Bakers Gear up to Compete in Pie Awards

Bakers Gear up to Compete in Pie Awards

Save these dates:

Judging Day: 21st July

Awards’ Night: 26th July

10 May 2016

Kiwis love their pies and research company Canstar Blue recently found that Steak and Cheese pies are the most popular amongst New Zealanders, followed by Potato Top and Bacon & Egg. All these flavours and much more will be entered into this year’s 20th Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards. As entries open, New Zealand bakers are gearing up for one of the most competitive years yet.

The Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards are the biggest food awards in the country, hugely valuable to New Zealand bakers. “It is the pinnacle of the industry. It takes dedication and a lot of hard work to make a pie worthy of winning this award. It shows real skill,” says Brent Kersel, Managing Director at NZ Bakels.

Kersel has judged the prestigious awards for 10 years. Texture, colour, flavour and gravy proportion to meat are the top factors when looking for the wow factor in a pie’s filling.

Over his many years of judging, Kersel has seen quality standards of all pies lift to a very high level. When asked what makes a good quality baker Kersel says simply, “Passion. It is a craft, a love of good food.”

Judging day begins at 7am and doesn’t finish until 6pm depending on the amount of entries, which steadily grow every year. Over 5000 pies are judged from more than 550 bakers around the country.

With competition getting hotter every year, previous winners plan to enter multiple categories in the hopes of winning the Supreme Pie Award!

Winner of the 2015 Supreme award, New World Greenmeadows, is still experiencing huge demand for its winning potato top pie. “Its been fantastic for the business, the first two weeks after winning the award, sales were massive, and we haven’t really had a drop off since”, says Iain Beaton, Owner/Operator

The Supreme winner will receive a cheque for $7,500 and the much sought-after trophy. Gold winners will receive a cheque for $1,000.

5 must-know facts about pies:

• NZ households spend a staggering $110 million on meat pies every year and approximately $11 million on fruit pies.

• The average Kiwi eats 12 meat pies a year!

• Pies were once called “coffins” and used as edible food containers given to servants to eat once the pie contents had been consumed by their employers.

• The origin of the word ‘pie’ is believed to come from ‘magpie’. The bird is known as a collector of things, much like the contents of a pie!

• People of Gloucester send the royal family eel pie every jubilee or coronation. This strange tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when eel was considered a treat.

Entries are now open and close on the 23rd of June. Judging day is July 21st and winners announced on July 26th.

ENDS

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