“Hmm, my favourite pie? My nana made the best bacon and egg pie and my mother a really great steak and kidney pie. And I love a good chicken and leek pie….” says Nici Wickes, this year’s Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards celebrity chef judge.
As a food writer and editor, published cookbook author, recipe developer and food stylist, and serious foodie, Nici knows from experience a good pie when she tastes it.
In her highly successful World Kitchen TV series, Nici travelled the globe in search of new culinary experiences. It broadened her appreciation of just how well New Zealand performs on the global food stage. And while a pub pie served well in the UK is a thing of delicious delight, Nici still believes New Zealand makes the best pies in the world. “When I’m tootling around the country I can still remember locations that sell really top quality pies.”
She can’t wait for judging day on July 24 to find the 2025 Supreme winner.
“I feel as though I’ve eaten so many pies in my life that I know a great pie as soon as I bite into it. I absolutely love a pie, I cook pies. They’re one of my favourite snacks. If I’m out and about and on the run, or if I go to a quality café and they’ve got a pie, I’ll find it hard to go past that.”
Nici says pies have been an intrinsic part of her life since childhood. On birthdays she was allowed to order a pie and doughnut at the local dairy for her school lunch. “It was an absolute treat.”
“As well as her bacon and egg pie, my Nana used to make gorgeous little mince pies and the bigger individual ones when we were young, and Mum always made a really good pie too.”
Her ‘go to’ pie to cook is a chicken pie. “I think bakeries and cafes have really nailed meat pies, the mince and cheese and the beef pies etc, but I don’t know that we’ve got the chicken pie quite sorted yet. I often find that there’s a bit too much very gelatinous gravy and not enough chunks of chicken, I’m not sure what that’s about. So when you make one at home you can be in control of that. I often have a leek in the house, so a chicken, leek and mustard pie is super easy to throw together. Even better if you’ve got what I like to call ‘a bachelor’s handbag’, a rotisserie chicken…I make a beautiful white wine sauce to bind all that together. Absolutely love it!”
Nici says she’s open to the various flavour trends for pie fillings, but she says you can’t beat a classic like a pepper steak. “I was famous at one point for a beef, pinot noir and mushroom pie which was just glorious…those classic kinds of flavours that really deserve to be encased in a gorgeous pastry.”
In judging, Nici will be looking for a good ratio of meat to gravy, quality pastry that is not too thick or undercooked.
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“The Gourmet Meat category is always interesting because you can have so much license with that. And I love that the category for mince and cheese is beef and/or mutton and cheese. I love the idea of mutton in a pie, not lamb but mutton. It will give it a richness, and of course no one can afford to put lamb in a pie, but again, it’s those strong flavours that you’re looking for; strong and well-balanced. “There’s no point in going too crazy, because the thing about a pie is that it’s very familiar to New Zealanders. We’ve come to expect what a mince and cheese will be, what a ‘steak and the mush’ will be. I don’t know that we want too many surprises in those categories because pies to me are real comfort food. You want it just the way you’ve always imagined it, only better. I don’t really want someone chucking something weird in my mince and cheese pie unless you’re certain it’s going to be a winner and work.”
Nici says pies have a special-ness to them but they’re really accessible to all Kiwis. “And that’s so unique to New Zealand. I really miss a meat pie when I travel overseas. You just can’t believe that no one else does a really good meat pie overseas. New Zealand has really mastered the art of mass producing them and having them so you can grab them on the run…”
When it comes to judging, Nici will be casting her votes on pies that aren’t a subtle gesture, that are full of great flavour with a perfect pastry encasing. “It’s all about the ingredients. It’s hard to make good food out of bad ingredients. So, start with quality ingredients and you’ll get a great finished product. That’s the number one rule in cooking.”