From a classic mince pie doused with tom sauce after hitting the surf to a piping-hot pie from the servo on a road trip, pies are a near-perfect meal. And we’ve got some cracking ones in Australia – so it’s a bloody tough task to find the country’s best. Luckily, there’s a competition dedicated to doing just that.
Now in its 36th year, The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition – Australia’s largest and longest-running contest for pies, sausage rolls and pasties – has crowned its 2025 winners. This year’s competition was fierce (and flaky), with hundreds of bakeries nationwide vying for a share of $50,000 in prizes and the ultimate bragging rights to Australia’s best pie. So, what exactly makes a “good pie”? According to chief judge Mike French, it comes down to several key criteria: “a base that is two to three millimetres thick with a nice even cooked-through bake. Good lamination on the lid with natural colour. Filling that doesn’t run, is stable and has good sensory appeal (taste, smell, texture and aftertaste).”
Across three days of competition, all pies are judged anonymously by a panel of industry experts against a set of criteria: general appearance (shape, even colour), size (single-serve lunch pie), filling (meat quality, flavour, colour and texture) and pastry (a visual flake, colour and eating quality).
Excitingly, The Piefather took home silver in this year’s awards for Australia’s best plain pie with its beef creation. The medal-winning pie features beef mince with generous chunks, all coated in a delicious gravy, encased in a golden, flaky crust. Hearty and comforting, it has great structural integrity, a deep savoury flavour, and I can honestly say it’s the best beef pie I’ve ever had (and I've had a few). The Piefather – which operates under the umbrella of Mick’s Branded Pies, a family-run business established in 1990 – only uses quality Aussie ingredients, and pies are hand-baked daily. And the best news? You can order Australia’s second-best pie on Uber Eats. (Not an ad – I may have had one for breakfast.) (No regrets.)
Issac Martin (AKA Sir Eats-a-lot), pie and burger connoisseur and legendary food content creator, agrees that the pies at The Piefather slap, saying: “This just might be a new contender for best pie shop.”
As Issac sums it up: “They’re good people making great pies.” Hear, hear.
Paradise Bakehouse on Queensland’s Bundaberg coast took home gold with its classic mince pie. This isn’t the first time the locally owned bakery – which opened its first outlet in Moore Park in 2021 and now boasts locations in Innes Park and Burnett Heads – has taken out the top gong. It claimed the Best Plain Meat Pie award in 2023, and its dancing scallop pie won Best Gourmet Pie in 2021. Mount Barker Country Bakery in Western Australia won Best Gourmet Pie for its beef bourguignon.
The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition also hands out prizes for the best gourmet pie and sausage roll, along with categories for the top vegetarian, gluten-free and seafood pies and more. Congrats to Samuel Gee Pies and Pastries in NSW's Southern Highlands, which took home gold for its gourmet sausage roll.
You can see the full results here and check out the major winners below:
The Official Great Aussie Pie Competition winners for 2025
- Best Plain Pie – Paradise Bakehouse, QLD
- Best Plain Pie runner-up – The Piefather, NSW
- Best Gourmet Pie – Mount Barker Country Bakery, WA
- Best Plain Sausage Roll – Banana Boogie Bakery, SA
- Best Gourmet Sausage Roll – Samuel Gee Pies and Pastries, NSW
- Best Meat Pastie – Miami Bakehouse, WA
Address: 437 Gardeners Rd, Rosebery NSW 2018
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