The wall of honour in Patrick Lam's new Taurikura Drive bakery shop is definitely a talking point judging by the number of people lining up at 9am to buy his pies.

Patrick can't quite believe that the business is booming after only opening mid-2017. His neighbouring bakery shop in Bethlehem, which he opened about 10 years ago, is going stronger than ever as well.

He says the difference is down to people knowing of his continued success in the NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.

On that wall of honour sits the five Supreme Awards, two for Creamy Mushroom, two for Bacon & Egg, and one for Mince & Cheese.

Surrounding them are numerous gold, silver and bronze certificates. It looks very impressive and is an absolute credit to his ability as a baker.

In 2017, Patrick's Pies won gold in categories: Chicken & Vegetable and Bacon & Egg; silver for Gourmet Meat pie (pork, caramelised onion, mushroom and cheese) and highly commended for Steak & Gravy.

'When people come in they see our wall with all the awards and they say, ‘oh we must try your pies and we get lots of feedback from the customers.

'Quite often we'll have tourists in or people from other places who go to the bakery because they are hungry but when they see the awards they buy a pie and eat it then they grab another one, and then they buy a cold one to take home and they buy some cold ones to take to their family. They take a photo and put it on Facebook. We are so happy to see people do that for us.

'The awards bring the business to us so they mean a lot to our business. They've made a big difference. Since they announced the gold medal winners, people just turn up.

'Over the many years people get to know us because of winning the Supreme Pie award several times. So the percentage in sales goes up by a third to a half again, 30-50 per cent increase,” says Patrick.

Will there be room on the wall for more awards? Patrick hopes so, though he says he'll have to work a lot harder as the competition is getting tougher.

'We always come back with golds and silver. I think with the bacon and egg pie it's fairly hard to make a perfect pie because the filling inside it is quite light so when you put it in the oven there is nothing inside it to strengthen the pastry. We make sure we control the temperature and the resting time and that helps make a good bacon and egg pie.

'With bacon and egg, while it's hot the filling can rise but when it cools it can sink down. To win the Supreme award or a gold award with a bacon and egg pie it has to be a perfect pie. It's pretty hard to bake a bacon and egg pie,” says Patrick.

Last year with the help of his daughter, Patrick tried his luck in the Gourmet Fruit category with a new filling of apple, Cointreau pear and cheesecake.

It didn't bring home an award but still made the Top 10. He's says you have to keep thinking of new recipes; trying ideas that will attract interest from the judges.

When it comes to innovative ideas for pie fillings, Patrick says you can put just about anything in a pie as long as it tastes good.

'European food and Asian food is really combined now. Like butter chicken is an Indian food but the butter chicken pie is really popular. A few years ago we did a show called New Zealand Down Under and we cooked a Vietnamese beef pie that tasted really good.”

Patrick says in the years that he has been a competitor in the Pie Awards he's noticed the standard of entries improve greatly.

'To be honest we've won many times and each year we keep trying harder because at the moment the competition is really strong and bakers do a really good job. If you want to win you must do better. So we've got to try harder and create something even better for this year.”

Pie Awards entries go digital

Exciting news, bakers! NZ Bakels has added a new way to enter this year's Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.

From May 1 online entries will be available via www.nzbakels.co.nz > Pie Awards.

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.”

'Remember entries close June 28, 5pm. It's important to read the Call for Entries and review the rules and tips. Also it is important you have the correct weight for your pies to avoid being disqualified.

'Any questions, call our team at NZ Bakels on 0800 PIELINE (0800 743546) during office hours.

'We look forward to receiving your entry and best of luck!” says Brent.

'Oh and don't forget to follow our Facebook page/Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards for pie news and tips.”

Key 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.