It has been 165 years since Balfours Bakery opened its kitchens to the world. For some perspective, that’s almost as long as this city has been known as Adelaide! Casting back to that golden time of childhood, some of my most treasured memories are the lunches with my grandma spent at the Balfours Bakery in Rundle Mall. That beautiful dark wooden interior, the fresh made sandwiches and a sweet cake cut to share… How many of us have similar memories?

During the past century and a half (and then some) Balfours have continually crafted their iconic range of savoury pastries and sweets. A bit more recent in Balfours history was the launch of the chocolate custard tart last year. This might be a bit of an unpopular opinion but their glorious chocolate tart, when eaten super chilled, outshines even their famous custard tart. If you haven’t tried one already, it’s probably a good idea that you remedy that injustice…

Flash forward to this year and you’ll find Balfours launching two new ranges of products. With a keen eye focused on Australia’s demands for healthier food options, Balfours have put together a range of vegan pastries and the Better Bite range of reduced fat and increased nutrient pastries for schools across the country.

To celebrate these launches, and their birthday of course, Balfours threw a smashing party at the Freemason’s Hall in the city. The event was complete with tasting tables for each of their ranges, a live sweets icing station, roving frog cake mascots, a strings trio and everyone’s favourite take home boxes.

I can happily report that the vegan range was not just good, it was real good. Balfours have created a lentil and potato pie, a mushroom kale and leak pie, a leek and rosemary roll (sausage rolls sans sausage) and a roast veggie pasty with eggplant, onion, potato and sweet potato.

Personally, I prefer these to their meaty compatriots and not just because of the vegetarian life that I’m trying to lead. The pastries were very well spiced and I particularly enjoyed the smoky curry flavours. It’s great to see such a traditional brand take this bold step forward and catering towards the plant based diet of the future. Their new vegan range gets two big thumbs up from over here!

Words by Vanessa De Chellis