Bakels NZ Pie Awards 2024: How do you pick a winning pie?

Pies are a hot topic, and the return of the annual Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards – a fierce competition and arbiter of a national icon – means all eyes are on the industry. Judging commenced today for a 10-hour stretch of deliberating, and NZ Herald’s Emma Gleason and photographer Michael Craig were there to capture the action, glean tips from the experts, and find out what goes into judging the prestigious prize.

More than 5000 pies from all over the country have come to Auckland, Penrose to be precise, to be judged for the country’s annual pie awards. 545 bakers from around New Zealand have rustled up golden, pastry-encased offerings and sent them for competition in the 2024 Bakels NZ Pie Awards.

It’s 7.30am and judging is already underway. Hundreds of boxes are stacked in the ground-floor kitchen of the big Bakels site for the first round of deliberations: steak and cheese, the biggest category at over 250 entries, and mince and cheese, which numbers around 200.

Inside it’s abuzz, the kitchen a steady bustle of black and white jackets (and reporters trying to keep out of the way) huddled around the judging stations, prepping and ferrying pies, and keeping the operation running smoothly.

Judges consider an entry in the first round of deliberations. Photo / Michael Craig

It’s the “first check: visual” stage, one judge explains. Entry numbers are called, cardboard boxes are opened and pies are pulled out – each box houses two versions of the same entry – with gloved hands. They’re presented to the group and turned over to reveal the base.

Appearance matters here: they’re looking for the evenness of colour, a flat bottom, good browning (though not too much) and cleanliness, as we watch a process that will be repeated for every single entry – all 5000 of them.

The pies, cold at this stage, are cut in half to assess the filling, ratio and amount of air. They’re using small Victorinox knives, serrated, which cut the best, explains chief judge Tim Aspinall.

Insides are assessed carefully. Photo / Michael Craig

From there, the best pies – around 10% of entries – make it through to the next round. The first round entries are whisked from the ovens at 10.10am to the heat-and-eat phase.

Not all of them even make it through the first round. Disqualifications happen, usually due to three common errors:

• Too heavy: Pies have to be 280g to qualify. Nudge over that, even 282, and it’s out. There’s a science; an unbaked pie is heavier than one that’s just come out of the oven, and most pies lose between 8-10% of their weight while baking.
• Banned ingredients: Rule-breaking inclusions (mushrooms are only allowed in the Vegetarian, Café Boutique, and Gourmet Meat categories) will see a pie removed from competition.
• Wrong pie, wrong category: A devastating error that happens more than you might think, putting a pie in the wrong entry box can be disastrous; mixing up your mince and cheese entrant with your steak and cheese will result in a “double DQ” as both will be incorrectly labelled.

Weight limits are strict. Photo / Michael Craig

There’s considerable orthodoxy in some of the more traditional categories, and we witnessed a mince and cheese pie with a very unconventional topping being whisked off for disqualification deliberations.

This isn’t the category to be getting too fast and loose with. There are rules. The mince can be beef and (or) mutton; kūmara is allowed in the Potato Top Mince & Gravy category.

There are regulation tin shapes – square, round, oval – with size limits for all the categories.

Short-crust pastry can be used in the Gourmet Meat section. Lattice tops are allowed in the Café Boutique category; it’s the only section that permits bought pastry, all others must be made with from-scratch pastry.

“It’s not easy to get it just right,” says chief judge Tim Aspinall, pointing out the perfect layers of lamination and a straight rise on one pie, a sign of good rolling, he explains.

Chief judge Tim Aspinall takes an entry with an unorthodox topping away for assessment. Photo / Michael Craig

There’s more freedom in those two categories. This year’s Café Boutique entries include everything from birria beef brisket to white mince with cheese and black truffle, and paua pie. Gourmet Meat counts some intriguing ingredient lists amongst its entries; there’s braised ox tail (with Bluff oysters), roast duck, corned beef, and even a burger pie.

In the kitchen, Brent Kersel, Bakels managing director, is eyeing up a pork and watercress entry. “That looks really good.” He points out a pork belly and taro, and a smoked lamb mince. There are a lot of innovative pies this year. “There’s a real art to it.”

How do you pick a winning pie?

They’re among the over 5000 pies competing across the 11 categories this year; a number that bears repeating, because that’s a lot of pies, a lot of work, and a lot of care.

This is serious business, and there are decades of experience in this kitchen.

The respected chef and restaurateur Sid Sahrawat (Cassia, The French Café) is here judging for the first time, helped by daughter Zoya, who’s grown up in her parents’ kitchens and was invited to judge this year too.

Sahrawat was excited to get the call-up for judging duties this year. “I’m always up for doing something different,” he tells the Herald. “I love eating your pies like everyone else, so it’s good to be here.”

