Queenstown and Wanaka-based The Bakery Wholesale has won the title of best vegetarian pie in New Zealand. The gold award for the bakery’s Kai Pai vegetarian pie at the 2016 Bakels Supreme Pie Awards is the latest chapter in its business’ success story.
Containing the usual mix of pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, swede and carrot in a creamy pumpkin sauce, pie maker Jason Danielson has been making the sensation since 2010.
“It’s a real honour to receive this award,” said Danielson. “Our vegetarian pie is very popular in Queenstown and Wanaka as well as throughout the country so to have nationwide recognition is fantastic.”
With over 25 years experience, Danielson started working at the Queenstown Bakery in 2009 and was instrumental in turning the small retail bakery into a large retail/wholesale business. A year later Danielson with his sister Delwyn and her husband Ian Warner purchased the business with a view to significantly grow operations.
“We’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved in the past few years,” said Warner. “From humble beginnings in Queenstown, we have gone from making 1000 hand-crafted pies a day, to now employing 45 staff across Wanaka and Queenstown and producing 10,000 pies a day.”
With over 5200 entries across the Bakels Supreme Pie Awards, The Bakery Wholesale was just one of 11 bakeries in the country to receive an award.
CAPTION: The Bakery Wholesale co-owner and pie maker Jason Danielson (left) and co-owner Ian Warner.
