Main Street Cafe Huntly wins award for rhubarb and raspberry pie at NZ Pie Awards 2025

Ellie Linton-Brown (middle), and her two children help run the Main Street Cafe in Huntly. Photo / Malisha Kumar

A tiny cafe in North Waikato has made big waves in the Bakels NZ Pie Awards this year.

Huntly’s Main Street Cafe won a gold award in the Cafe Boutique category for its rhubarb and raspberry pie.

Cafe owner Ellie Linton-Brown has been a pastry chef for more than 30 years, but said she has never won an award before.

“It’s been a bit overwhelming, but I’m stoked to get industry recognition,” she told the Waikato Herald.

The pie flavour was inspired by Linton-Brown’s sister and quickly became a customer favourite.

After the award announcement, pie sales skyrocketed and they were sold out two days in a row, Linton-Brown said.

While Linton-Brown couldn’t remember how many pies she made on the days they sold out, she believed it was hundreds.

Linton-Brown, originally from Auckland, fell in love with pastry when she was still in high school.

But it wasn’t until 2022 that she opened her own cafe. It’s a family-run business, with her children heavily involved as well.

For the family, the awards win came after “rough” times and challenges, which meant Linton-Brown had been almost ready to close the cafe’s doors.

“We’ve been broken into, which cost us a lot of money, and recession for our business was tight too.

Huntly's Main Street Cafe won Gold for their rhubarb and raspberry pie at the 2025 Bakels NZ Pie Awards. Photo / Malisha Kumar

“It was either dig my heels in further or close my doors,” she said.

But closing up shop did not come easy to her.

“I’m no quitter.

“I don’t want to give up, and I kept that capacity in me to keep pushing forward.”

Having overcome those challenges made the national pie award win taste twice as sweet.

“We dug our heels in, and it was hard. But I’m incredibly grateful I did.”

Other Waikato winners were the Baker Tīrau, taking silver for its steak and cheese pie and Hamilton‘s High Bakery and Cafe, which won silver for its vegetarian pie in 2024, and this year won silver for its bacon and egg pie.

The sign outside Huntly's Main Street Cafe. Photo / Malisha Kumar

The High Bakery and Cafe posted on social media: “We did it again”.

“Thanks [to] our loyal customers for believing in us, supporting, and enjoying our pies.”

Lunchbar Eighty 8, also of Hamilton, won bronze for its creamy paua pie in the Gourmet Meats category.

Auckland’s Rosedale Bakery & Cafe won the Supreme Award for its potato top pie.

The first Pie Awards were held in 1996 to inspire the baking industry to keep on innovating.

The Bakels Supreme Pie Awards have now grown to around 600 entries across 11 categories, which are blind-judged by a panel of industry experts.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.