After a slice of success last year, Ballarat’s Best Pie competition sees 28 of the regional city’s bakeries, restaurants, and cafes go pie-to-pie in a battle for the prestigious title, emblazoning the accolade along their shop front window for many years to come – like any recipient of a pie-related award should do.
It takes place throughout August, where the pie-curious and pie obsessives alike can take off on a journey of pastry-encrusted wonder along the Ballarat Pie Trail. At times sweet, at many points savoury, there’ll be 28 pies to tuck into along the trail which can be completed within several days, a week, or over the entire month.
Those following along at home will relish in the fact that the 2023 champion, Malaysian and Indonesian restaurant Flying Chillies, is returning for another run at the title after taking out gold with its babi pongteh pie. This time, they’re coming in red hot with what they call Mum’s Curry Laksa pie, loaded with plenty of spices, coconut gravy, chicken and prawns.
Several familiar names are returning to take on the 2023 Grand Prize winner and their pie. Beechworth Bakery’s local spin on the classic beef leans into fellow producers with Sher Wagyu and a Grampians shiraz in the mix, while Sovereign Hill’s Hope Bakery is opting for a hit of nostalgia with a wood-fired Vegemite and cheese number.
With more than 25 pie purveyors vying for top spot, naturally there are several variations on the theme, some more adventurous than others. Black Cat Truffles is doing what it says on the label with a truffle-rich short-rib pie. Hotel Canberra is filling it up with Filipino adobo. Meanwhile, spirits and wine spot Roy Hammond is throwing a hat in the ring with a braised pork and kimchi bao pie that surely makes up for not adhering to entry requirements with its big and bold flavour.
There’s also a handful of sweet pies in the running. First time entrants and local distillers Itinerant Spirits is going in with a vodka-forward apple pie, kind of like the ones you see pinched from window sills in movies; while Saltbush Kitchen’s Eat the Bush lemon myrtle pastry pie sounds as risqué as it does delicious.
The awards take place on 3 August at Hop Temple with ex-Masterchef Tim Bone and pie connoisseur Richard Cornish on judging duties, and Masterchef’s Sofia Levin hosting. It’s an open invite to the ceremony and every other day throughout August, and you can find your digital copy of the Ballarat Pie Trail map right here, or drop into the Ballarat Visitor Centre for a hard copy.
Checking out the Ballarat Best Pie competition this August? Of course you are. Order a pie from any participating venue, post a picture on Instagram using #ballaratsbestpies and #visitballarat, and you’ll go into the draw to win a Ballarat getaway valued at over $1,000. For terms and conditions, head to visitballarat.com.au.