“I just wanted doughnuts, and I decided I was going to learn how to make them,” says Janell Smith, as she reminisces about her American holiday in 2013. While she was visiting her country of birth, something happened to her – she fell in love with baked goods.

In a country where quality doughnuts are easily accessible, (and acceptable as a breakfast food for 15 days in a row while on holiday), Smith knew she couldn’t leave without them. Upon returning to her second home in Sydney, she went through six months of trial-and-error with a stack of doughnut recipes, finally securing her perfect mixture. Smith continued to experiment with flavours under the name Woah Nelly, which sounds even better with her American accent.

Smith is churning out dense, doughy goods from her grassroots set up in Dural, in Sydney’s north-west. Her made-to-order treats are a testament to her dedication to the dough. All orders are made on the same day as delivery to ensure the best quality, even if it means waking up at 3.30am for Smith and her husband, Adam, who lends a hand for large orders.

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Choose from the standard menu of Homer Simpson, maple bacon, stuffed Nutella, Oreo peanut butter, salted caramel and pretzel, peanut butter & jelly or caramel rough. Smith is also open to flavour suggestions as she’s always adding to her repertoire.

CBD deliveries (which are free) are made on Fridays and a box of nine doughnuts is $36. Orders must be placed by 3pm on Thursdays. Woah Nelly doughnuts have appeared in places such as The Baron and The Tuckshop in Sydney’s north-west, but these have been one-offs and her focus is individual deliveries in the CBD. Smith is also open to larger orders for events and the like.

Smith nails it when she says, “It’s fun to drop doughnuts to someone’s office and think, ‘You’re going to have so much fun, you’re going to be so popular today.’” With a promise like that, you best be placing an order (via email), or just stalk her Instagram which features baked goods and Boston Terriers.

Woah Nelly

woahnellybakes@gmail.com

instagram.com/woahnellybakes