Ballarat’s Annual Pie Competition Has 30 Entries – Here Are Seven To Try

The humble pie, once designed as portable sustenance for travellers and workers, has long outgrown its functional beginnings. These days, it’s the main event.

Australians travel far and wide for a good pie, chasing that balance of structure and filling, nostalgia and invention. And in August, many will flock to Ballarat, where a city-wide pie competition turns the regional hub into a destination for pastry-led eating.

Across the month, venues around town – from bakeries and cafes to pubs, restaurants and hotels – will put forward their take. While the official judging for Ballarat’s Best Pie is set for August 1, the People’s Choice award is decided by public vote from August 1 to 31, with the winner announced in early September.

With 30 options on offer, there’s more than enough pastry to fill a weekend (or two, or three). If you’re looking to narrow it down, here are a few worth seeking out.

Flying Chillies

This bakehouse leans into Malaysian and Indonesian flavours, folding them through croissants, danishes and pies. Its competition pie is a sweet take inspired by onde-onde, the pandan flavoured glutinous rice balls found in Malaysia. Puff pastry is filled with palm sugar caramel, pandan cheesecake and coconut whipped cream for a soft, chewy centre. Find it at The Salty Sparrow and the Ballarat Farmers’ Market (on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month).

Tuki

With dry-stone cottages and a working farm, Tuki is as much about the setting as the food.

Seafood naturally finds its way onto the menu at the trout farm’s restaurant. Here, it appears in a shepherd’s pie of sorts, made with rainbow trout in a sharp, sweet-sour escabeche, then topped with mash made from local potatoes.

The Mallow Hotel

Just off the main strip, this pub approaches classics with a European touch. Its duck pithivier fits the bill: a domed, spiral-scored pastry filled with slow-cooked duck, caramelised brioche, chicken liver parfait and onion jam. It’s rich, hearty and ideal for cool winter nights.

The George Hotel

Right in the centre of town, this heritage hotel is an easy stop between venues. The pie here is a sweet rendition, drawing on the chef’s Filipino background. It’s filled with a trio of peach, mango and coconut – a nod to a popular fast-food pie in the Philippines – and served with house-made cheddar cheese ice-cream, another local favourite in the Southeast Asian country.

Roy Hammond

Some pies are knife-and-fork affairs. By contrast, this one by a local cocktail bar is designed to be eaten standing up, with the pie in one hand and a drink in the other. The filling nods to the kitchen’s Korean influences with beef short rib, rice noodles, shiitake and aromatics, all encased in crisp pastry.

Hop Temple

Hop Temple is a natural stopping point for craft beer while in town. It’s also entering the pie competition with a smoked cheeseburger pie that folds the elements of a classic burger into pastry. Best paired with something cold on tap (you’ve got over 200 options to choose from).

Hideaway Coffee Bar

For those after something closer to tradition, head to Hideaway Coffee Bar, a hub for specialty coffee, brunch and viennoiserie. Its entry, dubbed “old favourite”, is a straightforward mix of ground beef, beef shin and jus in flaky pastry – a quintessential Aussie pie, done well.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Visit Ballarat. Ballarat’s Best Pie returns this August, with 30 savoury and sweet pies to dig into. For your chance to win a Ballarat getaway, vote for your favourite pie until August 31 – the People’s Choice winner will be announced in early September.