![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/pie-3333-jpg.webp\")
The 2026 NZ Supreme Pie Award went to a bacon and egg pie by Sean Vo from the Levain Bakery. Photo: Marcus Bailey <\/p>\nA Christchurch eatery has claimed the title of New Zealand’s best boutique pie, while an Auckland bakery that was temporarily closed earlier this year due to “widespread cockroach activity\u201d has won the supreme award.<\/p>\n
Traiteur of Merivale on Papanui Rd won the gold award\u00a0for its\u00a0oven-roasted pear with vanilla, caramel and ginger pie in the Caf\u00e9 Boutique section at the\u00a02026 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards in Auckland on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
The winning\u00a0Traiteur of Merivale pie was created by Anthea Loeffen. It can be bought at\u00a0the store for\u00a0$10.95.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a\u00a0bacon and egg pie\u00a0created\u00a0by Sean Vo\u00a0from Auckland\u2019s Levain Bakery\u00a0won the\u00a0Supreme Pie Award.\u00a0The \u201credemption\u201d pie\u00a0earned a perfect score.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pure delight to taste with its smoky slices and petite core of bacon, the generous amount of whole eggs, and that signature light, yet creamy sauce with a delicate hint of cheese,\u201d said NZ Bakels boss, Brent Kersel, in naming the supreme pie award winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy late father, he ate a bacon and egg pie every day in the morning and a cup of tea or coffee. That was his ritual. So that was my fondest memory of him as growing up, as working in the bakery beside my parents,\u201d Vo told RNZ\u2019s Morning Report the morning after his win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a redemption story for us,\u201d Vo said.<\/p>\n
Back in May, Levain Artisan Bakery was forced to close because it received the lowest possible food safety grade. Documents provided to the Herald at the time showed the council forced the closure because of \u201cwidespread cockroach activity\u201d and the operator was \u201cnot adequately managing pest control\u201d.<\/p>\n
On May 31, the bakery re-opened after a follow-up inspection and currently holds an A good grade, according to the Auckland Council website.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo honour our family history and legacy we didn\u2019t want to be known as a bakery infamous for that E grade, and we never had that in the history of our family,\u201d Vo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very disappointing, but we came back stronger. We put in better systems. We made sure that the older building was more compliant with council and better scheduled pest control.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we improved everything\u2026 it made us stronger. Just the support from other bakers that message us and the community telling us to hang in there and just come back stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vo has owned and operated Levain with sister-in-law Huinly Nguyen for four years, taking over the small family run shop which has been in Blockhouse Bay for 40 years. Vo\u2019s bacon and egg pie earned a gold in last year\u2019s awards. He added another gold to his swag this year for steak and gravy.<\/p>\n
The 2026 NZ Supreme Pie Award went to a bacon and egg pie by Sean Vo from the Levain Bakery. Photo: Marcus Bailey <\/p>\n
Early doors on Wednesday, Levain had already sold 50 of their winning pies, with more going in the oven to satisfy another rush.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those foods that, it\u2019s just easy to eat,\u201d Vo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my wife\u2019s favourite pie as well, aside from the steak and cheese. And, you know, it\u2019s just, you just love that breakfast pie, or it could be a lunch pie or a cheeky little snack at the end of the day, if you wanted to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those kinds of pies that it\u2019s just an all rounder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kersel said the pie awards, now in their 30th year, drew most entries in the traditional steak and cheese and mince and cheese categories.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But judges noted bakers had pushed the boundaries more than ever, listing memorable creations like Dutch beef stew (Hachee); Korean herbal chicken and spiced date; mountain goat curry with roasted kumara, pork sisio; smoked beef brisket with biscoff, jalape\u00f1os, cheese, truffle paste and soy sauce; ramon-do; Ceylon black pork curry; South African Durham lamb curry; beef brisket, pineapple and ginger sauce; roasted pear with vanilla, caramel and ginger and Lo\u2019i hoosi<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Cafe Boutique <\/p>\n Gold Award, Anthea Loeffen, Traiteur of Merivale, Christchurch for oven roasted pear with vanilla, caramel and ginger.<\/p>\n Bacon and Egg <\/p>\n Gold Award, Sean Vo, Levain Artisan Bakery, Auckland<\/p>\n Mince and Gravy <\/p>\n Gold Award, Jason Hay, Richoux Patisserie Limited, Auckland<\/p>\n Mince and Cheese <\/p>\n Gold Award, Cheth Bun, Eurobake Espresso Ltd, Kumeu<\/p>\n Potato Top <\/p>\n Gold Award, Sok Heang Nguon, Taste Bakery and Roast, Henderson<\/p>\n Steak and Gravy <\/p>\n Gold Awards, Sean Vo, Levain Artisan Bakery, Auckland<\/p>\n Steak and Cheese <\/p>\n Gold Award, Songheng Sor, High Bakery & Cafe, Hamilton<\/p>\n Chicken and Vegetable <\/p>\n Gold Award, Vong Hean, Pie2go Mairangi Bay Bakery, Auckland<\/p>\n Gourmet Meat <\/p>\n Gold Award, Tour Khin, The Village Bakery Cafe Piopio, for creamy paua and cheese<\/p>\n Vegetarian <\/p>\n Gold Award, Sophea Tang, Penny Lanes Bakery, Auckland<\/p>\n -RNZ and Allied Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Christchurch eatery has claimed the title of New Zealand’s best boutique pie, while an Auckland bakery that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-560085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/762867121_18364088551213994_7376486355646263451_n-jpg.webp\")
The award-winning oven-roasted pear with vanilla, caramel and ginger pie from Traiteur. Photo: Traiteur European Butchery <\/p>\n