Today nearly 6000 pies were judged in Auckland to find the best pie in the country.
Tomorrow, July 28, bakers will be waiting for their phone to ring; waiting for a not-so-ordinary call, a potentially life-changing call. At the other end of the line will be NZ Bakels managing director Brent Kersel.
Some bakers might not believe it’s him. Others will get excited just hearing his voice because Mr Kersel has called to say they’ve won a Gold Award in the NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, the largest food competition in New Zealand.
It’s a huge honour to receive the golden phone call. It means the baker has reached the pinnacle of their career in the baking industry where they will be highly respected for this achievement by their peers and fellow Pie Awards competitors. It means that they can expect long term business success, and that they are one of 11 bakeries vying for the NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Award.
Mr Kersel says: “This is one of the great things about this job. You know that phone call will make a big difference to the bakery in terms of recognition and the increased sales.
“As soon as they know it’s me on the phone you can hear their excitement, though some bakers will double check it’s me by checking my name to make sure they’re not receiving a hoax call and they’ll ask ‘what section did we win’ though I don’t advise what they’ve actually won. We save that for the Awards night.”
Mr Kersel has been making the golden calls for four years and he says it’s just magic when they start screaming, screaming to the rest of the bakery “we won!”
NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards winners, including the Supreme Pie winner, will be announced at an awards dinner in Auckland on August 1.
