Priestley’s Gourmet Delights CEO Xanny Christophersen is on a mission to reinvigorate the cake cabinets of Australia’s cafés.
Xanny Christophersen’s career with Priestley’s Gourmet Delights started at the age of seven. During school holidays, she would help her aunt by packing boxes and delivering cakes.
She’s come a long way since those days of being paid with lunch and a can of Coca-Cola – and so has Priestley’s.
Now, Xanny is CEO and Managing Director of Priestley’s Gourmet Delights, which remains a family-run wholesale bakery specialising in indulgent desserts.
Priestley’s produces more than 270,000 units of cake per week in Brisbane, from cupcakes and cakes to slices and tarts. These are sold through distributors to cafés, hospitals, corporate venues, and pubs around Australia.
The business was founded in 1996 by Xanny’s aunt, Marilyn Jones, when it was known as Priestley’s Fine Foods. At the time, Marilyn collected handmade desserts from Brisbane and distributed them around the Sunshine Coast.
In the three decades since, the company has changed hands, outgrown its location four times, and opened a state-of-the-art factory that harnesses AI-powered technology to increase efficiency.
“We blend innovation with family recipes and a genuine love of sweet treats and indulgent experiences,” Xanny says.
“We’re constantly looking for new ways to improve our desserts, save time, and serve even fresher products. We’ve gone from a fresh manufacturer to a frozen manufacturer to keep up with the evolving needs of the café market. The desserts are frozen on site, so it makes them as fresh as possible and is even better in terms of portion and waste control for café owners.
“Our methods might have changed over the years, but we still use many of our original recipes – now with the help of food technologists, French pastry chefs, and mobile autonomous robots. Even though we’ve implemented AI and automation in our factory, we still finish every product by hand.”
Xanny shares many of the same values as café owners, by pairing quality products with the highest-quality ingredients, which she sources locally where possible.
“The coffee industry does the exact same. Café owners want to source the best beans and serve the best possible cup. I think cake is very similar in that sense,” she says.
“What I love most about Priestley’s is that we’re family-founded and female-led. We stay true to our values and origin story but ensure our business is forward-thinking. We use innovative production methods and develop new products based on continuous consumer research.
“We’re not owned by a global conglomerate and never plan to be. Instead, we serve world-class quality developed by a local team and backed by strong wholesale partnerships.”
Priestley’s has a dedicated innovation team that stays up to date with trends and market research, allowing the business to launch new products every six months.
The latest range is a collection of new cupcakes inspired by nostalgic flavours, including choc mint, caramel, and white chocolate.
Xanny’s favourite dessert and coffee pairings
Vanilla Slice and chai latte
Priestley’s classic Vanilla Slice features creamy vanilla bean custard between layers of delicate pastry, topped with white ganache and feathered with chocolate. Xanny recommends serving it with a chai latte.
“The rich, warming spices in a chai latte balance out the creamy sweetness of the Vanilla Slice,” she says.
Vegan Mud Cake and oat iced latte
“Mouth-watering muddy vegan chocolate cake topped with a creamy chocolate rosette sprinkled with zingy freeze-dried raspberries – this is the perfect partner to an iced oat milk latte,” says Xanny.
“Because oat milk has a naturally creamy and slightly sweet profile, it complements the moist texture of Vegan Mud Cake. This is an ideal combination for those who love sweet treats and follow a plant-based diet.”
Grandma’s Lemon Loaf and English Breakfast tea
For those that enjoy an afternoon cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey, Xanny suggests pairing a pot of tea with a slice of Grandma’s Loaf Cake.
“Our Grandma’s Loaf Cake is a moist and light lemon loaf, featuring a perfect balance of zesty lemon flavour and delicate sweetness. Topped with luscious lemon glaze icing and fragrant rose petals, this elegant treat is ideal for any occasion,” she says.
“The bold flavours of English Breakfast tea cut through the richness of the lemon glaze icing, while the Earl Grey tea is infused with bergamot, which echoes the citrus notes in the loaf.”
Minted Filled Cupcake and long black
“Indulge with our dark chocolate mint cupcake. A dark chocolate base filled with refreshing mint cream and topped with smooth mint buttercream,” says Xanny.
“Finished with a drizzle of dark chocolate and a chocolate shard, it’s a nod to mint-choc favourites like Mint Slice, Cadbury Peppermint, and After Eight.”
The perfect accomplice to this indulgent cupcake? An espresso or long black.
“The naturally bitter notes of the espresso and dark chocolate amplify each other without overwhelming your palate, while the cool mint serves as a refreshing contrast,” she says.
Choc Salted Caramel Tart and mocha
This decadent dessert features a delicate, crunchy chocolate tart shell filled with salted caramel and layered with smooth dark chocolate ganache. It’s topped with crispy chocolate coated wafer pearls.
“The mocha layers a rich, bittersweet chocolate with a coffee kick, making the salted caramel pop even more,” says Xanny.
New York Cheesecake and iced coffee
For this iconic American dessert, Xanny says you can’t beat an iced coffee pairing. Priestley’s version has a traditionally prepared creamy baked New York cheesecake on a biscuit crumb base.
“The creaminess and tartness of the cream cheese and crunch of the biscuit base pairs beautifully with the smoothness of the coffee and cream. This is my personal favourite,” she says.
Xanny’s top tips for café owners
- Pay attention to visual presentation. Customers eat with their eyes, so focus on how the desserts are presented in the cabinet.
- Upskill staff so they know what’s in each dessert offering. The more information they can give customers, the more likely they are to make a sale.
- Offer a dessert each time you take a coffee order. You’ll be amazed how often a simple question will encourage people to enjoy an indulgent treat with their coffee.
For more information, visit priestleys-gourmet.com.au
This article appears in the June 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
