MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail: A Tasty Success

Last month North Canterbury locals and visitors alike got their pastry fix as part of the inaugural MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail – and what a month it’s been! Launched as a light-hearted celebration of North Canterbury’s bakers and makers, the trail encouraged people to hit the road and taste their way across the region. From tradies on smoko to families turning it into a school holiday adventure, it was awesome to see people getting behind it and supporting local.

The feedback has been fantastic, and we’ve shared a few laughs along the way. One reviewer called Flaxton Road Bakery and Café’s pie “outstanding” with the jalapeño giving it a nice bite, while another couldn’t get enough of Amberley Pie’s chicken brie and cranberry saying it was “pie perfection” with meat that was “perfectly seasoned and textured.” Over at Culverden Bakery, fans raved about their Pork Belly Pie with “large slices of juicy, tender pork belly with crispy crackling and buttery pastry,” calling it the best pork pie they’ve ever had.

To wrap up the Pie Trail, we’ve gone through all of the reviews and put together some light-hearted Awards. These fun categories are not a formal ranking, but more about showcasing the variety of pies across the trail. We all have our favourites, and that’s exactly what made this so great.

A huge congratulations to this year’s category winners:

The Cheesiest: PJ’s Pies
Flakiest Pastry: Kells Kitchen
Perfect Ratio % (meat  to pastry): Black & White Coffee Cartel Rangiora
Tastiest Flavour: Waikari Kitchen
Classic Kiwi Favourite: Percival Street Bakery
Paddock to Pie (Best Use of Local Ingredients): Harris Farms Shop

A special shoutout to Woodend Bakery, who took out this year’s Most Reviews category. Clearly a crowd favourite with plenty of love from the community.

And of course, congratulations to Paul Blackler, who now holds the ultimate bragging rights as our 2025 Pie Hard of the Year! He left the most reviews and proved he’s as dedicated to pastry as he is to pumping iron.

All 22 eateries on this year’s trail brought something special, and we’re stoked to have had every one of them onboard. The Pie Trail wouldn’t have been what it was without them. To all the bakers, makers, and pie lovers who got behind it – thank you. We’ve loved seeing your photos, reading your reviews, and watching people explore North Canterbury in a whole new way. This first-ever Pie Trail has proven what we already knew: North Canterbury is full of pride, passion, and seriously good pies – and they’re all MADE in NORTH CANTERBURY.

Be sure to check out our MADE NORTH CANTERBURY ‘The North Course’ returning this November. Participating eateries will create a dish using North Canterbury produce. Taste and rate and go in the draw to win an epic North Canterbury getaway!

You can see the full list of this years Pie Trail winners at www.ncpietrail.co.nz.