How Banana Boogie, South Australia’s Most Awarded Bakery, Keeps Raising the Bar With Vanrooy Machinery
Banana Boogie Bakery has come a long way from selling banana bread out the back of a car at the markets.
Founded by Jason and Kelly Spencer, it has grown into what is now recognised as the most awarded bakery in South Australia — and in 2026, claimed the title of Best Bakery at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
Vanrooy Machinery is proud to supply and support the equipment behind the bakes that keep taking home gold.
Industry: Retail Bakery
Location: Belair and North Plympton, South Australia
Their Vanrooy Equipment: Mychef QUICK 1T Oven, Salva Iverpan Classic Retarder Prover, Tekno Stamap Industrial Smart 6514 Sheeter, Escher M100P Spiral Mixer, Stoppil S2150AMT Classic Water Meter, Stoppil SP100 Water Chiller, Salva NXE 4 Deck Oven, Fortuna Semi Automatic Dough Divider Rounder, MKN FlexiChef 150L Bratt Pan and Tekno Stamap C Line Planetary Mixer
Every great bakery has an origin story, but few are quite as fitting as Banana Boogie’s. Jason and Kelly Spencer started out at the markets, selling banana bread from the back of a car. Word spread, the operation grew, and a van replaced the boot. Products multiplied, customers multiplied, and eventually the business grew into the two-store operation it is today, with locations in Belair and North Plympton.
What has never changed is the philosophy behind it. As Jase and Kelly put it themselves: fresh, small-batch treats made with love, craftsmanship and a healthy measure of South Australian pride. It is a simple idea, and one that has clearly resonated — not just with their loyal regulars, but with every judging panel that has evaluated their work over the past decade.
A Trophy Cabinet That Keeps Growing
Banana Boogie’s awards record is, by any measure, remarkable.
Their vanilla slice alone has become something of a national benchmark — winning the 2024 Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph outright, then following it up with second place in the country at the same competition in 2025.
Their sausage roll was named the best in Australia for two consecutive years at the Baking Association of Australia‘s South Australian Baking Show awards. At the BAA’s National Trade Show in 2023, they took home Best Plain Meat Pie and Best Gourmet Pastie. In October 2025, they were named Best Bakery at the Greater Adelaide Local Business Awards.
Then, in May 2026, Jason and Kelly took to the stage at the Star Sydney to accept the most prestigious honour yet: Best Bakery at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards. It is a title that reflects not just the quality of their products, but the strength of the business they have built around them — one that has earned recognition across vanilla slices, sausage rolls, hot cross buns, meat pies and pasties alike.
Equipment Built for a Bakery That Never Settles
Behind every award-winning bake is a production setup that can deliver at the highest level, day after day. At Banana Boogie, that means a full suite of Vanrooy equipment across both locations, chosen to support the consistency and output that their reputation demands.
Vanrooy has been working with Banana Boogie since 2016, and as the business has grown, so too has their investment in equipment — continuously expanding their setup to match the scale and ambition of their operation.
Dough is handled with precision using the Escher M100P Spiral Mixer and Tekno Stamap C Line Planetary Mixer, with water temperature and volume controlled by the Stoppil S2150AMT Classic Water Meter and Stoppil SP100 Water Chiller — ensuring that every mix starts in exactly the right conditions.
The Tekno Stamap Industrial Smart 6514 Sheeter brings accuracy to the laminated and pastry work that underpins products like their award-winning sausage rolls and pasties, while the Fortuna Semi Automatic Dough Divider Rounder keeps portioning consistent across the full range.
Fermentation is managed through the Salva Iverpan Classic Retarder Prover, and baking is handled across the Salva NXE 4 Deck Oven and Mychef QUICK 1T Oven — giving the team the flexibility to bake fresh throughout the day without compromising on quality or timing.
Rounding out the production setup is the MKN Flexichef Bratt Pan — one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in the Banana Boogie kitchen. Capable of braising, frying, boiling, steaming and more, the Flexichef gives Jason and Kelly’s team the flexibility to handle a wide range of cooking tasks in a single unit, saving both time and space without compromising on results. For a bakery producing across as many product categories as Banana Boogie, that kind of multi-functional reliability is invaluable.
For a bakery that competes at a national level across multiple product categories, this kind of reliable, professional setup is not a luxury — it is a necessity.
For us at Vanrooy, Banana Boogie is exactly the kind of story we love to be part of. Jase and Kelly have built something genuinely special — a business rooted in community, craft and an unrelenting drive to be better. We look forward to supporting them as they continue to raise the bar.
