Murray Gray, of Mataura Mutton Pies, received a highly commended fourth placing in the gourmet section of the Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards, which were held on July 30.
"I was extremely surprised [the pie] placed fourth," Mr Gray said.
"Not in this world did I think I would receive one of the top prizes."
Mr Gray’s mutton pie entry went up against more than 5000 entries in the overall competition, beating many entries in the "heavily contested" gourmet pie section.
"The gourmet category is one of the harder ones to place in, so I was very surprised when I got the call that my pie got the award."
Mr Gray, who was born and bred in Mataura, entered the competition last year, but knew his pies needing some tweaking before they were perfected.
"I knew the pastry could have been better, so last year was kind of a test to see how I would go.
"I worked all year but mostly all five years I have been working to perfect the mutton pie and have dropped other pie flavours to focus on this one.
"I used to make other types of pies but I knew the mutton pie would ultimately become the most popular, so I have since justfocused on making mutton pies."
He left his job to become his own boss, which he enjoys.
He has been making and selling pies for five years full-time, after converting his home basement into a commercial bakery kitchen.
"The mutton pie has been made in the Mataura area for many years, but many don’t realise mine has history based on a Scotch pie background," he said.
"The mutton pie has been made by millions in the Britain, Canada and Ireland andhas originsof 15th-century game pastry, which is information I have sourced from the internet."
He received a handed-down recipe which he uses for his
pies.
He produces about 2000 mutton pies a week, which are sold across the south, from Stewart Island to Alexandra.
But Mr Gray seems to be busy after his win.
"I have heard the sales in the local Four Square have doubled overnight since I won the prize.
"It has been amazing."
Mr Gray uses all local ingredients to create his prize-winning pie and is grateful to his suppliers for providing him with goods each week.
"This job is hands down the best thing I have ever done for myself professionally.
"I absolutely love being my own boss and I have enjoyed developing as a business owner."
