Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Local Focus: Captain Beetroot turns Pie Guy in quest to find best pie in Whanganui

Georgie Ormond
By Georgie Ormond
NZ Herald·
17 May, 2021 09:06 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Geoff Horne is on the search for the best Whanganui pie. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

In 2019 Geoff Horne's quest to find a burger joint in Whanganui that used beetroot went viral. Now he's turning his eyes to the pies.

Geoff's looking for the best pies in Whanganui but won't be choosing a winner.

"I feel that that is a little unfair of me to do because there are so many good products and it's personal taste," Horne said.

"I love a solid steak pie and not everybody does so if I turn around and say this pie from this place is the best it's because I liked it, it suited my taste, but it's not going to be everybody's taste though."

Geoff is a musician, IT whizz and a recent import to Whanganui, and he's making his way around every pie shop in town to test their wares.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There's quite a strong community presence and we've got this art culture here which I think is absolutely fabulous. Being part of the music scene, I certainly see that as a real positive thing.

"But I'm also thinking, wouldn't it be good if Whanganui was also known for its meat pies."

The former "too many pies guy" is well aware of the need to pace himself.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I have to be brutally honest and say that they're not what is called the healthiest meal. But as a treat every now and then... and if you're sensible about it and don't eat one every two days like I used to," he said.

It's no secret that locals are passionate about their pie shops so when Geoff posted on a community Facebook page looking for bakeries, it sparked a lot of conversation and a spike in pie sales, says Chaise Leslie from Chaising Pies.

"We went pretty nuts after that, I went crazy. We sold out, I think it was bloody near every day for the next two weeks, I couldn't keep up!" he said.

"I was selling them as they were coming out of the oven, I couldn't keep up with it all."

Discover more

New Zealand

Local Focus: Ceramics dangers brings studio safety caution

25 May 12:17 AM
New Zealand|education

Local Focus: Confluence bringing together people and documentaries

22 May 08:41 PM

It's possible the effect is lasting. Butchart's Bakery completely sold out on the weekend and said they're selling more pies than ever at the moment.

But Geoff has some sage advice for anyone thinking of getting into the business.

"I understand the commercial realities," he said. "You've got to keep your costs down and your volume of sales high to make a living at it, so I understand the rationale behind perhaps reducing the amount of costly meat that you're putting in your pies

"But sometimes I wonder whether you do yourself 'in the eye' if you can just cut too much, because you end up producing a product that might not be as good as somewhere else and over time, people are going to figure that out."

If you've got a hot pie tip for Geoff, feel free to hit him up when his band The Transistors play Barracks on June 19.

Made with funding from

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM

A moment’s inattention by a driver at an intersection led to severe consequences.

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

Why Ruapehu voted against bigger water model

11 Jul 05:02 AM
Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

Search for missing man continues after car pulled from river

10 Jul 11:09 PM
Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

Community group seeks to manage historic reserve

10 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP