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Kelly Lynch, Pie enthusiast and digital marketer at Enterprise North Canterbury, writes about the district’s recent Pie Trail.
And just like that, another MADE NORTH CANTERBURY Pie Trail has come to an end!
After last year’s inaugural trail, we weren’t quite sure what to expect from round two.
Safe to say, North Canterbury was more than happy to get back in the car and eat their way around the region.
The Pie Trail is an initiative of Enterprise North Canterbury through MADE NORTH CANTERBURY, celebrating the food, drink, makers and producers that are right here in our region.
And what better way to do that in winter than with a road trip fuelled by pies?
The 2026 Pie Trail was our biggest yet, with bakeries and cafés from across North Canterbury getting involved and plenty of locals and visitors taking the opportunity to try somewhere new, revisit an old favourite and, of course, eat a lot of pies.
More than 550 reviews were left across the trail, giving us plenty of evidence that North Canterbury was well and truly up for another round.
One of the best things about the Pie Trail is that there really isn’t a “best pie”. Everyone has their favourite, and that’s exactly what makes it fun.
Some people are all about the classic mince and cheese, while others are happy to get a little more adventurous.
So, rather than trying to pick an overall winner, we went through all the reviews and handed out a few completely unofficial and very important awards.
A huge congratulations to our 2026 category winners:
The Cheesiest: Percival Street Bakery, Rangiora Perfect Puff Pastry: The Bakers Rack, Kaiapoi Filled to the Brim: Amberley Pies, Amberely Tastiest Flavour: Parnassus Roadhouse, Parnassus Worth the Roadie: Culverden Bakery, Culverden Pie-oneer Award (Most Innovative): Black & White Coffee Cartel Rangiora Pie-Fluencer Award: The Office Cafe Waikuku
And a special congratulations to Woodend Bakery, who has done it again, taking out the Most Reviews Award for the second year running.
Clearly, their customers are a committed bunch. There were plenty of reviews coming in from people who made Woodend Bakery a stop on their Pie Trail, and we love seeing that kind of support for local businesses.
Then there’s our 2026 Pie Hard of the Year – Sam Wood, who got stuck into the trail and left quite a few reviews!. We caught up with him at 5.15am to hand over his brand-new YETI chilly bin before work – naturally, with his usual breakfast from Woodend Bakery in hand.
A fitting start to the day for our Pie Hard winner!
A massive thanks to every bakery and café that got behind the Pie Trail this year. You helped make our second year even bigger and gave people plenty of reasons to get out and explore North Canterbury, while supporting the local businesses making food right here in our backyard.
And to everyone who bought a pie, left a review, shared a photo or dragged the family along for a pie-filled road trip – thank you! Every visit helped support local businesses, and that’s really what the Pie Trail is all about.
Two years in, we reckon the Pie Trail has proved what we already knew: North Canterbury is pretty good at making pies.
And, most importantly, they’re all MADE in NORTH CANTERBURY. You can see the full list of this year’s Pie Trail winners at www.ncpietrail.co.nz.