Australia’s Best Pie Has Been Crowned for 2026 – and We Can’t Keep a Lid on It

When it comes to iconic Australian food items, a classic meat pie with an interior hotter than the surface of the sun is tough to beat.

This week, the best pies (and pasties) in the country went head to head at Australia’s Best Pie and Pastie Competition. Held over three days on the Gold Coast by the Baking Association of Australia, hundreds of entries faced double-evaluation by a panel of industry experts.

Each entry is inspected first as a cold pastry to check the bake, then heated and evaluated for shape, size, colour, filling flavour, texture and creativity. Entries are then judged based on the combined results.

Victoria’s Country Cob Bakery took the crown for Australia’s Best Pie with its Malaysian prawn pie and 12 medals overall. The pie’s filling is a mix of creamy coconut curry, aromatic spices and prawns wrapped in Country Cob’s flaky, golden pastry.

“I love Malaysian food, and the idea for this pie came from an amazing seafood curry my wife and I had one cold night at a Malaysian restaurant. I told her, ‘This would make a great pie’, co-owner Ryan Khun told Broadsheet.

“I shared the idea with my brother [co-owner and head baker] Chan, and after lots of research, trial and error, we finally created our Malaysian prawn pie.”

The Khun brothers are no strangers to the competition circuit, and were awarded best pie-maker in the same competition three years in a row (2018-2020), and again in 2023 for their Cambodian fish amok pie. Country Cob has locations in Boronia, Kyneton and Springvale.

Meanwhile, Australia’s best pastie went to South Australia’s Orange Spot Bakery, another competition regular and the winner of the Best Traditional Pastie category in last year’s event.

Victoria dominated the major categories this year with eight wins across pies and pasties, followed by South Australia with five, and Queensland with four.

Here is the full list of winners for 2026:

Australia’s Best Pie: Country Cob Bakery, Vic (Malaysian Prawn Pie)
Plain Mince Beef Pie: Paradise Bakehouse, Qld (Runner-up: Goldies Bake Shop, Qld)
Chunky Plain Beef Pie: Gisborne Bakery and Cafe, Vic
Flavoured Beef Pie: Country Cob Bakery, Vic
Gourmet Pie: Paradise Bakehouse, Qld
Poultry Pie: Paradise Bakehouse, Qld
Seafood Pie: Country Cob Bakery, Vic
Mushroom Pie: Banana Boogie Bakery, SA
Vegetarian Pie: North End Bakehouse, Vic
Gluten Free Pie: Heavens Bakehouse, Vic
Apprentice Plain Mince Beef Pie: Jasper Metzke, North End Bakehouse, Vic
Australia's Best Pastie: Orange Spot Bakery, SA
Traditional Pastie: Orange Spot Bakery, SA
Cornish Pastie: Ray's Patisserie, Qld
Gourmet Pastie: Orange Spot Bakery, SA
Vegetarian Pastie: Orange Spot Bakery, SA
Gluten Free Pastie: JoJo's Gluten Free Goodies, Vic
Apprentice Traditional Pastie: Natalie Falo, Orange Spot Bakery, SA