Pacific flavours bring fresh taste to NZ's biggest pie awards

Horse meat pies and Pacific flavours made their mark at New Zealand's biggest pie competition with judges saying island-inspired recipes are bringing fresh ideas to a Kiwi favourite.

Although one horse pie did not make the final judging after being disqualified for exceeding the competition's weight limit, chief judge Ian Moore said the entries reflected the growing diversity of this year's New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.

"Last year there was quite a lot of new entries with paua, and this year we've actually found four to five entries with horse this year, which is unusual. So, first time for that," Moore told PMN News multimedia journalist Candice Ama.

Moore said one horse pie looked promising but was ruled out because it weighed about 300 grams above the competition's 280-gram limit.

He said Pacific influences could also be seen across several other entries.

"There's definitely a Pacific element to some of the pies, and some of the flavours.

One horse pie was disqualified from this year's New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards after exceeding the competition's 280-gram weight limit, despite being among the first horse meat entries received by judges. Photo/PMN News/Candice Ama

"You notice it with some of the seafood ones this year as well, and you can see those different flavours coming through from the islands, which is fantastic.

"It's really good to see, and it's just getting more diverse every year, which is fantastic."

Moore said bakers were also becoming more creative with their presentation, decorating pies with pastry cut-outs of animals or ingredients to reflect the filling inside.

A baker presents a pie for judging at the 2026 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, where entries were assessed on pastry, filling, presentation and flavour. Photo/PMN News/Candice Ama

"We eat with our eyes to start with," he said. "You walk into a bakery, you see something and go, 'oh, that looks good', and you're hoping that it tastes as good as it looks."

While appearance is important, Moore said flavour ultimately decides the winners.

"The key one is that taste, that flavour, when you try it. It's worth 16 points, it makes a huge difference, because that's why we eat pies."

One of the Pacific-inspired entries came from Pakuranga Bakery, whose Lo'i Hoosi pie is from the popular Tongan horse meat dish.

Pho Bok, the bakery's manager, said the idea came from growing up around Pacific families.

Pacific flavours are making their mark at New Zealand's biggest pie competition, with judges saying island-inspired recipes are bringing new ideas and tastes to a Kiwi favourite. Photo/PMN News/Candice Ama

"Growing up, I ate a lot of Polynesian food," he told Ama. "I grew up with a lot of Polynesians, all my friends are Polynesian.

"When we went to school we always shared lunches. So, I gave them pies and then they would bring over leftover food from the night before."

After the bakery's palusami pie proved popular, customers encouraged the team to create a Lo'i Hoosi pie.

"A lot of customers have been coming back and saying, you should do the Lo'i Hoosi pie," Bok said, adding the pie quickly became a hit.

"We had this idea to do it and it just took over the internet, it blew up. It's one of our top seller pies at the moment."

Watch Pho Bok of Pakuranga Bakery ahead of the awards on Tuesday.

He said many people were unsure about trying horse meat until they tasted it.

"I know there's a lot of people that's hesitant to try the Lo'i Hoosi. Just the idea of eating horse. But once they try it, everyone loves it."

This year's Supreme Pie Awards was won by Wānaka's Kai Pai Bakery, whose commercial mince and cheese pie claimed gold in the Commercial/Wholesale category.

Judges assessed entries on pastry, filling, presentation and flavour with taste carrying the biggest weighting.

Wānaka's Kai Pai Bakery celebrates its success after taking Gold in the Commercial/Wholesale category at the 2026 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards with its mince and cheese pie. Photo/Supplied

Head baker Jason Danielson said consistency had been the key to the bakery's long run of success.

"Our pastry and filling are very consistent, and that's what wins awards. The pie the judges taste comes straight off the production line and is exactly the same as the pie our customers buy every day."

For the full list of the winners from the 2026 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, click here.

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