Big Bear’s Donuts in Lakes Entrance has just been named ‘Australia’s Best Regional Doughnut’ by the team behind Empty Esky.
Owner of Big Bear’s Donuts, Ewan Fotheringham, couldn’t be happier with the award, which is sweet recognition for the hard slog he’s put into establishing the business.
“I’m humbled,” he told the Post.  
“I’ve had amazing local support and it’s great to have the tourists too.”  
Mr Fotheringham opened Big Bear’s Donuts 18 months ago after being a commercial fisherman for 12 years “chasing flathead and prawns”.
The decision to do so was essentially forced upon him after changes to the fishing industry had Mr Fotheringham worried about his family’s economic future.
“It was becoming much harder with all the regulations,” he said.
Starting out with a donut food van to get the business off the ground, Mr Fotheringham and his wife, Shannon, have now opened a shop on the Esplanade at Lakes Entrance and life couldn’t be better.
With 20 different varieties of donuts on offer, they’re flying out the door to feed the appetites of an insatiable public, who seemingly can’t get enough.
“They’re all made by hand, using our own fillings,” Mr Fotheringham said proudly.
While the traditional iced and jam donuts are still favorites with the crowd, caramel, white chocolate, raspberry and musk stick flavors are doing a roaring trade.
“The Nutella custard filled donut is very popular as are the original glaze donuts,” Mr Fotheringham said.
The idea of making donuts for a living stems from Mr Fotheringham’s childhood. He hardly saw his father while growing up in Bendigo, so Sunday’s were always a special time when he did get to spend time with his dad.  
“We’d either be at home with jam and cream scones he had made or he’d take us to the lake for hot jam donuts,” Mr Fotheringham said.
As an offshore commercial fisherman, Mr Fotheringham worked for someone else while his new venture means the only person he has to answer to is himself and it’s a role he appears to be enjoying, although he admits “it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride” with COVID-19 stifling the business just as it was gaining some momentum. “We were shutdown for COVID but we did have home deliveries all over East Gippsland,” Mr Fotheringham said.
“But once COVID (lockdown) lifted everyone came to us.
“It’s been great for the town, we have people driving up from Sale just for our donuts.”
While he admits “it’s a big day” starting just before midnight in order to make large batches of donuts and finishing at 5pm the following day before he closes up shop, Mr Fotheringham is running on adrenaline.
“I’m doing massive hours,” he said as he pumped chocolate into a tray of donuts.
“I’ve got more help on the way, so I can go back to 12 hours in a day instead of 20.”
Big Bear’s Donuts is open six days a week from 5.30am to 4pm unless the donuts sell out.
Monday is Big Bear’s rest day.

IMAGE: Big Bear’s Donuts’ Ewan Fotheringham puts the finishing touches to a batch of donuts at his Lakes Entrance shop last week. K134-509