Which pie will be named Ballarat’s best?

THE battle for Ballarat’s Best Pie is back for another year with thirty-six unique savoury and sweet pies on offer at local cafes, restaurants and bakeries.

From a beef bourguignon pie at Eclectic Tastes, to a fish pie at Eleanora, and limoncello meringue pie at Kilderkin Distillery, there will be something to suit everyone’s tastes.

This year’s judges include Peruvian-born chef Alejandro Saravia, Melbourne restaurant critic and presenter Kara Monssen, MasterChef Australia semi-finalist and Good Chef Bad Chef co-host Tim Bone, food journalist Richard Cornish, and City of Ballarat deputy-mayor Cr Ben Taylor.

“It starts with the creativity of the filling,” Bone said. “I want something a bit outside of the box but that tastes really amazing.

“I think utilising as much local Ballarat produce in the pies is a really important category for me as well.

“The bottom you want it to hold a bit of integrity and not be too thick but not fall apart, and then the top you’re really looking for that beautiful flaky puff pastry.”

Erika Browne, owner of Mrs Browne’s Bakes, is creating a raspberry goldfields cookie pie which will be available for purchase at Naomi & i cafe.

The creation, made with a double chocolate cookie base rather than pastry, will showcase local ingredients including Sovereign Hill’s raspberry drops, Inglenook Dairy cream and White Swan eggs.

“It’s a bit different from all the other pies because it’s a cookie pie instead of a normal pie because we specialise in cookies,” Ms Browne said.

The pies will be available throughout August and Ms Browne said the competition is a great initiative to bring tourists to Ballarat.

“I’m already seeing a lot of interest from not only the locals but also people around Ballarat, so I think it’s going to bring a lot of people to the town,” Browne said.

The best pie will be announced at Itinerant Spirits on Sunday 2 August.

Other awards will include best savoury pie, best sweet pie, best bakery pie, brilliantly unexpected pie and pie with purpose.

Each category winner will receive a hand-painted pie dish crafted by Ballarat ceramicist Shelby Sherritt.

There will also be a people’s choice award announced in early September following voting throughout the month of August.

To view the full program, view the Visit Ballarat website.