From refugee to mini pastry empire: Baker creating pies 'that inspire me'

Otago Daily Times

3 days ago

Serey Chum's steak and cheese pie placed third out of more than 400 entries at the Bakels NZ Pie Awards. Photos: Geoff Sloan
From humble beginnings, 73-year-old baker Serey Chum has built a mini pie empire - and earned acclaim for his top-quality pies.
At the prestigious Bakels NZ Pie Awards held recently, his steak and cheese pie was third out of more than 400 entries in its category.
Referred to as the 'Pie-Olympics' due to the high number of entries, 520 bakeries nationwide submitted 4600 pies for judging in 11 categories.
'I'm very excited to win our first medal in any competition,' Chum said.
Chum's journey to bakery success was not straightforward.
Driven by the dream of a better future for his wife Mey and four children, Chum and his family fled their homeland of Cambodia on foot, taking only what they could carry.
In the early 1990s, Cambodia was gripped by political unrest, with Khmer Rouge insurgents still active and the government imposing strict controls on citizens.
'We never felt safe, it was like North Korea. There are no freedoms like here (New Zealand). No freedom to talk or do anything.'
The month-long escape to Thailand involved sleeping rough and foraging for food. The Cambodian government forbade people leaving the country.
'If we got caught it would have been bad, but luckily we were okay,' Chum said.
The family was granted refugee status in Thailand and migrated to Sydney in the mid-1990s where Chum worked as a storeman and machine operator.
He had seen pictures of New Zealand and heard it was a great place to live.
'It's four seasons in one day. Beautiful green country, peaceful.'
In 2001, Chum and his family moved to Christchurch after he was offered a job at smallgoods business Hellers in Kaiapoi.
'I worked there for a while and then went into partnership with my friend Tao Leng who had bakery experience,' Chum said.
The pair opened a shop, Bakery on Bower, in North New Brighton in 2002.
It was there Chum discovered his passion for pies. He studied, took courses, and refined his skills.
'From that day on, I made the pies that inspired me. I wanted to learn more about them.'
Chum's son Oudom said his dad was a very hard worker.
'I remember my dad at the beginning. He would work seven days, sometimes from 4am to 10pm, perfecting pies.'
Serey Chum bought Aorangi Bakery two weeks before the February 2011 earthquake. Photo: Geoff Sloan
Chum always had the goal of one day owning his own business.
'When the opportunity opened up for him, he gave it 110%,' Oudom said.
After three years at the Bower Bakery, Chum was able to buy out his partner, with a plan to expand the business.
Just two weeks before the February 2011 earthquake, he purchased Aorangi Bakery on Greers Rd – a move that saved his business after the Bower Ave shop was badly damaged.
'It must have been a premonition, because when the earthquake hit, our Bower Ave building was badly damaged,' Chum said. The Greers Rd branch was undamaged.
He later acquired Woodend Bakery in 2016, and in 2019 added Sockburn Bakery to the business.
Chum took over Lincoln's Rustic Bakery Cafe in August last year, changing its name to Selwyn Bakery. Oudom manages it, while Mey and daughter Pisey operate Aorangi Bakery and nephew Dara runs Sockburn Bakery.
Chum manages the Woodend branch, which recently doubled in size to supply baked goods to the other locations.
Fifty staff are employed across the four bakeries.
'This year was a hard one for us, with the economy a bit slow at the moment,' Chum said.
'But we still sell around 1000 pies a day across the four bakeries.'
The Selwyn Bakery. Photo: Geoff Sloan
They offer about 30 different pie options, including a new corned beef silverside pie added this month. Most of the ingredients are sourced from North Canterbury.
'We use quality ingredients, to make it worth the money customers pay for it,' Chum said.
The bronze medal pie was created by Chum's nephew Soth Mai, who perfected the recipe with feedback from his Selwyn Bakery workmates.
'One month before the competition I practised making pies daily and let them taste the results,' Mai said.
'They let me know what to improve – the colour, the texture.'
The pies have earned Chum a loyal following – not just from locals, but from sporting stars like Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Sam Whitelock and Will Jordan.
'Regular customers are just as important,' Chum said.
'Without the support of locals, we wouldn't be here.'
Despite the success, Chum is not slowing down, with plans to enter every category in next year's pie awards.
'Next year we will have more time and more space and the plan is to enter all the categories, this time with new product.
'I'm hoping we can work towards a gold medal in the next couple of years,' he said.