How Gumnut Patisserie Has Kept the Southern Highlands Queuing for 30 Years
Thirty years is a long time to do anything. Thirty years of selling out before lunch, training apprentices and producing large quantities of handcrafted pastries every single day, without shortcuts? That’s something else entirely.
Industry: Artisan Patisserie, Chocolate Confectionery, Wholesale Baking
Location: Bowral, Mittagong, Berrima, Southern Highlands NSW
Vanrooy Equipment Used: Gemm Blast Freezer, Chocolate World Enrobing Line, 3x Chocolate World CW40 Tempering Machines, Salva Deck Oven, Salva Rack Oven, Salva Retarder Prover, Delfin Esla, Escher Mixer, MKN FlexiChef Bratt Pan, Watercut High Pressure Water Cutting Machine, Fortuna Automat Bun Divider Rounder
Tracy and Vicki Nickl built Gumnut Patisserie from a single Southern Highlands site into a three-location operation across Bowral, Mittagong and Berrima. The business grew not through marketing campaigns or franchise models, but through product quality so consistent that locals would set their alarms to beat the weekend queues.
It’s even got to the point where it’s hot on the list of tourist destinations in the region, with shelves clearing by mid-morning.
For patisseries, this kind of demand is a wonderful problem to have, but it’s still a problem. For Gumnut Patisserie, keeping up with demand across multiple locations, while maintaining the handcrafted standard they’d built their reputation on, required equipment that could genuinely go the distance.
A Partnership Built Over Time
We’ve been working with Gumnut Patisserie since 2017, and what’s grown from that is about as close to a full-kitchen partnership as it gets. Pretty much all of the equipment running through their operations has come through Vanrooy.
Tracy and Vicki know exactly what they need and they’ve spent three decades learning what good equipment looks like. When they moved to expand their chocolate production and upgrade key parts of their patisserie, they came to us knowing we’d find the right fit.
The key equipment we’ve supplied includes:
Chocolate World Enrobing Line: the centrepiece of their chocolate and confectionery production, allowing Gumnut to coat and finish product at genuine commercial volumes without losing the handcrafted finish their customers expect.
3x Chocolate World CW40 Tempering Machines: precision tempering across their chocolate range, producing that clean snap and gloss that separates a quality patisserie from everyone else.
Salva Deck Ovens: the heavy-duty backbone of their daily pastry production across all three locations, built to handle the kind of output Gumnut needs day in, day out. They even came to Spain with us to visit Salva and pick out their oven.
The original Gumnut site has also expanded over the years by purchasing neighbouring properties, growing the kitchen footprint to match the business.
We also connected with Tracy and Vicki through the Baking Association of Australia, which Vanrooy proudly sponsors. At Vanrooy, we believe in supporting the industry we love, through initiatives like the WorldSkills Competition and the deep relationships we build along the way. Our connection with Gumnut goes well beyond a simple business transaction; it’s a genuine friendship, with Vanrooy team members attending Josh’s wedding (son of Tracy and Vicki) and travelling together over the years.
Three Locations, Three Decades, Still Selling Out
Gumnut Patisserie is one of those businesses that genuinely speaks for itself. The queues, the hard-earned reputation and the growth has been steady and deliberate.
Since working with us, here’s where the business stands:
Three retail locations across Bowral, Mittagong, and Berrima, all operating at high daily volume
30 years of continuous operation, with no signs of slowing down
Expanded original Bowral site by acquiring neighbouring properties to grow production capacity
Chocolate production scaled through the Chocolate World enrobing and tempering setup, adding a premium confectionery range to the offering
Active apprentice training program running alongside production, developing the next generation of pastry chefs in the Southern Highlands
Online ordering now live, giving customers a way to pre-order and collect, reducing the early-morning scramble
Next generation coming through: the Nickl family business is growing, with Josh, Jamie and baby Billie-Mae representing the future of Gumnut
The fact that Tracy trained for seven years with a Swiss pastry chef and still insists there are no shortcuts tells you everything about why this business has lasted.
Serious About Patisserie? Let's Talk!
If you're thinking about upgrading your chocolate production, your oven setup, or anything else in the kitchen, come and see it running at our Dandenong South warehouse, or just give us a call.
Gumnut Patisserie operates across three Southern Highlands locations: Bowral, Mittagong, and Berrima. See the team hard at work on their Instagram: @thegumnutpatisserie.
