No award-winning cinnamon scroll goes to waste with Too Good to Go
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Master baker Natalie Van den Bosch ensures that each day, her ovens at Pialligo Bakesmith are cranking so customers can eat their fill of her patisserie goods within hours (sometimes minutes) of being baked.
This attention to detail, constant refreshing of counters, and ultimate pastry perfection has earned her the recent title of Australia’s Best Cinnamon Scrolls (more on that in a bit), but it also means that sometimes, she bakes more than is consumed.
That’s where Too Good to Go steps in.
Founded in 2015 in Copenhagen by a group of young entrepreneurs who shared a dream of finding a solution for the massive amounts of food wasted by buffet restaurants in Denmark, the scheme has spread around the world and last year arrived in Canberra to a very warm welcome.
Too Good To Go offers a simple solution: An app allows businesses – big or small – to turn unsold food into revenue by giving users access to discounted bags of food that would normally make their way to the bin.
For Natalie, a small business owner working long hours to produce beautiful premium baked goods, the thought of tossing even one of her matcha-crème-filled, white-chocolate-dipped croissants in the bin, having laboured to make each one a work of art, is heartbreaking.
“Any waste is distressing for us, so to be able to sell it at a discount and to have someone enjoy it really is a no-brainer,” she says.
Three Mills Bakery was the first independent Canberra bakery to launch on the app last April, with the big nationals, Bakers Delight and Roll’d also on board. Pialligo Bakesmith joined last June.
The app enables users to log in to see what food suppliers have listed a “surprise” bag of goods for collection that day. Bags sell for around $9.99, with the contents being valued at around $30.
Natalie tries to supply a minimum of four bags each day, although quiet days can bring more to market.
The app brings exposure to potential new customers who can try a discount pastry before deciding to bring friends and enjoy the place as full-price-paying diners.
“We have a local Facebook group which provides a lot of commentary and chat about who offers what and when,” says Natalie.
“Mostly I love not having to fill our bin up at the end of the day,” she says.
“And apart from not throwing good food away, it allows businesses to recoup some money for our goods – even if it is at a discount. People always seem excited to come in and I always like to give them a choice of pastries,” she says.
And yes, she tried to include the odd cinnamon scroll, which is currently her top selling item and which she sometimes bakes up to 300 each day over Saturday and Sunday.
Natalie perfected her scroll technique during her time running Le Bon Mélange Pâtisserie.
She recently received viral exposure after being judged the best scroll in Australia by foodfluencer @godgiventalent, who rated Natalie’s “moist” and minimally iced scrolls as perfection against hot competition from across the country.
Natalie says her secret is long experience making the sweet and fragrant scrolls and melting the icing through the dough rather than having it slathered over the top. They are best served warm and eaten early in the day, or as an afternoon treat, or ideally both.
“I bake them constantly throughout the day to satisfy demand and ensure they are fresh,” she says.
Thankfully, the Too Good to Go app means not one precious scroll will end up in landfill.
