Fat Thursday: Wellington bakery celebrates Polish holiday with 'doughnut day'

Traditionally, it's a day of eating large quantities of cakes and sweets and other meals usually avoided during Lent, and is celebrated in countries including Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece.

But in Poland, the day is a nationwide festival, and one of the favourite dishes of choice is pączki - a filled doughnut.

At Masovia Craft Bakery in Wellington, the team had spent many hours preparing for the sweetest day of the year, filling their cabinets with 1,200 doughnuts and opening an hour earlier than usual.

It's the second Fat Thursday or - Tłusty Czwartek - the bakery has celebrated, having opened their Wellington branch in September 2023.

This year, their selection included eight varities of pączki - including custard and blackcurrant, apricot, chocolate, cheese, marmalade and Advocaat.

Within two hours of opening, more than 600 had been snapped up, with families leaving the store with trays full of the sugary treats.

"It's been absolutely manic today," said member of staff Paulina Kurstak.

"We've sold a lot more than we did last year. Half of our doughnuts went within the first two hours and we've had to have another 400 delivered."

As well as being a celebration of excess, community and togetherness - Paulina said it gave people a beloved opportunity to "chuck the diet out of the window".