Anna Spurling
Co-owner, La Madre Bakery

Anna's a Geelong girl through and through with a sports science degree and a couple of rowing titles under her belt, moved to London in 1999 and worked at Octagon Marketing where she met Tez Kemp, now hubbie and business partner.

With a bun in her own oven Anna moved with Tez back to Geelong and in 2006 the couple took over the reins at La Madre Bakery. Anna has worked tirelessly to reinvigorate the business into the successful 'benchmark' operation that it is today, with a strong "green" philosophy. In 2010, she got the nod from the Carbon Reduction Institute for creating a carbon neutral hot cross bun; the first of its kind in Australia.

Anna is studying a Dip. Management and a Dip. Sustainability alongside her role on the SME Reference Group for Future Proofing Geelong.

Anna likes her bread toasted, buttered, re-buttered and eaten immediately.

Tez Kemp
Co-owner, La Madre Bakery

Tez was born in Colchester and bred in Worcester, England, the hometown of possibly England's greatest export, Worcester sauce.

Before moving to Geelong to settle down, raise a family and run a business, Tez was booted and suited in London as a sports marketing gun, and also worked on red-carpet events such as the global launch of Die Another Day. In 2006, when the couple decided that dough was their schtick, Tez retrained as a highly specialised baker under the expert tutelage of Antun Spoljaric, a Croatian with a passion for making great bread and the founder of La Madre.  Five years on, Tez still loves the smell of freshly baked bread and is responsible for new product development and recipe testing. Tez has also overhauled the entire bakery operations and hand moulded it into the slick and happy operation that runs today.

Anna and Tez's savvy set up won them the Geelong Business Excellence Awards 2008 'Small Business Award', the Baking Industry of Victoria 'Bakery Manufacturer of the Year 2009', and Geelong Business Excellence Awards 2010 'Medium Business Award'.

Tez sits on the board of the Baking Industry Association of Victoria and the Integrity Committee for the Golden Plains Farmers Market.

Tez likes his bread hot and straight from the oven, dipped in Mount Zero extra virgin olive oil.
La Madre's co-owners,
Tez Kemp & Anna Spurling