Eating pie for Kids in Need Waikato

Words Denise Irvine

I wouldn’t typically have a pie for breakfast but this was for a very good cause, and it turned out to be a damn fine pie as well:  classic breakfast ingredients neatly packaged in pastry.

We’re talking the Limited Edition Ultimate Breakfast Pie specially made for Stu and Camille from The Breeze Waikato – in collaboration with Oxford Pies – as a fundraiser for the charity Kids in Need Waikato.

Kids in Need supports children in care, aged 0-17, by providing care packs made by volunteers with the aim of making a difficult time just a little bit easier for children. This is the fifth year that Stu and Camille have teamed up with Hamilton pie company Oxford to do their limited edition pies for some much-needed funds.

This time they’ve done the Ultimate Breakfast pie ($5) and an excellent second helping, an Anzac Caramel Cookie Pie ($4.50). They aim to raise $12,000, and 50 cents from every sale of the Breakfast and Anzac pies will go to Kids in Need.

So getting on with the job, and tucking into the Ultimate Breakfast Pie, you’ll find a crisp pastry case with a generous filling of streaky bacon, egg, cheese, Wild Country tomato relish, and hash brown bites for the lid.

“The people asked and we brought back the first pie we ever did,” says Camille. “The difference this year is the hash brown bites … and they rock.” 

The team has done a fine job with the Anzac Caramel Cookie Pie as well, a dessert treat that’s a riff on a Kiwi classic biscuit, zhuzhed up with a gooey caramel centre and drizzled with chocolate. It can be eaten hot or cold; I warmed mine up for my taste test and served it with a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream. It’s big enough to share if you feel so inclined. Although probably not.

Camille says it’s no surprise that the dessert pie is her favourite this year: “I take it out of the packet, microwave it for 15 seconds, add Greek yoghurt, cut it in half and inhale. I love the joy that the Anzac cookie gives me, the soft oaty goodness, the gooey caramel surprise in the middle, and the chocolate drizzle just elevates it. It takes me back to my Nana’s kitchen and good times baking with her when I was a little girl.”

Stu’s favourite is the breakfast pie. “It was the very first pie we made five years ago when we started making them for Kids in Need and I love the tomato relish the most. It gives the pie some zing. Plus it won’t make a mess in the car, as that’s where I eat most of my pies.”

Camille and Stu say they love helping the team at Kids in Need Waikato. “They are actual angels when it comes to caring for kids who are in care, genuinely beautiful people helping those who need it most. This promotion is our favourite time of the year.”

Note: The pies are on sale for a limited time, until the end of September, so order online now from Oxford Pies: oxfordpies.co.nz or your local stockist. 

Stockists include:

Fresh Choice Leamington

 Gull Whitikahu

 Oxford Pies, Maui St, Hamilton.

 New World Hillcrest

Pak n Save Clarence St

Fresh Choice Te Awamutu

For more about Kids in Need Waikato:

https://www.kidsinneed.co.nz/our-story/