Awards always beat cockroaches in the pie game

There was a grimly fascinating exercise in human behaviour at the local bakery in the past couple of months, and I got to see what really matters to my friends and neighbours, and I am honestly not surprised by the clear result of it all.

It's a very bougie bakery, with $12 pies that are, admittedly, fucking excellent. Of course I tried them, I have very serious opinions about meat pies, and had to see if their special Philly Cheesesteak pies were really worth $12.

And then the store shut down for a week, and I thought they were just on holiday or something, but it turned out they had a cockroach infestation. And despite a quick clean up and the prominent display of a 'A' health rating in the front window, it definitely had an impact on business. There used to be constant lines out the door for their terrific pies and excellent sourdough options, now there was only ever one or two people in there. 

It was never empty, but it certainly wasn't as popular any more. If you're going to pay premium prices for your grub, you want to know it won't have a cockroach leg in it or something. I didn't think it would last much longer - fancy eateries must have massive overheads - and I did feel quite bad for them, and then the NZ pie awards were announced last week.

I'm not the only one in Aotearoa to have strong opinions about pies, all five million of us have very clear judgements. My five year old has some extremely valid thoughts about what makes a good pie. So the pie awards have great weight.

Even my own apathy towards all awards everywheer is tempered slightly by the pie angle, and it is always interesting to see what comes out on top, and watch the inevitable feeding frenzy that follows, as fairweather pie fans descend on the award winner.

And when that tarnished local store won the Supreme Award for its bacon and egg pie, I had to see if it had an impact on business, and for the last few days it has been back to lines out the door 

I wasn't going to get into line - I think bacon and egg pies are not quite an abomination, but they are definitely getting there - but I got my kicks on seeing all those pie loves snake down the street again. Because a health code violation is all well and good, but if some randoms say it's the best in the country, maybe that's more important than a cockroach or two.

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