Entries are now open for the 2018 NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, New Zealand’s biggest food competition, and this year competitors can go online to enter at: http://pieawards.nz/ .
NZ Bakels Managing Director Brent Kersel says the move to online entries will make it a lot easier for bakers and café owners to enter the 22nd NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards. “But don’t worry if you don’t have internet access, hard copy entry packs will still be available from your local Bakery Advisor or Bakels directly.”
Last year, Fast and Fresh Bakery in Taupo won the NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Award with their venison, mushroom, bacon and cheese pie. Bakery owners Lee Ing and his wife Linna Tuy became overnight household names as people drove from across the country to try the Supreme winning pie. The win changed their lives with a major boost to their sales, not just in the pie warmer, but right across their product range and Ing says he’d recommend all bakers to enter the Pie Awards.
Ing says: “It’s a good idea to enter because after you’ve won everyone starts to know about your shop. Sales really pick up even in what used to be a quiet time. It is so good for your business.”
Fast and Fresh Bakery will be back entering all the categories again this year as they try to defend their Supreme Award title. “It will be hard and I’m not sure if we will be lucky enough,” says Ing. But if he is, he will be well prepared for the huge boost in business.
Kersel says each year’s competition brings in new entries with exciting new pies. Last year, 5696 pies were entered; the highest number yet since the competition began in 1996.
“We hope with the online entry system now available that many more bakers will consider entering. Any Pie Award, be it Bronze, Silver, Gold or Supreme, has the ability to increase their business for years to come. They just need to follow the rules, particularly around the weight of the pie, and make a delicious entry with stunning pastry and a deeply satisfying filling. Do that and they are in with a chance.”
Entries for the 2018 NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards close at 5pm on June 28. They will be judged on July 26 and the winners will be announced at the Awards dinner in Auckland on July 31.
Diary dates:
May 1 – Entries open for the 22nd NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards
June 28 at 5pm – Entries close
July 26 – Judging day
July 31 – NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.