At first glance, fine dining and a $5 pie might be worlds apart, but doing both well requires common ground. “A fine dish is all about getting the right produce and carrying all the techniques right, the way through. For me, the pie is the same.”

What makes a perfect pie?

He’s going to be looking for “beautiful flaky pastry” and a “decadent” interior. “It’s all about using the best of the New Zealand ingredients,” Sahrawat explains. “Marrying it with good technique and all-around deliciousness.”

Sid Sahrawat tastes a bacon and egg pie. Photo / Michael Craig

And while he’s making his judging debut, there are the “old dogs” in the judging lineup.

Brian Wilmhurst says he’s been doing this for 20-odd years. He likes the chicken category best. “It’s more creative.”

Tim Aspinall has been a judge for 26 years. He still gets excited.

They got a mutton bird one year, he says, and ostrich, Wilmhurst adds.

We debate potato top versus pastry, the merits of ketchup, and the all-important cooling-off period – my steak and cheese pie is fresh out of the oven and requires patience.

Mince and cheese is Aspinall’s preferred pie variety. His favourite pie of all is his mum’s apple pie, but that’s not in competition.

The awards are open to commercial bakeries with a retail operation; a bakery, cafe, food stall or market stall – as long as you’re baking it in a commercial kitchen. “You couldn’t just be a home baker doing it,” explains media liaison Cynthia Daly, “You have to be a retail baker.” Businesses entering the commercial wholesale section have to make 60,000 pies per week minimum to enter, and are restricted to mince and cheese.

The sheer scale of pies made and consumed in this country is significant, when you stop to think about it.

Why are we obsessed with pies?

They’re a democratic dish; the price of a pie is usually within reach of nearly all Kiwis.

“We’ve seen it when the economy’s got tight before,” Brent Kersel says. “The old pie starts to shine.”

It’s become part of our social fabric and national identity. We consider ourselves the best at making them, and the size and filling of the New Zealand iterations are distinctive.

Everyone has a favourite pie and bakery, defending their choice staunchly. What we like says a lot about us, and they provide common ground with other Kiwis.

It’s a regional and competitive category of food, and with 26 years behind it, the annual Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards have become a big deal.

Judging is serious business. Photo / Michael Craig

The 545 competing bakers are just the tip of the iceberg of our nation’s pie infrastructure, which sprawls from top to tail of the country and includes service stations and dairies, boutique bakeries and cafes.

While retailers are hard to quantify due to different trading terminology, New Zealand has over 1000 non-factory bakeries, according to figure.nz, up from 816 in 2000.

The awards act as both an arbiter for consumers and an innovation accelerator for the industry. They’re an art and a science.

And our pies are only getting better.

Entrant quality improves every year, Aspinall says, and bakers are seeking out the knowledge and skill to level up their entries, asking for advice.

There’s also a lot to learn from “old-school” cooking techniques. “You have to rest [the filling],” he advises bakers. “The second day is the best day”. Like with a leftover stew, the flavour in the filling develops, and he says they can always tell the pies that have taken that extra step.

They’ll be judging for around 10 hours today. It’s all blind testing, and recorded on judging sheets. The Supreme category is decided behind closed doors, and Sid Sahrawat and Zoya will try all of these pies.

5000 pies have been entered in 11 categories this year. Photo / Michael Craig

Then, first thing tomorrow morning, the “gold phone calls” will be made to bakers who have been awarded a gold in their category (but they don’t know what for).

Everything else is a closely guarded secret until the awards evening on July 30, when the Supreme Winner will be announced on the night, as well as the gold, silver, bronze and highly commended for each category.

And winning bakers enjoy local and nationwide fame.

Tauranga baker Patrick Lam took home the Supreme Award last year, the eighth time he’s scored the top gong. “He’s a legend,” says David Yorwarth. “Patrick Lam’s a destination.”

Lam sold more than 200 of his award-winning roast duck pies in a single day after taking home the 2023 title.

A winning pie can transform a business, and it’s good for the industry, Yorwarth says.

New Zealand is good at pies. “Look at how small we are and how good we are at a lot of things, the athletes, the pie maker,” says Brent Kersel. “You know, anyone can make a beautiful pie.”

Bakeries and bakers all over the country are making great pies. They’re part of the neighbourhood. And pies are a comfort food.

“It’s that nostalgia right?” says Sahrawat. “Some days you just crave that certain thing, and that’s where your local bakery is so important, they pull it off, day in and day out.”

The Supreme Winner, gold, bronze, silver and highly recommended will be revealed on July 30.

Emma Gleason is the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, entertainment and more. (And she loves a pie).