Two Foodstuffs supermarkets have taken home top awards at New Zealand’s biggest food competition, the 19th annual Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards.

Foodstuffs bakers triumphed in two categories and won the overall Supreme Pie Award.

A humble potato top pie from New World Greenmeadows, Napier, won NZ’s Top Pie award.

Top chef and judge, Martin Bosley, was blown away by the potato top pie which he described as, “Quite simply, sensational. Everything about it was perfection: the creamy potato top, beautiful pasty and balance of pastry to filling. People should get their hands on this pie – it’s worth a drive to Napier.”

Foodstuffs NZ MD, Steve Anderson says, “This is a fantastic result for one of our talented bakers. Our customers may not be aware that almost every New World in the country has onsite master bakers who are passionate about the craft and use only the best quality ingredients.”

New World Greenmeadows baker, Shane Forster, is over the moon with the result. “A great potato top pie is a Kiwi classic. It comes down to getting ingredient proportions just right and perfecting the seasoning. And you can’t beat potato on top of a pie.”

Baker, Roger Cathro, also received highly commended for his Thai chicken and steak and gravy.

He has won Gold at the awards three years running with his steak and gravy last year and steak and cheese in 2013.

The winning pies were judged by a panel of 21 judges, from 5200 pies, in 12 categories.

Martin says of the country’s biggest food competition, “The pie is a New Zealand icon and the competition is taken extremely seriously by everyone involved. The competition gets stronger every year.”