Star chef to judge NZ’S best pies
Out of a paper bag, floating on mushy peas, between two pieces of bread or doused in Watties sauce, Kiwis love a good pie. Celebrity chef Sean Connolly is no different, so he’s joined the judging ranks for this year’s NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.
It’s going to bring back some memories for the Yorkshireman, who uses his mother’s recipe in his very own pies at his restaurants.
Whether it was his duck and foie gras pie or his chicken and crayfish pie, they all had that same crust.
So the self-confessed ‘‘pie lover’’ says it’s going to be a nostalgic experience. But when it comes to judging this year’s best pie, he can’t give away too many secrets, he says.
‘‘Where as many years ago... it was purely about the filling, you have to have a good crust too. ‘‘There’s the short-crust pasty and the puff pastry. Everyone has got different techniques... I’m just waiting to see what comes out.’’
Having experimented a lot with pies himself, he’s open to surprises, he says.
Whether the UK, Australia or New Zealand had better pies is hard to say though.
‘‘[New Zealanders are] up there as pie eaters and pie makers, I think New Zealand pies are some of the best in the world.’’
The search for New Zealand’s best pie for 2017 started on May 1, the 21st year of the awards, and 13 separate categories will be judged on July 27.
‘‘I’ve got a month of fasting, then a month of feasting,’’ Connolly says.
Last year, 21 judges spent more than 10 hours judging the blind entries, with Bethlehem baker Patrick Lam taking out the supreme title for the fifth time with his bacon and egg pie.
NZ Bakels managing director Brent Kersel is urging South Island bakeries to enter this year’s competition.
‘‘We know there are some champion mainland pies filled with delicious flavours that we don’t see in the North Island,’’ Kersel says.
‘‘We need those pies in the competition.’’