AS IT turns out, the 10 out of 10 medals that Paul the Pieman scored at the Baking Association of Australia’s big pie and pastie awards early in June this year was just an entrée.
Because they’ve just nailed two of the biggest trophy awards at the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in Sydney; the Tom Lindsay Pepper Steak Pie Award for the best pepper pie overall in the Australia and also the best port pie in Australia for their Korean BBQ Pork Pie.
“Absolutely ecstatic,” said Inverloch baker, Mitch Woods, son of long-time Gippsland bakers Paul and Robyn Woods.
“We’ve been up in Sydney, for the first two days of the judging, but we flew home Thursday because it’s dad’s birthday on Friday.
“We’d have stayed if we knew this was going to happen.
“We’ve never won a trophy award at the Great Aussie Pie Competition, and now we’ve won two at the one show, amazing,” he said.
“We only found out about it at 3pm this afternoon, so not even our staff know. It’s exciting. Fantastic.”
Mitch paid tribute to his team at Inverloch and in turn they paid tribute to the Woods’ family that run the business.
“They work so hard, and they’ve given that many kids a start in their working life; they really deserve it,” said one of the staff members this afternoon.
News that Paul the Pieman has won some of the top prizes at the premier Australian pie awards comes just in time for the school holidays.
Why not call in and make your selection from the 34 varieties on offer. There’s also an array of gourmet sausage rolls and pasties.
About the top Australian pie, pastie and sausage roll awards
The Aussie Pie Council presented its 34th Official Great Aussie Pie Competition (OGAPC) and the 10th Official Great Aussie Pie Sausage Roll Competition, at the Fine Food Australia Exhibition in Sydney from September 11-14, 2023 with more than $25,000 in prizes up for grabs, but more importantly, great marketing opportunities if you can rise to the top of almost 2000 entries to gain gold, silver, or bronze medals, or even one of the limited number of trophy prizes on offer.
The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition is judged by a team of professional pie comp judges. The panel consists of industry representatives and qualified bakers/pastry cooks.
Pie Judging Criteria: General appearance (shape, even colour), size (single-serve lunch pie), filling (meat quality, flavour, colour, and texture), pastry (a visual flake - if using puff pastry), colour, eating quality) and creativity for appearance and filling (gourmet category only).
Of the main awards won by Paul the Pieman, the ‘Tom Lindsay Pepper Steak Pie Award’ is one of the most highly sought-after in the show.
Engineer and manufacturer of ‘Simple Simon’ pie machines and bakery equipment (Lindsay Pie Making Equipment), Tom Lindsay passed away a few years ago and had this award named after him in honour of his involvement in the industry. Known as “Big Tom” or “Mister Pie” for his dedication to The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition, Tom was at the comp every year, imparting his knowledge of and passion for the industry.
Tom’s favourite pie was Pepper Steak, and he was honoured in 2017 with the creation of the Tom Lindsay Pepper Steak Award.
As well as a trophy (provided by the Di Salvatore Family), the award also includes $1000 worth of Simple Simon pie pallets, certificate of excellence, electronic badge stating which category has been won, digital pro-forma media releases and discounts with selected competition sponsors.
“Tom was one of the biggest supporters of this event over the years and was such a major figure in the industry that it’s a real honour for us to receive this award,” said Mitchell Woods this week.
As well as producing the ‘Best Pepper Steak Pie’ in Australia, Paul the Pieman has also produced the ‘Best Pork Pie’ in Australia with its Korean BBQ Pie.
Paul the Pieman won two category awards and a swag of medals for the pies they entered in the 34th Official Great Aussie Pie Competition (OGAPC) in Sydney in the past week.
Category winners:
Pepper Steak Pie category winner, Tom Lindsay Pepper Steak Award: Paul the Pieman Pepper Pie.
Best Pork Pie category winner: Paul the Pieman Korean BBQ Pork Pie.
Gold medal winners:
- Gourmet: Red meat, smoky beef, jalapeno and cheese.
- Gourmet: BBQ Brisket with mac and cheese.
- Gourmet: Red meat pepper steak.
- Gourmet: BBQ smoked brisket & Jack Daniels.
Silver medal winners:
- Gourmet roll: Mince beef, cheese and jalapeno.
- Gourmet roll: Poultry chicken, leek and mushroom.
Bronze medal winners:
- Sausage roll: Mince beef.
- Plain mince pie: Chunky plain.
- Gourmet: Poultry Chicken and leek.
Other local trophy winners were: Best Gluten Free Pie, the Angus Beef & Caramelised Onion Pie from Jo Jo’s Gluten Free Goodies, Kernot and the Best Gluten Free Sausage Roll Spinach & Ricotta from Jo Jo’s Gluten Free Goodies Kernot.
Kelly's Bakery at Korumburra was awarded a Bronze medal for their Gourmet Beef Triple Pepper Pie. Congratulations.
The blue riband competition for the best plain meat pie in Australia was won by Paradise Bakehouse Innes Park Queensland, with the runner-up best plain meat pie in Australia being Country Cob Bakery in Springvale Victoria.
If you are chasing good pies when travelling around the state these holidays, Rolling Pin Pies and Cakes at Ocean Grove took out the trophy for the Best Gourmet Pie in Australia for their Chunky Beef & Bacon pie plus a swag of other medals. J & M Catering of Wendouree won the Best Traditional Pastie award.
About Paul's winning pies
Focussing on Paul the Pieman's gold medal winners, it was especially trilling that a new pie won a gold, just weeks after the first examples of the pie hit the shelves.
"We've been trialling our new BBQ smoked brisket & Jack Daniels Pie for a while, but we only put the finished product out a few weeks before the Great Aussie Pie comp, so to come up with a gold for that after we've just come out of development is pretty special," said Mitchell Woods this week.
Gold medal winners:
- Smoky beef, jalapeno and cheese: It's got an authentic smoky beef taste, with the smoothness of the cheese and a little bit of bite from the jalapeño chillis.
- Gourmet: BBQ Brisket with mac and cheese. This one was invented while the bakers had a bit of time through the COVID lockdowns, and it has become one of the bakery's very best sellers. The mac and cheese really compliments the slow-cooked BBQ brisket and has been a hit with customers.
- Gourmet: Pepper steak pie. What can you say about Australia's best pepper pie, beautiful pastry crust, quality beef steak and just the right seasoning to have you coming back for more, almost immediately.
- Gourmet: BBQ smoked brisket & Jack Daniels. Here's the very latest pie from Paul's again with the sensational smoky brisket at the heart, but with that special JD taste that has just got to be tasted to appreciate. Something a bit different but one that the judges and local customers have quickly warmed to.
