“Time to make the donuts!”… anyone know the 80’s TV commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts where Fred the Baker woke up at some ungodly hour in the morning to make fresh doughnuts? (If you don’t, you’ll find it on YouTube). Dunkin’ Donuts no longer make doughnuts on site, but SmokeWorks do. They’re fresh, tasty and definitely NOT factory processed!

Back in August 2014, I posted a review of SmokeWorks (which you can find here) so I was asked to sample Head Chef Vladimir Hromek’s latest culinary adventure… the humble doughnut, with a twist. Vladimir has ‘zhuzhed up’ his doughnuts with a variety of sweet and savoury fillings, which at first may sound like an odd combination but they really work. I sampled all four of them and I can safely say Vladimir is an intrepid adventurer in the world of doughnuts! He has perfected the batter and has put his skills to the test by creating some innovative fillings.

The doughnuts were cut in half so Paulo and I could share the samples. They would normally be served whole. It was a great way to fully appreciate the fillings though!

The first doughnut I sampled was a savoury one filled with pulled pork and bacon jam. It was more like a slider with the doughnut serving as the ‘bun’.

This combination of sugar, pork and bacon jam may sound incongruous so you really need to taste it to fully appreciate all of the flavours.

The doughnut itself is less sweet than an average doughnut to balance the pork and the sweetness of the jam. I think it makes a delicious starter or dessert… your choice!

Next up was the strawberry and cheesecake donut with its subtle flavours. Its filling was creamy but not too sweet. It makes a very comforting dessert!

The cinnamon sugar and apple puree doughnut was a nice combination of the sweetness (and aroma) of cinnamon with the fresh, crisp taste of apples. A tasty and refreshing way to end your meal!

The peanut butter custard doughnut sounded the most odd to me but proved to be my favourite of all four. I expected the peanut butter to be thick and gooey but it was quite the opposite. The peanut butter was subtly blended into the custard, giving the filling a creamy consistency with a delicate nutty flavour. This was the perfect “comfort food” dessert for me.

I was also offered a sample of the tuna and mackerel sweet potato fritter, one of their relatively new menu items (the regular portion includes 3 fritters). I especially enjoyed the fritter’s garden-fresh topping of cucumber raita with buttermilk and pomegranate seeds.

With our appetites well and truly whet, Paulo and I proceeded to order dinner. Some of our favourite menu items are the BBQ pork spare ribs, beef dripping mash and salted caramel milkshake (this time with a shot of bourbon). Once again, they did not disappoint.

I’d like to thank SmokeWorks for inviting me to the doughnut tasting and Vladimir Hromek for taking the time to give me a private sampling when I couldn’t attend the main one last Friday.

SmokeWorks will be including some of the doughnuts in their menu, starting this weekend. There was also talk of a mojito-style cocktail doughnut. Stay tuned!

SmokeWorks invited me to attend the doughnut tasting so I could give them my opinion on the flavours. All views are my own. SmokeWorks were unaware that my experience would be the basis of a written review. The doughnuts and fritter were complimentary but dinner was at my own cost. I did not receive compensation for my review.

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