The Baking Association of Australia has just held its 2019 pie and pastie competition and announced the nation’s best for both. In a monumental solidification, both overall winners hailed from the same bakeries as last year.
Country Cob Bakery in the town of Kyneton, nestled in the leafy Victorian Macedon Ranges, once again took out Australia’s Best Pie and this time it was for their caramelised pork and pepper pie.
“Actually this is one of our Cambodian favourites food back home, and we could see that not many bakeries in Australia doing pork pie,” says Ryan Khun, co-owner and production manager at the bakery.
He developed the pie with his brother, Chan Khun, who is also co-owner and baker.
“We thought this is going to be something interesting and very challenging to make it into a pie filling from our Cambodian food but with Australian taste. So, we slightly adjusted the recipe and ingredients over the last 3 months to make it more delicious and so everyone will enjoy it,” he says.
“We thought this is going to be something interesting and very challenging to make it into a pie filling from our Cambodian food but with Australian taste.
“Even the 12 judges at the competition said this is one of the best pork pies they’ve ever had. It’s rich in flavour, with tender pork and the aroma is amazing.”
Best Australian pastie again went to Jo Jo’s Gluten Free Goodies in Kernot, Victoria for their roasted vegetable pastie.
Jo Jo’s took out the best gluten-free pastie category (as you’d hope) and best gluten free pie for their Thai red curry pie. The bakery’s gluten-free pastie win offers a solid vindication for coeliacs who have spent so much time suffering through average baked goods.
The two winners were chosen from a total of 345 Bakeries, with more than 1,760 pies assessed. It took 12 judges to complete the assessments, and by our calculations across the three days of judging, that’s around 49 pies tasted per judge per day! Can you say dream job?
Country Cob Bakery’s best pie win last year was a monumental moment for Chan, a Cambodian migrant who told SBS Food he literally dreams of pies, so it’s no surprise to see his pies featured further in the category list taking out best seafood pie for their curry scallop, as well as scoring gold and silver medals in nearly every other category.
Below is the full list of the best in class winners – and you can find all the competition results here.
CLASS WINNERS:
Plain Mince Beef Pie: Oven Crisp Bakery – plain beef mince
Plain Chunky Beef Pie: Whittlesea Bakehouse – plain chunky beef
Beef Flavoured Pie: Edison Bakehouse - steak & pepper
Vegetarian Pie: Gusto Bakery - curried pumpkin, fetta & spinach
Seafood Pie: Country Cob Bakery - curry scallop
Poultry Pie: Four Seasons Patisserie Bakery - satay chicken
Gourmet Pie: Country Cob Bakery - caramelised pork & pepper
Gluten Free Pie: Jo Jo's Gluten Free - Thai red curry
Apprentice Plain Mince Beef Pie: Orange Spot – plain beef pie by Jamie Clavell
Traditional Pastie: Orange Spot - pastie
Gourmet Pastie: Orange Spot - three peppered pastie
Vegetarian Pastie: Finley Bakery & Patisserie – vegetarian pastie
Gluten Free Pastie: Jo Jo's Gluten Free - roasted vegetable pastie
Apprentice Traditional Pastie: Orange Spot – traditional pastie by Jamie Clavell
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