www.localmatters.co.nz... A national award presented to Dad’s Pies last month proves that this Silverdale business produces one of the tastiest mince and cheese pies in the country.
Dad’s Pies received a Highly Commended in the Commercial Wholesale Mince & Cheese category in the recent NZ Supreme Pie Awards.
Over the past 15 years, the Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards have grown to become the premier event for the country’s baking professionals and the pie-eating public also shows keen interest in the results.
The awards continue to grow each year – this year’s awards attracted a record 4400 entries from more than 380 bakeries New Zealand-wide.
Dad’s Pies is particularly proud of the award, as the company submitted its standard mince and cheese directly off its state of the art production line.
Dad’s Pies marketing director Michael Welch says that bakers should be judged on what their consumers eat every day. The mince and cheese pie is one of the most popular in Dad’s Pies’ range; the company currently sells 500,000 mince and cheese pies per year.
Michael says the company uses premium, lean cuts of meat, and the mince and cheese pie has less than nine percent fat.
Other lower fat options are mince, steak, potato top (3.9 percent) and pepper steak. Dad’s Pies are enjoyed throughout New Zealand and internationally.
Bakels NZ chief executive officer and pie awards judge Duncan Loney says the pie market remains buoyant, with Kiwis chomping through 75 million pies a year and the market worth in excess of $140 million a year.
Dairy Flat Bakery also won two Highly Commended awards for its Steak, Vegetable and Gravy pie and its Gourmet Fruit Pie.
The Supreme Award went to Shane Kearns from Viands Bakery near Te Awamutu for his Gourmet Fruit Pie.