Buninyong woman Megan Jenkins has won a competition to find Australia’s best home-cooked pie.
Australia’s best home-cooked pie was born in a Buninyong kitchen.
Buninyong mum Megan Jenkins’ lamb, rosemary and potato masterpiece has been judged Australia’s best after a nationwide search and a heated “cook-off” in Sydney recently.
Ms Jenkins said she saw details for the pie competition online, on the television and in Super Food Ideas magazine, but decided against entering until the final day.
“My husband came home from work and I said ‘I’m going to make a pie for this competition, do you want potato on top or pastry on top’,” she said.
“He said he couldn’t decide – so he got both.”
That indecision lead to a hearty lamb pie, with potato dumplings topped with a layer of pastry.
After emailing the recipe, the judges then baked the pie for themselves and decided Ms Jenkins should be part of the final pie “cook-off”.
“We had four hours so it was plenty of time, but I was really nervous,” she said.
“The judges described it as being like a roast dinner in a pie – it’s got a really rich lamb and vegetable sauce and its got potato dumplings on top, then the whole thing is wrapped in pastry.”
“I was shocked to actually win,” said Ms Jenkins who described herself as “just a home cook” with no formal training.
Super Food Ideas editor Rebecca Cox said Ms Jenkins’ pie was both “deserving and delicious”. “What we all loved about this pie was its originality,” she said.
“Putting potato dumplings under the pastry gave the pie a lovely surprise quality.”
Ms Jenkins said the pie she made in the cook-off was the best she had ever made, according to her husband who tried it.
Next, Ms Jenkins plans to start a food blog with her friend, who grows organic produce.
“The idea is she grows it and I cook it,” she said.
“It’s just great to be able to cook food for family and friends.”