Kerikeri Bakehouse owner and award winning pie maker Anthony Pearson with a fresh batch of his Double Cheeseburger pies. Photo / Jenny Ling
When the Kerikeri franchise of a famous burger joint shut temporarily for renovations last year, café owner Anthony Pearson saw an opportunity to ensure golden arches cheeseburger fans could still savour the taste of them.
Pearson created a double cheeseburger pie that’s been such a hit he’s sold more than 3000 to date.
Now his creation has been recognised in this year’s Bakels NZ Pie Awards, taking fourth spot in the Café Gourmet section.
The $7.70 sesame seed-topped pie with its unique layered filling of seasoned minced beef, mustard and tomato sauce, American-style cheddar cheese, and pickles, caught the judge’s attention amid more than 5000 entries in 11 categories nationwide.
“It tastes just like a cheeseburger, and you get the crunch of the sesame seeds when you bite into it,” Pearson said.
The pickles are its pièce de résistance. Pearson only uses a particular type, specially sourced from Ruakaka. To ensure he’s always got a ready supply, he enlists the help of his mother’s retired friends to pick the product up for him on their trips out of town.
After managing “fly in - fly out” village facilities in the Western Australian mining industry for more than 20 years, Pearson returned to New Zealand at the start of the Covid epidemic.
He’s not a baker by trade but had trained as a chef after leaving school. That interest had been on the backburner but reignited when Pearson “bought himself a job” about three years ago in the form of Kerikeri’s Bakehouse Café.
And buy himself a job he did. Pearson says he’s been working long hours ever since. Everything he sells is cooked on the premises, including a range of about 26 different pies and savouries, of which he sells between 2500 and 2800 every week.
His other unique creations include smoked brisket with mac’ n cheese, beef cheek and red wine, leek and chorizo chicken, and corn beef dinner topped with mashed potato.
Despite the tantalising choices - and the widespread appeal of his double cheeseburger pie - Pearson said customers were still loyal to the classics, with steak and cheese “definitely number one”, only outrun every school holidays by mince and cheese.
Asked if he plans on entering the competition next year, Pearson said he was keeping an open mind.
He thanked his “supportive crew and family” for the success of his business so far.
Pearson wasn’t the only Northlander to feature among this year’s prize winners.
Jessica Loftus of Hello Pickle, Whangarei, took sixth place in the Café Gourmet category for her smoked brisket and jalapeno pie.
Eighth in the Gourmet meats category was a Roast Duck pie, by Rasmey Ra of Paihia Bakery.
The Supreme overall award in the Bakels contest went to North Canterbury baker Arlyn Thompson from Rangiora Bakery for her Slow Cooked Sumatra Style Beef pie.
Thompson’s win put an end to respected baker Patrick Lam’s eight-year streak at the top. However, he still did well in the 2024 competition. This year the Tauranga baker won golds in the steak and gravy and vegetarian categories, took home bronze in potato top, and was a finalist in four other categories.
* This story was amended to correct an transposition error - Jessica Loftus of Hello Pickle, Whangarei, took sixth place in the Café Gourmet category for her smoked brisket and jalapeno pie - not eighth as previously reported. A Roast Duck pie, by Rasmey Ra of Paihia Bakery, was sixth in the Gourmet meats category - not eighth.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
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