Local foodies are smashing goals this month as two much-loved bakeries have proven once again that country bakers can hold their own on the national stage, with a haul of medals at this year’s Great Aussie Pie Competition.
Meanwhile, in Tenterfield, Premier Meats has walked away victorious from the annual Sausage King awards.
In Glen Innes, long term local favourites Sweetie Pies Bake Shop have been celebrating a long list of wins, bringing home an impressive three Gold, four Silver and five Bronze medals.
Among their Gold medal pies were the ever-popular Chunky Mince, their comforting Slow Cooked Beef, and a rich and flavoursome Beef Bourguignon. Silver medals were awarded for creations like Roast Pork & Apple, Satay Vegetable with Roasted Peanuts, and even a Thai Green Curry Duck, while Bronze went to pies including Pumpkin Spinach Feta & Pine Nuts and Chicken Chilli Mexican.
“This is a huge accomplishment with the competition being so highly successful and competitive. We are super proud to have taken home some gold for our small humble town Glen Innes.” Sweetie Pies said in a social media post.
They went on to describe owner Nicole as a “one woman pastry pie machine.”
Pastry pie machine extraordinaire herself, Nicole Hyde, said the recognition was a real boost for the small business, which already offers more than 30 different pie flavours. Many of the award-winning pies are already customer favourites, baked daily and sold in-store, with feedback from loyal locals helping to guide which new flavours might join the permanent line-up.
“Myself and Zaylie are doing great and we’re always super busy!” said Ms Hydie.
“The plain mince, slow cooked beef and beef Bourguignon we already sell in store but we’re trialling our other winning flavours in store and getting feedback before we decide if we’ll add them to the menu.”
Over in Armidale, Moxons Bakery has long been known for its hearty, honest pies, and their efforts were rewarded with Gold in the Gourmet Pork category for their Farmers Run Pie. Packed with rich flavours and showcasing top-quality ingredients, this pie stood out to the judges as a true champion. Moxons also earned a Bronze in the Plain Chunky Mince category, showing they can deliver on both the classics and the creative gourmet twists.
Customers can find both pies fresh from the oven daily in store, alongside their much-loved range of breads, sweets and baked treats.
The Official Great Aussie Pie & Sausage Roll Competition is Australia’s longest-running and most prestigious contest for commercial pie makers, running annually since 1989 under the Aussie Pie Council.
Held at the Fine Food Australia show, it attracts hundreds of bakeries and thousands of entries every year — pies, sausage rolls, pasties and more are judged anonymously on flavour, texture, appearance, pastry quality and other criteria. Winners receive coveted titles plus cash, equipment and ingredient prizes, and often see strong boosts in sales and publicity for their businesses.
Premier Meats have once again nailed their entries in the annual Regional Sausage King Awards, walking away with Best Traditional Pork Sausage, Best Lamb Sausage, 1st and 2nd for Best Continental Sausage and 1st and 2nd for Best Chicken Sausage.
The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) Sausage King and Best Butchers Burger competition is widely regarded as the best industry competition for independent local butchers. AMIC encourages butchers to get their customers involved and it’s clear that Premier Meats did just that, organising in-store sausage tastings to get customer feedback on their new flavours before they went to the show.
The Tenterfield community was thrilled for their win.
“Congratulations to all you guys, continuing on this great tradition and kicking goals!!! Thank you for supplying the town with the best tasting meat money can buy,” commented Steven on Facebook.
“Well done awesome result keeping the name in Tenterfield for all to enjoy,” commented Christine.
All businesses are thrilled to see their names among the winners of these highly regarded competitions, which draw entries from across Australia each year. For locals, it’s another reason to stop by and support local food and produce, made right here in the region, crafted with care and plenty of passion.
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