NZ's best pies judged

New Zealand's biggest food awards will be awarded on Tuesday night when the winners of the Bakels Pie Awards are announced at a gala dinner at the Hilton Hotel on Auckland's waterfront.

"Four hundred and sixty-five bakeries have entered this year's competition which equates to about 5000 pies to judge," Bakels NZ managing director Brent Kersel told TVNZ''s Breakfast last Thursday, as the judges set about the business of tasting and assessing the entries.

Pies are judged on appearance top and bottom, then the pie is cut in half and the filling and pastry flake are assessed.

Appearance top and bottom are important to the overall appeal of a pie. Photo / Michael Craig

"(The judges) score points for the top, the bottom and how the filling looks," said Kersel. "Then it goes through to the next stage where its heated and tasted."

"Not all pies are tasted. About the top 30 per cent get tasted. Obviously they have to get through that eye appeal first," he said.

There are 11 categories that pie-makers can enter, the biggest section being steak and cheese and mince and cheese.

"There's a lot of interest in the gourmet meat category," Kersel said. "We have a cafe boutique category – the cafe can make their own fillings but don't need to make their own pastry."

There's also awards for vegetarian, bacon and egg and chicken and vegetable plus the overall Supreme winner that can come from any of the categories.

Celebrity chef Peter Gordon assisted with the judging this year. Photo / Michael Craig

The 20 or so judges this year were assisted by top New Zealand chef Peter Gordon, renowned for his Sugar Club in London and here in Auckland.

The bakers hopeful of walking off with this year's prize were personally invited by Kersel to attend the ceremony.

"If you received a golden phone call from NZ Bakels managing director Brent Kersel today, you have a chance of claiming Supreme Victory, that's life-changing," was a message posted to the Bakels NZ Facebook page last Friday after judging the day before.

Attendees to the awards dinner will be entertained by the likes of Dai Henwood (second time as MC), Paul Ego and Jeremy Corbett. But the main event will be the awards themselves.

And how hard is it to judge New Zealand's best pie?

"If they really like it they'll eat the whole lot," Kersel told Breakfast. "Towards the end of the day they're not as hungry as they were at the start but we tell them to come with not too-full bellies."