What's the secret behind Thames' Bakehouse Cafe's award winning mince and gravy pie? It's all in the pastry, says owner Khemara Yin.

The Bakehouse Cafe walked away with a Gold Award for its mince and gravy pie, and was also the only Coromandel eatery to win at the 2015 Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards.

Thames' Bakehouse Cafe has been crowned makers of the country's best mince and gravy pies at the 2015 Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards. Photo: Google Maps

More than 500 bakers entered the competition that saw more than 378 entries in the steak-and-cheese category and 340 mince-and-cheese entries.

The baker of New Zealand's top pie will take away the Supreme Pie Maker trophy and $7500 cash, while gold award winners receive $1000 cash.

Speaking to Fairfax Yin says the pastry they create is 'puffy and nice and crunchy and not too chewy”.

'We choose only the good meat,” reports Fairfax. 'We get it from the butchers, down the road.

'My favourite pie is steak and cheese. Hopefully next year I can get the best steak and cheese pie. I'm working on a recipe.”

The supreme award went to New World's Greenmeadows bakery in Napier for a potato top pie.

A panel of 20 experts, including New Zealand chef Martin Bosley and chief judge Tim Aspinall, decided the winners for this year's awards.

The pies, which are all coded for ‘blind judging' were judged in the following categories: mince and gravy, steak, steak and cheese, chicken and vegetables, gourmet meat, vegetarian, bacon and egg, mince and cheese, gourmet fruit, cafe boutique, potato top pie and commercial wholesale.