough rather than being confined to pre-mixes.

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.