MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail Celebrates a Big Second Year

And just like that, another MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail has come to an end. After the success of our inaugural trail last year, we weren’t quite sure what to expect from round two. Safe to say, North Canterbury was more than happy to get back in the car and eat its way around the region.

The 2026 MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail was our biggest yet, with bakeries and cafés from across North Canterbury getting involved and locals and visitors taking the opportunity to try somewhere new, revisit an old favourite and, of course, eat a lot of pies. And the numbers speak for themselves. More than 550 reviews were left across the trail, giving us plenty of evidence that North Canterbury was well and truly up for another round. The Pie Trail is an initiative of Enterprise North Canterbury through MADE NORTH CANTERBURY, celebrating the food, drink, makers and producers right here in our region. And what better way to do that in winter than with a road trip fuelled by pies?

But which pie was the best? That’s the tricky part. One of the best things about the Pie Trail is that there really isn’t a single “best pie”. Everyone has their favourite. Some people are all about a classic mince and cheese. Others are looking for something a little more adventurous. Some judge a pie by the filling, others by the pastry, and there will always be someone who believes the only correct way to eat one is with a generous amount of tomato sauce.

So rather than trying to crown one overall winner, we went through the hundreds of reviews and handed out a few completely unofficial, but very important, awards.

🏆 The 2026 Pie Trail Awards

• The Cheesiest
  Percival Street Bakery, Rangiora
• Perfect Puff Pastry
  The Bakers Rack, Kaiapoi
• Filled to the Brim
  Amberley Pies, Amberley
• Tastiest Flavour
  Parnassus Roadhouse, Parnassus
• Worth the Roadie
  Culverden Bakery, Culverden
• Pie-oneer Award – Most Innovative
  Black & White Coffee Cartel, Rangiora
• Pie-Fluencer Award
  The Office Cafe, Waikuku

A huge congratulations to all of our category winners, and to every business that took part.

Woodend does it again

There was one award where we weren’t surprised to see a familiar name. Woodend Bakery took out the Most Reviews Award for the second year running. Clearly, their customers are a committed bunch. Review after review came in from people who had made Woodend Bakery a stop on their Pie Trail adventure, showing just how much support there is for the local businesses taking part. Two years running is no small feat, so congratulations to the team at Woodend Bakery!

Meet our 2026 Pie Hard of the Year

Then there was the person who took their Pie Trail commitment to another level. Congratulations to Sam Wood, our 2026 Pie Hard of the Year! Sam got stuck into the trail and left plenty of reviews along the way, earning himself a brand-new YETI chilly bin for his efforts. And naturally, we couldn’t hand it over at just any old time. We caught up with Sam at 5.15am before work to deliver his prize — with his usual breakfast from Woodend Bakery in hand. A chilly bin, a pie and an early start. Honestly, we couldn’t have planned a more fitting Pie Hard handover if we’d tried.

A massive thank you to every bakery and café that got behind the Pie Trail this year. You helped make our second year bigger than the first and gave locals and visitors plenty of reasons to get out, explore North Canterbury and support the businesses making food right here in our backyard. And to everyone who bought a pie, left a review, shared a photo or dragged the family along for a pie-filled road trip — thank you!

Every visit helped support a local business, and that’s really what the Pie Trail is all about. And, most importantly, they’re all MADE in NORTH CANTERBURY. You can see the full list of the 2026 Pie Trail winners at ncpietrail.co.nz.