Entries are open for the 19th Bakels Supreme Pie Awards. There are 12 entry categories this year, 49 Awards and $20,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!
Mark your diaries:
Pie Awards entries close 25th June at 5pm
Pie Awards Judging Day – 16th July
Pie Awards Dinner – 21st July
With a deliciously exciting new award category along with a new celebrity judge, the 2015 competition promises to be a hot one. Joining the panel of expert judges this year is top NZ Chef, food columnist and author Martin Bosley. He says as the most egalitarian of dishes, it is unsurprising Kiwis have an enduring love affair with the humble pie. “For a brief moment in time, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, nothing else matters when you have a decent pie.”
Bakels Managing Director and Judge Brent Kersel says the level of competition heightens every year. “The pie awards have become the premier event for New Zealand bakers,” says Kersel. “Last year we had the highest number of entries in the awards’ history with 5000 pies from 533 bakeries submitted from all over the country.
“We are forecasting to better this year’s figure with 6000 pie entries from 550 bakeries,” says Kersel. “And, we’re expecting a greater number of those entries to come from our South Island bakers.”
The pies, which are all coded for “blind judging”, will be judged in the following categories: mince and gravy; steak; steak and cheese; chicken and vegetables; gourmet meat; vegetarian; bacon and egg; mince and cheese; gourmet fruit; café boutique; potato top pie; and commercial wholesale.
Ultimately the winning pie will need to meet a stringent list of criteria where presentation, flavour, colouration and texture are paramount.
The baker of the Supreme pie will take away the coveted Supreme Pie Maker trophy and $7,500 cash, while Gold award winners receive $1000 cash.
If you have any questions – or want to be sent a Pie Awards Entry pack with details, rules and tips – then call 0800 PIELINE (0800 743 546).
