North EndBakehouse

Matt and Shekiah Aylett took over a modest suburban bakery in Shepparton in 2014, building on a site that had been baking bread under earlier names for decades, and have since turned it into one of the most decorated bakeries in the country by two very specific measures. Its hot cross bun took the national title in 2021 and 2022; its vanilla slice did the same in 2023 and again in 2024, the first time any bakery had held both crowns in the same year. None of it reads as gimmick — the shop still turns out the full suburban repertoire of pies, sausage rolls, cakes and slices for a Goulburn Valley trade that has nothing to do with awards, the vanilla slice recipe refined over years rather than built for competition. Matt began his apprenticeship in 2006, learning the trade before eventually buying the business he trained in. A second site opened in nearby Mooroopna in 2023, but the flagship on Grant Court remains the draw for anyone chasing the specific, hard-won craft behind a slice of custard between two sheets of pastry.