Rosemary in hot demand for Supreme Pie

The aroma of rosemary wafting through the air at Rosedale Bakery in Auckland is proving rather tempting for customers lining up to buy a Supreme-winning potato top pie.

“The smell is so good, so beautiful,” says baker Sam So.

The bakery claimed the national title of Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Award winner at the end of July and since then owners Samraksmey (Sam) So and his wife Sothdalikafao (Lika) Sao have been happily working like crazy to keep up with demand. In fact in just over a month they’ve sold more than 20,000 of that Supreme pie alone, not to mention the increased demand for their 2023 Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll winner.

Sam says as soon as their win was announced in the media, customers started queueing outside the shop.

“It was like a celebration with so many happy faces and long lines for the Supreme pie. There were very long lines and they started from 9am until 3pm. So many customers! Some were waiting so long that they went to our other shop. In the first week we were selling around 1000 a day over the seven days.”

And while demand has eased back slightly, it’s still been enough to strip supply of the kilo-a-day fresh rosemary Sam uses to cook the gratin potato centre with butter and as decoration on the top of the pie. Red potatoes too have been tricky to source for the layered potato centre, and he’s also had to increase his sausage meat order to 50kgs a day for his sausage rolls. That’s the amount he was using immediately after winning the sausage roll competition.

To help manage demand for his golden pastry delights, Sam and Lika have bought a bigger oven and taken on extra staff - money well spent, and they’re still smiling about how their dream of winning this Supreme Award came true.

“We’re thinking, in the first weeks after we win there’s a problem with the oven. I’m using it all day from the start of the morning, it’s too hot and we still can’t make enough to supply the customer. We could do only six trays at a time and it took 20-25 minutes to bake. So I phoned Moffat and they delivered to me in the first week. So I solve the problem. When someone comes and says, ‘I want 20 potato top’ I have it,” laughs Sam.

Lika, who looks after the customers and manages the front of the shop, is also chief potato peeler, peeling hundreds a day at the moment, but with extra staff now everyone can take a break during the day.

“In the first couple of weeks everything was going too fast for me to handle the problem but then we upgraded the oven, we upgraded everything! Lika says with a laugh.

The win, says Sam, has brought more customers, more earnings and more motivation for their team.

“People call in and want something special, and they say this is the best pie they’ve ever had. Some customers say they don’t like too much pastry. They say, ‘where did you get the idea to put the gratin in the potato top? It’s so good for us.’ And then all the customers say it’s a good idea.”

Lika says quality comes before profit in the bakery and that has led to a lot of support from locals and people coming to the bakery. “You have to do the quality first and the customers will enjoy our food, and we are happy to do it. The customers, they try the different flavours of pies, the sausage rolls and the slices and it keeps us very busy on the till.”

If you’re a baker considering entering the next Pie Awards, Sam says, “Go for it! The journey will make you better, and winning is life-changing.”

Sam says they are already testing new ideas for the next Pie Awards. “We want to raise the bar!”

“We want to say thank you to everyone for their love and support. Every pie that we bake is made with love from the heart and we’re proud to share it with our community,” says Lika.