He made it into the final three, competing in Auckland on August 30, but missed out on the winner’s trophy, which went to a Whangarei woman.
With only three points between the winner and the third-placed baker, it was a "very, very tight" competition, Mr Cameron said.
"It’s an experience I’m not going to forget in a hurry," he added.
"The support I had from my team and managers [in Mosgiel] was unbelievable."
That helped him face a panel of 23 judges in Auckland.
"I usually bake big volumes, so the small quantity required for the bake-off saw me applying baking maths criteria," he said.
Previous experience in restaurants helped with that aspect, too.
Networking was an invaluable part of the experience and he was intrigued to learn that what worked in bakeries varied around the country — "One thing that sells somewhere just won’t sell in another area."
There have been suggestions that Paul Cameron’s Turkish bread and banoffee layer cake may be developed at his store, so he has his fingers crossed, as do his customers.
