The Kiwi pie goes worldwide
As pie shops run by Kiwis pop up around the globe, the humble meat pie is becoming an internationally known cultural totem.
Expats in Melbourne, Idaho and Prague have spread the age-old Kiwi favourite to far flung corners of the world.
Lawrence Allen, a former pro softballer, has hung up his bat to open the Czech Republic’s first specialty ‘Kiwi-style’ pie shop next week.
He hopes the store will be the beginning of a franchise empire in the country’s capital.
Haka-Pies is opening in the city district of Flora in Prague. It’s a less touristy spot about a 10-minute walk from the city centre, Allen said. After the opening, he hoped to be selling 100 pies a day, attracting those straggling home from nearby bars in the early hours of the morning.
‘‘Here, when people go drinking, in the middle of the night they can only get a burrito, a slice of pizza or McDonalds.
‘‘I’m hoping you’ll start to find them parked outside my bakery at three in the morning instead.’’
Though his hoped-for pie empire is far from Kiwi shores, the recipe for his success comes from a lot closer to home.
Allen moved to the Czech Republic three years ago to coach the national men’s softball team at the softball world championships.
He returned home briefly when the series was being held in New Zealand, and worked for free at Hataitai Bakery in Wellington for six weeks from midnight to 6am, learning the secret pie recipe.
Barring one thickening agent, which wasn’t available in the Czech Republic, the recipe for Allen’s mince pie was the same as the Wellington bakery’s.
He grew up in Wellington’s eastern suburbs and had fond childhood memories of walking past the bakery to grab a pie on his way to sports practice.
In Prague, Allen hired local chef Ondrej Zufan to help him develop pies with a ‘‘Czech twist’’. Those include pies that contained pulled duck, beef goulash, dumplings, and red cabbage.
‘‘I’m grabbing all their traditional cuisine and chucking it in a pie.’’
Across the ditch Kiwi couple Holly and Michael Carthew founded Pure Pie shortly after moving to Melbourne 16 years ago.
The brand has since expanded out of the family’s kitchen to two Melbourne shops and an award-winning wholesale frozen pie business.
In Boise, the capital of the American state of Idaho, a new restaurant serving Kiwi-style pies opened its doors in late December.
Kiwi Shake & Bake was opened by former Queenstown resident Katie Munro. She lived in the city for 12 years where she met her husband Chris, a native New Zealander.
While Idaho is famous for its potato crop, it’s likely the only place in the state you could find a potatotop pie.