90 Second Statement - Tonitto Cakes

20 March 2024

Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (13:40): There is some competition between the Illawarra and the Hunter again, and today it's on baked goods. This year marks 50 years of one of the Illawarra's most loved bakeries, Tonitto Cakes in Port Kembla. Vince and Adalgisa Tonitto started and ran the business from January 1974 through to June 1995. Adalgisa, the true matriarch of the Tonitto family, passed down her handwritten Italian recipes of the famous cannolis and continental cakes which still features as fan favourites to this very day. Vince and Adalgisa passed the reins over to their children and grandchildren, Laurence, Paul, Annamaria, Gemma, Loretta, Claudia, Olivia and Jacob, in 1995 but continued to work at the bakery they loved until 2002.

After 46 years of the Tonitto family at the helm, the bakery found loving new owners in Wayne and Jane Henderson. Wayne and Jane took over the business in 2020, and, whilst they have stayed true to the Italian heritage and infamous menu, they couldn't help but introduce some new additions. Wayne's beef and Guinness pie has been a hit and won silver in the Baking Association of Australia's best pies competition last year.

With Labor's tax cuts, 84 per cent of people in my electorate will receive a larger tax cut. This means more money in people's pockets to spend at local businesses like Tonitto Cakes—so you can have your cake and eat it too! Some of the highest praise on the day definitely centred around the classic continental cake.