Fat Bastard pie owner James Owen overcame "discouraging talk" from his detractors and came away with three awards from the New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards on Tuesday night in Auckland.
Kai Pai Bakery, of Wānaka, took home bronze and silver awards.
Winning the bronze medal for his mince and gravy pie out of a section which had "thousands of entries" validated the Invercargill chef’s efforts.
Mr Owen said the talk from the sceptics over the years had fuelled him to prove them wrong.
"I just think it was unfair for other bakeries to say that the South Island didn’t have a chance," he said.
"They said the South Island would never get a win, but now we are the first to get an award."
He worked for three weeks without a night off to get his system right and his pies ready before shipping the savouries away for judging.
Having a butchery on site to mince their own meat and using only Southland meat helped with the "authentic crafting" of the pie.
"This is the holy grail of pie awards.
"Now I’ve had a taste of winning, I know what to expect and how to approach the next competition."
Fat Bastard got fifth place for its chicken and vegetable pie and highly commended for its vegetarian pie.
Kai Pai Bakery said good pastry, the right seasoning and passion led to its success.
It had entered about 10 pies across different categories.
The bakery came second in the commercial category and third for its mince and cheese pie,
Baker Jason Danielson was particularly disappointed its chicken pie, which had been a gold winner for two years in a row, did not place this year.
With more than 5000 pies being judged across all the categories, the awards were getting more and more competitive, Mr Danielson said.
The awards were getting better as backers got more creative, he said.
