New Gerringong Bakery owner Jason Caldwell may have outgrown his mentor Jock Donaldson, but he still looks up to him. Photo: Karen Lateo.
“Will cream buns return to the menu?” “Hope to see the cream buns waiting for me.” “Best cream buns ever – bring them back!”
With the July announcement of Gerringong Bakery’s change of ownership, cream bun nostalgia swept through the town’s social media.
The background of new owner, Jason Caldwell, fuelled the excitement: he was once Jock Donaldson’s apprentice.
Ruddy-cheeked Scotsman Jock was the friendly face of the bakery for 25 years.
When he finally hung up his flour-caked apron in December 2018, the business was transformed into a patisserie, with fancy gateaux and galettes replacing the Australiana fare. Yet Gezza, as locals call their town, never forgot Jock.
“People in the street still say, ‘How are you, Jock?’” the 87-year-old beamed. “They remember all the old things – the lamingtons, custard slices, cream buns.
“I don’t think there was anything special about the cream buns. If it’s baked that day and made fresh and daily, that makes all the difference. Fresh cream, and apple and raspberry jam. Simple.”
Jock moved to Gerringong after a successful baking career in his homeland, in the army and, on immigrating to Australia, in Sydney’s western suburbs.
He’d planned an early retirement by the sea, buying the old Commonwealth Bank site and helping a friend convert it into the original Gerringong Bakery.
As the friend’s business expanded to more outlets, Jock was soon roped into returning to work. The baking centred on a factory in North Nowra, where Jason’s apprenticeship began.
“I remember at North Nowra, they used to do a pie and a can of coke for $2!” Jason laughed.
Now the owner of three Illawarra bakeries, he credits his success to lessons learned at Jock’s side 30 years ago.
“I was 15 when I met Jock,” Jason explained. “I only took up a baking apprenticeship to get out of school. I’d helped out at my mum’s cafe as a kid, so I thought working in a bakery would be similar to what I already knew.
“At first I didn’t like it, but when I swapped to Jock’s shift I started to enjoy it more. I saw that if you’ve got someone to follow, to lead by example, and you worked hard, it pays off.”
Jock Donaldson may have retired, but he plans to visit Gerringong Bakery for the lamingtons. Credit: Karen Lateo.
Jock could see the potential in Jason from the start.
“He was always keen to do new things, and to learn,” Jock recalled, adding that he was just as eager at 14 when he began his baking apprenticeship in Strathaven, his Scottish hometown.
The bond between the master baker and his trainee grew, with Jock driving Jason to and from work.
“I did that for 18 months, and he never ever paid me petrol money,” Jock quipped. Jason fired back swiftly: “I could pay you at the old fuel prices of 30 years ago!”
As the pair banter cheerfully, it’s surprising to learn they didn’t keep in touch. Jock eventually took over ownership of the Gerringong Bakery, and Jason completed his training there and moved on, as young bakers do.
Jock settled into Gezza life, with his five children helping out at the counter or the ovens.
“It was seven days a week, but I didn’t mind it,” he said.
“I’d be baking at 11 o’clock at night and the young blokes used to come in and hassle me, drunk after pub closing time, wanting a feed.”
Unlike Jock’s steadfast loyalty to one business, Jason ran his own bakery in Sanctuary Point for nine years before progressing to Wollongong, where he renovated old bakeries in the city, Coniston and Unanderra.
“We tried to buy the Gerringong Bakery four years ago – the new owner put feelers out only 12 months after he’d bought it from Jock. My wife Robyn and I thought hard about it, but it didn’t work out for us financially,” he said.
“We always had a kind of inkling that one day it would happen, if we waited. It’s not something I’d ever imagined when I was 15, but here we are – full circle.”
They renovated the place in four frantic days, “with a team of family, kids, builders, and painters”. Just like Jock, Jason plans to run the bakery as a family business. His children Lucas, 10, and Ruby, nine, already help out at the Coniston and Unanderra shops, and four-year-old Hallie is keen to start.
Robyn is in charge of marketing and has introduced logo-branded merch, like brightly coloured reusable coffee cups and Jibbitz, the shoe charms that are all the rage with Croc-wearing kids like Lucas.
She set up Jason’s reunion with Jock, capturing the moment for a Facebook post and setting off the crazy cream bun requests.
“This is the fifth bakery I’ve built or bought and renovated and we’ve never had this kind of response,” Jason said.
“People are popping in saying they’re glad someone’s here now who has that background in Jock’s kind of baking. What you see now is not dissimilar to what Jock would have sold here 30 years ago.”
Jock may no longer bake, but he has strong opinions: “Give me the old-fashioned custard tart, vanilla slice, rock cake, a proper pie – none of that fancy junk,” he insisted. “My favourite is a lamington, or a cream bun. Fresh cream, of course.”
Those famous buns will be back soon, Jason promised. He even tried to lure Jock out of retirement to make them. “I offered him a job, but he didn’t want it,” Jason joked.
Jock snapped back, “I’d rather be a customer!”
Gerringong Bakery, 121-123 Fern Street, Gerringong, is open Monday to Friday from 5 am to 5 pm, and 6 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Phone 4234 1167 or email [email protected]
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