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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National

The Canberra student ready to 'bake' on the world

Canberra baking student and Skillaroo Rachel Crawford will be heading to 2022 World Skill Competition Picture: Keegan Carroll

Family gathered together screaming at the TV as Rachel Crawford took home a national gold medal last October.

Now the Canberra baker is now hoping to make the country proud on the international stage.

A part of the national WorldSkills vocational skills team, the Skillaroos, Ms Crawford is preparing to take on the world's toughest baking competition at the WorldSkills Championship to be held in Switzerland in October.

The CIT retail baking student was presented with a certificate and her official national uniform at a ceremony on Friday, having won the retail baking category at last year's WorldSkills Australia National Championship.

"Putting the uniform on, it's the first time we've all seen it, all worn it as a team and it's just made it feel that little bit more real," Ms Crawford said.

Baking was her "happy place", she said, after being introduced to the competitive side of it by her teachers in 2019.

"They kind of gently shoved me in the direction and it turned out I loved it," Ms Crawford said.

Up against 14 strong competitors from the best patisserie schools globally, Ms Crawford said her greatest rivals would be the technically perfect French and Swiss.

"It's a little bit nerve-wracking to not only compete against them, but to compete on their territory," she said.

The retail baking category of competition will be held over two rigorous days, competitors having to put all their skills to the test while having to incorporate all the baking products into an overarching brief.

Ms Crawford was nervous waiting for the theme of the event be released.

"We have to make a range of products, varying from just basic loaves, we've got to make some baguettes, some laminated products such as croissants and danishes, a bit more artisanal-style products, like sourdough and a showpiece as well," she said.

Ms Crawford said she had kept up her skills by practising a little bit of everything and had been experimenting with Australian botanical ingredients until she could find out what she would need to make.

"I've been working on shaping skills, lamination techniques and meddling with different flavours," she said.

"I'm going to try my best to incorporate good Aussie flavours into whatever I can. I'm just hoping that the theme allows it."

After a lengthy lead-up she was looking forward to getting out there and showcasing her skills.

"This is what we've been waiting for. It's going to be really exciting to just do it," she said.

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