Yass’ very own Clementine Bakery was recently featured in Broadsheet’s list of the top nine bakeries across regional NSW.
The publication largely targets city dwellers as a city guide and culture magazine, which covers news related to food and drink, fashion, art and design, entertainment, health and fitness.
Pre-Covid, Clementine was a fine dining restaurant – but after the 2020 lockdown its owners, Brooke Sainsbery and Adam Bantock, decided to switch gears and become a permanent bakery.
Brooke said due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Clementine was only able to have a dozen people in the restaurant at a time which wasn’t viable.
“So as the lockdowns and the social distancing, restrictions continued, we just fell back onto the way we always served at the restaurant, and we just started baking more product.”
“It was just the right decision for us at that time,” Brooke said. “I think looking back now, it really was the right decision, because we’re back to spacing out tables.”
“It’s a hard gig at the moment for sit-down hospitality venues.”
“Whereas a bakery – It’s just restrictions on how many people you can have in the shop at a time, which has kind of made it easier.”
Brooke said they’re still aiming to deliver a high-quality product and were very happy to hear about their mention in Broadsheet’s Nine to try: Best Regional NSW Bakeries Worth Travelling For.
“It was really lovely to get listed in there,” she said. “We felt very honoured.”
Brooke said it was quite a spread of bakeries from across the state, including both new and established shops.
The other notable mentions include Burnt Honey Bakery in Copacabana on the Central Coast; Black Cockatoo Bakery in the Blue Mountains; the four Flour Water Salt bakeries in Kiama, Milton Houskisson and Bowral; Morpeth Sourdough in the Hunter Valley, Dojo Bread in nearby Braidwood; Honorbread in Bermaguo on the South Coast; Racine Bakery in Orange; and Milkwood Bakery in Berry.
“We’re really surprised and very happy to be included in that.”
Based in the main street of town, the bakery makes everything by hand in small batches using local ingredients.
Tourists and locals alike visit for beautiful sourdough loaves, an outstanding rosemary and sea salt focaccia, perfectly flaky croissants and that Aussie classic, the caramel slice.
Brooke said their sourdough is Clementine’s best seller followed by their pastries.
By Brianna O’Rourke
