More pie awards to Umina

The best beef, burgundy and mushroom pies in Australia have their home in Umina.

Bremen Patisserie has won Australia's highest accolade for a gourmet beef pie at the 2000 Gourmet Meat Pie Competition, held at Darling Harbour this month.

The winning recipe is only a recent addition to the patisserie's range, having started its life as a meal for visitors to the owner's home.

Ron Bruns' wife Helga told him that she thought the recipe was a gold medal winner.

So they recently added the pie to their shop's range and the award followed.

"We are all so excited," Mr Bruns said.

"We have been entering the major competitions since 1997 and have won many awards already for our pies, breads and cakes.

"But this award is the very best we could have hoped for."

They also won two silver and two bronze medals in the competition in other pie categories.

Overall they have won 21 major awards in four years.

Winning pies can be purchased at Bremen Patisserie exactly as presented to the judges, with one small amendment.

"The pies that we submitted for judging were subject to a weight restriction, so we had to limit the amount of filling in them.

"Our pies on sale have extra filling," Mr Bruns said.

Ron and Helga will celebrate the win with a party at the presentation of the award at their patisserie on June 10.

Pies, sausage rolls, cakes, live music and clowns will be available for passers-by.

Ron and Helga have run their patisserie for just over 10 years after emigrating from Bremen in Germany.

The win is all the more remarkable considering pies are not generally sold in Germany.

Carl Spears, May 17