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Otago Daily Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
No humble pie for award winner
Fat Bastard pie owner James Owen won a bronze medal for his mince and gravy pie at the 2025 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards. PHOTO: NINA TAPU Being able to prove his doubters wrong is what drove one hopeful Invercargill pie maker to win an award at New Zealand's national pie competition. 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. Kai Pai manager and baker Jason Danielson proudly holds the award-winning mince and cheese pies. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Having returned from the "very competitive" contest with a handful of achievements has inspired the local to keep working towards winning more awards in the hope of one day being a supreme pie award winner. "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.
Scoop
01-08-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Wānaka Bakery's Mince And Cheese Pie Wins Again At National Awards
Kai Pai Bakery has once again proven its Mince and Cheese mastery, earning two medals at the 2025 New Zealand Bakels Supreme Pie Awards. The Wānaka-based bakery took home a Silver in the Commercial Mince and Cheese category and a Bronze in the Mince and Cheese category, proving their expertise in a pie that's long been considered a Kiwi classic. Kai Pai head baker Jason Danielson says the Mince and Cheese is Kai Pai's biggest-selling flavour. 'We make sure we keep at the top of our game with it.' This year's results reinforce Kai Pai's position as the most awarded bakery in the South Island. The bakery's Commercial Mince and Cheese Pie has been recognised at every NZ Supreme Pie Awards held since 2017, a testament to consistent quality and delicious taste. 'In the Mince and Cheese category, we are often competing against small-batch, even handmade pies, so we're delighted to show large-scale production can still deliver award-winning flavour and craftsmanship, Danielson says. 'We don't take shortcuts. Despite rising ingredient costs, we're still sticking to our guns and using top-quality ingredients, like using Colby cheese rather than going for cheaper options. 'A lot of the time commercial bakeries are focused on speed or profit margins, but it's important to us to maintain that level of quality and taste. It proves that we do really care about what we're doing.' Kai Pai's Mince and Cheese pie is not only a favourite with judges—it's also a Kiwi classic. 'Every month, we make enough Mince and Cheese pies to span the length of 42 rugby fields. So it's pretty popular.' Employing 45 staff, Kai Pai Bakery is a Kiwi-owned family business, with all of its pies and savouries produced in Wānaka. The bakery has scooped 29 Supreme Pie Awards since 2016, making it the most awarded commercial pie manufacturer in New Zealand. 'We've got a great team who all work very hard and care about what they do. These wins are a credit to them," Danielson adds.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lawmakers face decision on virtual driver ed classes
BOSTON — Extending a policy that enables driver education classes to be taken virtually would put teens and road safety at risk, a Webster driver's teacher told lawmakers on Tuesday, July 8. Jason Danielson, co-owner of Alert Driving Academy in Webster and a Marlborough Public Schools teacher of nearly three decades, said a pair of bills before a legislative committee would find support only by those who "stand to profit most," not by those who care about what is "best for students and student safety." The Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Carole Fiola bills (H 3661, S 2411) authorize the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to "approve an online driver education curriculum, provided that the driving school has a physical presence in the commonwealth, has operated for at least three years, and is in good standing with the RMV," according to a Senate bill summary. Lovely said the bill would extend a pandemic-era online classroom driver education option that is set to expire in September. Lovely, along with representatives from AAA, argued that the average scores of students who participated in online driver education were nearly the same as those who took classes in-person. Junior Operator License requirements for those between 16 ½ and 18 include the successful completion of a driver education program, which includes 30 hours of classroom instruction, 12 hours of behind-the-wheel training and six hours of in-car observation of other student drivers. The proposal is not a replacement for traditional classroom offerings, but "an alternative for busy students and families," according to AAA Northeast Senior Manager of Government Affairs Christina Hayman. "Providing students with an option to take driver's ed virtually is an important step in ensuring equal access for all learners," Hayman said Tuesday before the Joint Committee on Transportation. "When we think about equity for students, we're talking about students who may not have a parent or caregiver who can drive into a class in the evening or on a weekend. We're talking about a student who may learn better, free from classroom distractions. We're thinking about students who live in rural areas that may be prohibited from driving a long drive to an in-person classroom," Hayman said. "Accessing a driver ed class online may be the best and only option for students." Danielson argued that the proposal would "further open doors" to larger schools that came into the state with multiple locations, potentially disadvantaging smaller schools that are paying rent, paying annual fees to the state and whose students spend money in the local communities. Danielson added that teaching students virtually often makes it difficult to gauge whether students are paying attention to instruction that is crucial to keeping the roads, and teen drivers, safe. "Teaching students, whether it's in Marlborough Public Schools or the driving school, it's difficult at times to keep students off of their electronic devices. When I see it in person, it is easy to redirect those students," Danielson said. "Teaching virtually, I would have no idea if somebody was playing Call of Duty on a screen behind the laptop they're sitting at, supposedly paying attention to this content. "At the end of the day, the junior operator licensing law was passed to protect the lives of young drivers," Danielson continued. "Not to make it easier for schools to deliver content." This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: State lawmakers face decision on virtual driver ed classes
