Al Brown has pledged to review every item made by Hikurangi Home Cookery, a small-town, family-owned bakery 20 minutes’ drive north of Whangārei.
The highest score so far, nine and a half out of 10, went to a raspberry tea bun Brown nicknamed “the razza” and described as an “absolute piece of brilliance”.
A cream-filled puff pastry topped with pink icing called a Napoleon – which Brown dubbed a “down and dirty” Kiwi version of the French mille-feuille – scored eight and a half, as did a classic mince pie.
The bacon and egg slice scored a more modest six and a half but won praise for its value and generous proportions.
Brown guessed the almost half-kilo slab of breakfast contained four eggs and six rashers of bacon but cost just $5.50.
Rather than just take Brown’s word for it, RNZ decided to pay a visit and ask locals to rate their favourite baked goods.
Maata, from Kaikohe, had stopped in on her way to Whangārei for a raspberry bun and a potato-top pie.
“They’ve got what it takes,” she said, rating her lunch an 8 or 9 out of 10.
Hikurangi resident Robyn Mackie said customers had been lining up in the bakery since Brown’s reviews started.
“My favourite would have to be the steak and mushroom pie, watercress and bacon pie, tea buns, and they have Napoleon flaky pastry which is full of cream and raspberry topping,” she said.
Pie expert Craig, also from Hikurangi, said his favourites were the classics, mince and steak.
“I just love them. Bloody awesome. They’re right up there. I say I’m a pie connoisseur because when I first left school and was a farm worker, I used to buy about 40 pies every 10 days. That’s what I lived on. I’ve eaten a lot of pies.”
Craig said Hikurangi pies had a special place in his family’s food lore.
“When my son comes over from Australia, that’s the first thing we do. We come and get a Hika pie. You can’t beat them.”
One of the most striking features of Hikurangi Home Cookery is just how old-school it is – from the creaking flyscreen door to the hand-written price list to the types of treats on offer.
Manager Lenore Jellick said the bakery’s nostalgic appeal was not a deliberate sales ploy.
“We just keep the same things because people love them. Why get rid of something that’s loved by everybody? A lot of people come and say, ‘Oh, I remember this when I was a young kid’, or ‘This is what I had at primary school’.”
Jellick said the most popular sweet items were the Chelsea buns, Napoleons, cream horns and Sally lunns, while the best-selling pies were mince and cheese, steak and cheese, potato top, and bacon and watercress.
She said her husband’s family had owned the business for 38 years, but the building had housed a bakery for more than a century.
Their second bakery, in the Whangārei suburb of Tikipunga, had been running for 36 years.
It was still very much a family business, staffed by an array of nephews and nieces who took great pride in their work.
They used top-quality meat, supplied by a butcher in Te Kamo, for their pies.
Jellick said running the business hadn’t always been easy, especially now with the soaring cost of living.
“We try and keep our prices reasonable, but the price of butter is absolutely ridiculous. Eggs, butter, mince, everything that bakery needs to survive is just astronomical.”
She said Brown’s Tiktok videos had “definitely” made a difference.
While RNZ was visiting a steady stream of out-of-towners were taking the short detour off State Highway 1 to satisfy their curiosity and test the pies and pastries for themselves.
Jellick said Brown has been a regular for some time, often stopping in Hikurangi on his way to his bach up the coast.
She said the family felt blessed to have so much support from the community and their church.
Regular customer Robyn Mackie, who helped run the town’s food rescue service, said the bakery provided food for people in need, as well as for the youth group and Sunday congregation.
Another business owner, Craig Cooper of Hiku art gallery and record store, said the bakery lifted the entire town.
“When people stop at the bakery, the other businesses benefit,” he said.
Hikurangi was originally a coal town – references to its mining heritage abound on the main street – that has been through tough times since the economic reforms of the 1980s.
However, in the past decade it has undergone something of a renaissance, partly as a result of new residents pushed out of Whangārei by unaffordable property prices.
These days its main street has, as well as the bakery and a café, a Four Square, two large second-hand shops, a tattoo parlour, a vinyl store and art gallery, a community hall and a pub.
A reserve at the northern end of town has striking limestone formations and a popular summer swimming spot, while the Hikurangi Hotel boasts one of the town’s quirkier attractions – the preserved penis of the last bull whale slaughtered at Northland’s last whaling station, which was located at Whangamumu, south of Russell.
Another Hikurangi pie connoisseur, who went by the name Snapper, said it was a great place to live – and not just because of the bakery.
“I love pies, and pies love me. This is a great town, Hikurangi. But shhh. Don’t tell anyone.”
Sorry Snapper, it’s too late for that. Thanks to Al Brown every pie and pastry lover in the country now knows your secret
rnz.co.nz
