MAURI customer, Heatherbrae’s Pies was established in 2001. The founder, Russell Cox, is passionate about bringing traditional tastes and quality foods back to Australian palates. We spoke to Heatherbrae’s Cody Boyd to understand the ins and outs of this famous pie joint.
What are your favourite MAURI ranges to use? What types of end products do you create with them?
We have two stores; located in Raymond Terrace and Sutton Forest. At both of our stores we use MAURI flour for every and any product that requires flour. Pies, breads, sweets, you name it. We love the stuff!
Which are the busiest times of year for you?
It does vary between our two stores but I would have to say that for both locations, Christmas and the summer period is by far the busiest and craziest time of the year. With so many Aussies packing a bag and hitting the road, we get all the highway traffic stopping in for a bite!
What does Australian Baking mean to Heatherbrae’s Pies?
Our owner, Russell Cox, founded Heatherbrae’s Pies on the idea of preserving Australian heritage and cuisine. It’s really important to us to make sure that we use Australian products wherever we can in our baking so we keep the Aussie heritage and culture at the centre of our products. We are all about Aussie food and Aussie people!
What is the most creative/out-there pie on your menu?
One of our regular menu items which is on the more creative side is our Red Curry Lentil Vegan Pie, it’s a really cool one which is a bit different from our other regular pies. We also do a ‘pie of the week’, these special pies can be really out there in terms of flavor combinations. A personal favourite of mine from this range is the BBQ Pizza Pie, combining the flavor of both a pie and a slice of pizza… there’s nothing quite like it.
What is the craziest experience you’ve had in one of your bakeries?
Last month our Southern Forest store won Best Pie in NSW, we had a big celebration for that which was a really great time for everyone at the store. It was great to get together and celebrate this achievement.
Any awards you are most proud of?
We were awarded Best Pie in NSW this June for our Steak Mince Pie. We have also won a bunch of other awards for our Chicken and Veg Pie and our Diggers Chunky Steak Pie. These continue to be our most popular menu items and for good reason too!
Where do you see Heatherbrae’s Pies in 10 years?
We have some really amazing things in the pipeline! We are moving towards introducing some gluten free pies to our menu. We get so many requests for these pies and it is really important to us to provide quality menu items for everyone, regardless of their dietary needs. We are working on opening a separate bakery which will supply to both our stores; the reason for doing so is that our stores just have too much regular flour there.
We are always looking for opportunities to expand so I’m sure there will be some great things happening in the next few years!
