Kenilworth Bakery — Restaurant in Sunshine Coast Regional

#1kgdonutchallenge ?!

WAAAAAAT?

I have founds about this place quite recently and I couldn’t wait too long until I pay them a visit and take the challenge! Yes, Kenilworth Country Bakery is the home of the 1Kg donut challenge and not just that!

It is Australia’s first Coffee in a donut!

Ooooh yeah, two favourite foods in one - coffee and donut! They literally have the cutest hand-crafted donuts with the best creativity that I have seen lately and… it gets better, they even have ice cream in a donut, guys! (Sold out on the day)

I would recommend booking before going in to avoid disappointment. And even that... can actually go wrong and to be honest this was kind of a disappointment.

Actually obviously the expectations for the place were huge and no matter how incredible the idea and famous they are the truth is that I tried to book the vegan 1kg donut for the last 2 week before going there. And noticed it was gone from the website and you couldn’t book it anymore.

I tried to send them a message online through Instagram and Facebook and nothing. I even tried to reach out to them and say that I wanted to feature them and would even want to discuss things in a professional way for work... and no one would say anything. Again, Itried to call and nothing again.

So, my friend booked in one of their 1kg donuts and there we go. We took a 49 minute detour from out from the highway to head there, from the GC towards SC, and then an extra 40 minutes to head back to the highway, and we both came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth it at all.

The place wasn’t busy when we got there and we walked in, being surprised but the immense number of plates on the walls and filling out every single place possible on the walls. There were 2 staff members behind the counter at the front and further back there was another member making coffees.

We stared as obviously anyone would and we went to pick my friends order and then I kindly asked if they had the 1kg donut in a vegan version, in a little attempt to have my day made too, for which they said they would check with the cook. While we waited I also asked if it was possible to have a coffee donut in a vegan version and the waitress was so indecisive and so uncertain that not only was she not able to tell if it had or not with certainty even after checking with some colleagues but she was quite rude even.

I got so uncomfortable that I just wanted to leave and wouldn’t want anything for them anymore and while I waited for my friend to pick up the 1kg one I went outside to wait. In the meanwhile another staff member saw what happened and offered to do a coffee on a donut in a vegan version, and my friend also chatted with the cook confirming that they didn’t have any 1kg vegan donut.

The whole situation was so uncomfortable for me to be honest and I really wish we could just not have gone there. My friend said the donut was good and my coffee in a donut was obviously ‘instagramable’, but still an average donut and with way too much peanut butter that becomes sickening (that is needed to create kind of a cover underneath for the coffee not to leak and leave the donut). It is a clear way of attracting costumers and I mean no harm to them by sharing my honest real experience, but I really wished we didn’t go because it just made things unnecessarily uncomfortable like I said. Plus the costumer service has a lot to improve and I think that’s also one of the main reasons why people visit places - if they want a good place, with so many options these days, being nice to people and providing good and a friendly sensible approach is valued. Furthermore, a place that is so highly rated, should definitely have a better marketing and social presence as they would only benefit from it.

But hey, like I said, that was just my honest opinion and experience. I hope others would have had a...

tl;dr: Worth the drive!! | There is parking on the street, but be prepared to walk from a street away | Public toilet is at the park across the road (single stalls not grouped by gender! 🏳️‍🌈)

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~3hr round trip, depending on traffic, totally worth it. Since the last time I went, they've separated the sweet and savoury parts of the bakery, and the lines seem much better. The sausage rolls are some of the best I've ever eaten, the pastry is PERFECT. The pictures don't do justice to the size of the 1kg donuts – they're literally as big as my face. The service people were quite lovely, too.

We managed to get a great parking spot right out front, but be prepared to park in a different street and walk over. They have a seating area in the gap between the two buildings, and that's where they hang the "trophies" of all the bloody legends that did their 1kg challenge; sitting and reading their hilarious quotes is part of the full bakery experience, in my opinion! If seating is full, though, there's also a nice park across the road – bring a picnic blanket! There's a public toilet at the park too, in case you've got a long drive home like I do.

It's a little country town, so be kind to the locals and put your litter in the bin. There are shops along the main stretch where the bakery is, so if you're getting food and want to have a look, be sure to wash your hands and not touch doors and merchandise and what not with...

I visited this bakery sometime in June24 after seeing it been promoted all over Instagram, so I was excited to finally give it a try. After standing in line for quite a while, I have to say, the experience didn’t quite live up to the hype.

The main attraction, the “coffee in a donut,” turned out to be one of the messiest things I’ve ever eaten. The coffee itself wasn’t hot and only amounted to about half the quantity of a regular cup, which was disappointing. Because of the coffee, the donut became soggy, and with every bite, it oozed out, making it a challenge to eat without a mess. From what I noticed, it seems like only tourists were trying this particular item—probably because locals know better than to go for something so impractical 😅.

We also tried some puffs/pies, but they fell flat in terms of flavor. There was hardly any salt, leaving them quite bland. The assorted donuts were nice and they got quite a spread to choose from.

On a positive note, the atmosphere was great. It had a nice vibe, but finding a place to sit on a weekend was tough, given how busy it was.

Overall, I’d say our experience was just okay. There might be some hits on their menu, but for us, it didn’t justify the hype or the long wait despite the good reviews the place has received... Perhaps it was just...