The winners of the sixth New Zealand Vegan Pie Awards, are in. This is great news for vegan pie lovers all over the country. As more bakeries receive requests from people wanting vegan pies, Kiwi bakers are stepping up to the task with some newcomers to the competition this year.

The top prize of $1000, went to Vegan Korma pie by Piccolo Morso, our Supreme Winner! The whole event was sponsored by Gilmours, Grain Corp and The Coffee Club. Judging took place at Crave Café on 23rd October. A gala dinner was held last night at Kind Café, where a delicious, sumptuous dinner (not pies!) helped crown the winners.

“Vegan pies continue to be popular with vegans and non-vegans alike, a classic Kiwi staple, a pie is never out of fashion and our winners this year showed some great ingenuity with their flavour combinations.” Vegan Society Spokesperson Claire Insley commented. “Kiwis know they can be assured of a delicious pie from any of our category winners and runners up.”

The judges tasked with the problem of eating all the pies, were Master Baker and Lifetime Contributor to the Pie Awards, Jason Hay, he was joined by Jasbir Kaur, multi-award-winning executive chef & trainer and award judge regular, she is also President of NZ Chef Association Auckland. An esteemed figure in plant-based culinary innovation, who is known for her delicious, non-fuss, plant-based recipes, cookbook author, Kelsi Boocock was the third judge. Operations Manager at Sudima Hotels, Dharam Shah who honed his skills and passion by working in prestigious luxury hotels across India, becoming Executive Chef in Agra, completed the panel.

The winners and runners up are:

Supreme winner

Piccolo Morso ‘Vegan Korma’’

Vegetable

Winner; Piccolo Morso ‘Vegan Korma’’

Flavours punchy. Well balanced and seasoned. Pastry beautiful colour and crust. A classical vegetable pie.

Runner up

Pioneer Pie Co. ‘Karma Korma’

Nice spice to this pie. The filling flavour is strong

Commercial Wholesale

Winner; Baker’s Son ‘Vegan Mince and Cheddar’

Tastes very good. Lots of flavour from the spices. Pretty appearance with lots of filling.

Runner Up; Kai Pai Bakery ‘Roast Vege’

Nice and creamy with a generous filling. Pastry is good.

Sweet

Piccolo Morso; ‘Mango, Mint and Rhubarb with an almond crust’

A unique flavour idea; mint and mango, almond in the pastry. Very good looking. The pastry is very good and crunchy.

X2 Runner ups

Eurobake Espresso; Blueberry Apple

Subtle sweetness. Pastry good and soft. Pretty presentation. The perfect ratio of fruit.

Freemans Bakery and Café ‘Vegan Spiced Apple Crumble’

Well balanced sweetness. Classical presentation. The cinnamon is lovely.

Gluten Free

Winner; Pioneer Pie Co. ‘Mushroom Red wine and Caramelised Onion’

Pastry great and crumbly. Good flavours. The sweetness of the onions took it to the next level. Mushrooms made it meaty.

Runner up; Logan MacLean Café ‘Koresh Bademjan’ (eggplant stew)

Great pastry. The filling sweet tangy and subtle.

Steak and Cheese

Winner; Logan MacLean Cafe

Beautifully balanced seasoning, flavour, texture and flavour colour. Filling substantial

Runner Up; Tart Bakery

The caramelized onion sweetness was a pleasant surprise. The pastry nice and flaky. Both the pastry and the filling had a good crunch.

Mince and Cheese

Winner; Wild Grain Bakery

Great appearance pastry and shape. Well-cooked flaky pastry. Filling beautiful and hearty.

Runner up; Taste Cafe and Bakery

Great melty cheese. Good taste. Very close to the winner in quality.

Cafe Boutique

Winner; Lemonwood Bakery ‘Moroccan Chickpea and Vege’

Very good pastry. Creamy filling. Pretty appearance. Good balanced flavour and texture. Great to see the chunks.

Runner up; Logan MacLean ‘Cuban Beef Picadillo’

Filling is good with smoky flavours. A generous filling. Olives a nice surprise. Very suited for this category.

Chicken

Winner; Freemans Bakery and Café ‘Vegan Butter Chicken’

Beautiful appearance and sweetness of the butter chicken. Ingredients well combined.

Runner Up; Wild Grain Bakery ‘Vegan Chicken and Cranberry”

The chicken and cranberry had the perfect amount of sweetness. Pastry very good.

All the information you need is here https://vegansociety.org.nz/nz-vegan-pie-awards/

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