Beau Collick of Euro Patisserie in Torbay His entry of slow cooked venison, roasted vegetables, cranberry and red wine sauce pie with mince and cheese won the 2024 Apprentice Piemaker Award.
The Apprentice Pie Baker Awards is a national competition open to all bakers studying towards the New Zealand Trade Baker qualification. The competition has two categories: Mince and Cheese and Gourmet Meat.
2nd place goes to Lianna MacFarlane from U-Bake in Timaru The winner was a smoked chicken and leek pie, and the third place was Benjamin Crosby of The Baker, Tirau Slow cooked Angus beef pie with bacon and mushrooms.
Both pies needed to achieve top marks in the judging process to be awarded the ‘Apprentice Pie Maker’ award. New Zealand Bakeles Managing Director Brent Carsell said the standard of submissions was so high on judging day on 12 June that it was like judging for the Bakeles New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards.
“The aim of the competition is for contestants to make an entire pie from scratch, from the crust to the filling. Contestants must make a mince and cheese pie as well as a gourmet meat pie of their choice.”
“It’s great to see the passion they put into some of these pies.
“The competition shows what the apprentices have learnt and what they can do in the bakery, giving participants a deeper understanding. And winning this competition gives them recognition and helps them progress in their careers.”
Beau says the idea for the gourmet meat pie was sparked after he tasted venison when he bought his first pie from a Foxton bakery – he came second last year.and Last year I entered the Apprentice Pie Maker Awards with a venison and cheese pie, but this year I decided to take it to the next level by adding a cranberry and red wine sauce.
Bo, who is currently in the second year of a three-year apprenticeship under Sopheap Long and Buna Hout at Euro Patisserie, says he started out as a part-time employee while still a student about five years ago, which led to him being offered full-time employment and an apprenticeship.
Bo had this to say about his win: “It was quite a shock when I got the news in the morning. I got a call half asleep and they said, ‘We won!’ It was so amazing. We were all standing in the bakery trying to contain our excitement while I was on the phone, and then we all celebrated afterwards. When I got home and told my family, they were so happy for me. They were so excited.”
Sopheap Rong said: “Bo has been working with me in the bakery since he was about 15 years old in high school. He won this year and we are all very proud of him.”
Bo’s venison pies are available in store and Sopheap says the cranberry and red wine flavour has proven really popular. “Last year I didn’t have cranberries in it. I had roasted veggies and cheese but this year I wanted to do something different with the venison. When I ate it I was like, ‘Oh my God’. It melted in your mouth and when you combine it with the roasted veggies it’s just beautiful!”
When he’s not working, Beau likes to travel to different parts of New Zealand to eat pies, and he once tasted a venison pie in Foxton.
“I found a bakery and went in and they had this pie with venison and Camembert gravy. I tried it and the idea came to me. It was so good and I’d never had anything like it. I’d never tried venison before and it was so much better than a steak with no fat or skin. So I thought I’d give it a try and see if other people liked it too.”
Bo says he is extremely grateful to Sopheap and Buna for giving him the opportunity to become a baker and giving him the skills to be a successful baker: “Without them, I wouldn’t even know how to make a pie.”
He also wanted to thank NZ Bakels: “Without them I wouldn’t be here.”Beau will be presented with his award at the Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards on July 30.
