Tom Laing’s plan was to retire at 75, what would be his 60th year as a baker, but life had other ideas.
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After he was diagnosed with skin cancer, Mr Laing with wife Ann decided to put their Yackandandah business up for sale last year.
The apron was hung up, apparently for good.
But his son Ashlee, who co-owns Teddy’s Joint in Tallangatta, had one last hurrah planned for his father.
“He never got to finish at the bakery the way he wanted to – so having him as a guest baker for Good Friday was a way of marking his retirement,” he said.
“It was also a trial – we want to invite people to come in and do specialty things.”
Father and son baked 300 hot cross buns, each batch cooked fresh on the hour, reminding Mr Laing how much he’s loved his trade since starting as an apprentice with Winns bakery in Albury.
“We sold a business in Brisbane, and the dream was to have my own business in a country town, so we found Yackandandah,” he said.
“The bakery hadn’t even been going for 10 years when we took over in 1981.
“It’s lovely to have people come in and say ‘Your product is the best we’ve ever tasted’ – people used to come from Queensland and say ‘We’ve heard about your pies’.
“That used to give me a kick along.”
Over the years “everything went high-speed”; dough that once needed three hours could now be worked on in 20 minutes; ovens became electric; mixers mixed faster.
But for Mr Laing it was taking away the craft – it was becoming manufacturing rather than baking.
Ashlee recalls many discussions about new equipment that were shut down.
“He’d say ‘nope, I don’t want it’,” he said.
“The bakery was part of our house in many ways.
“You would walk through the bakery to get to our house, so catching the bus to school we would get a hot roll out of the oven with butter and Vegemite.
“It was a big part of our family.”
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It’s seeing how Ashlee has pursued his own passion for food, and where all of his children are now, that Mr Laing labels his greatest achievement.
“It’s where they are today – one’s a school teacher, my youngest is a baker by trade, and Ashlee has gone in leaps and bounds,” he said.
“I’m doing OK (after having the melanoma removed) and I’ve just got to keep a positive mind.
“I couldn’t have gotten through the last 12 months without my family.”
And without his loyal customers, Mr Laing wouldn’t have gotten anywhere at all.
“People in Yackandandah were just great – they say it’s the tourists, but it was the locals that looked after me and I really appreciate that.
“I miss it, but things have to come to an end.”