Six Victorian country pie shops worth the visit

But times and tastes are changing and simple minced meat is not the only pie filling you’ll find, as seen at this year’s Baking Association of Australia’s national pie and pastie awards. Feel like finding a new pie shop and don’t mind driving out of Melbourne? These six should really satisfy.

If you haven’t tried Rolling Pin’s prawn laksa pie you’d better join the queue. It was voted Australia’s best pie at the recent 2024 awards and despite being far from traditional, hundreds are now being sold daily at Rolling Pin’s five Bellarine Peninsula outlets in Leopold, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and South Geelong. In fact their menu is a roll call of Blue Ribbon pies with previous winners such as creamy mushroom and truffle, jumbo chunky beef and Surf & Turf all still available.

Paul Woods is not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to adventurous and delicious fillings for his Paul the Pieman range. His smoky beef, jalapeño and cheese creation is not just a spicy homage to Tex/Mex but also a gold medallist at the 2024 National Pie Awards. The bakery is in Inverloch by the sea and there you’ll also find wonders such as Korean BBQ pork, Sunday lamb roast and smoked brisket with Mac & Cheese alongside more traditional (but no less tasty) savoury pies.

Fancy fillings are one thing but if you want a good old-fashion beef mice pie you might as well try the best. Head west of Melbourne to Melton and Buddy Bakery has the national awards winner in that category and it’s all flaky pastry and juicy meat dripping in gravy. In fact, Buddy’s chunky beef also took home a gold medal and the rest of their relatively traditional pies are simply golden handfuls of deliciousness.

Conceived in the middle of COVID, Miss Amelie Gourmet Pies is a family-owned business that began with the owner of the reputable Wodonga restaurant Miss Amelie. Miss Amelie Gourmet Pies now has three cafes in Albury, Beechworth and Wodonga and their range of pies hits on both the traditional fillings of Lamb Shank Garlic & Rosemary Pie as well as some more unique Thai Red Curry Duck pie. They were also awarded 14 medals across gold, silver and bronze categories in 2021 and 2022 Australia’s Best Pie Competition.

Brothers Chan and Ryan Khun may hail originally from Cambodia but the pies from their Country Cob Bakery have put Kyneton on the Australian food map. The boys have been on MasterChef and regularly win national awards, most recently a swag of gold medals for their chilli beef, Thai duck Penang and Cambodian curry chicken pies, plus many more. The bakery has heaps of seats and Kyneton itself is famous for its historic buildings and restaurants, so make a day of it.

While the traditional meat pie is an Australian icon, our vegetarian friends don’t need to feel left out. In fact, Shop 29 in the Ballarat suburb of Wendouree bake such a wonderful mango curry pie it won a gold medal at this year’s national awards. They’ll also satisfy carnivores with a curried sausage or pulled beef and pepper pie, while their vegetarian pasty is a thing to behold.

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