Gourmet Foods Ltd is a Tauranga-based bakery and food manufacturer bringing together two of New Zealand's most celebrated pie names: Pats Pantry and Ponsonby Pies. Founded from a heritage that stretches back to 1966 when Pat Best started Pats Pantry on Cameron Road, the company expanded in 2005 by acquiring Ponsonby Pies, establishing Gourmet Foods Limited as the home for both beloved traditions.
Operating out of the Bay of Plenty, Gourmet Foods produces an extensive selection of savoury pastries distributed nationwide. Their lineup features award-winning golden, flaky pastry filled with prime New Zealand beef, real meats with no soy protein fillers, hand-cracked eggs, and real grated cheese. Alongside timeless bakery favourites, the bakery crafts modern options including plant-based creations made with vegetable-based pastry fats.
Committed to sustainable local production, Gourmet Foods powers more than half of its Tauranga facility's electrical requirements using an on-site rooftop solar array consisting of 330 450-watt panels. Whether supplying local lunch bars, dairies, and service stations or offering items via their retail and wholesale channels, Gourmet Foods remains dedicated to traditional Kiwi baking excellence.
In New Zealand, the humble pie holds an undisputed place at the centre of everyday food culture. Long before gourmet bakeries were on every high street, two pioneering names began shifting the standards of Kiwi pastry. In 1966, Pat Best launched Pats Pantry on Cameron Road in Tauranga, building a faithful following for dependable, high-quality baked goods. A decade later in 1978, Ponsonby Pies set out to elevate the standard entirely, proving that a pie could be crafted with restaurant-grade ingredients and true culinary care.
In 2005, these two iconic brands came together under one roof when Pats Pantry acquired Ponsonby Pies, giving birth to Gourmet Foods Limited. Today, based in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, Gourmet Foods continues to bake and distribute both heritage lines throughout the nation, pairing decades of artisanal baking tradition with modern, responsible production.
A hallmark of Gourmet Foods is an uncompromising stance on core ingredients. In an industry where fillers and artificial thickeners can be common, their meat pies use quality New Zealand Prime beef with no soy protein fillers. When you bite into a meat pie, you get real meat encased in golden, flaky pastry that has earned multiple honours over the years at the NZ Bakels Supreme Pie Awards.
The same commitment extends across their broader recipe book. The classic Bacon and Egg pie is prepared using whole, hand-cracked eggs, while favourites like Steak and Cheese and Mince and Cheese feature real grated cheese rather than processed substitutes. Their chicken range explores popular Kiwi favourites including Butter Chicken, Chicken and Kumara, and Chicken and Vegie.
While respect for classic baking runs deep, Gourmet Foods has actively innovated to meet modern tastes. Recognizing the demand for high-quality plant-based comfort food, they introduced vegetarian and vegan options made without compromising on texture or flavour. Products like the Farmhouse Vegie Pie and Spinach and Feta Roll utilize vegetable nuggets in the pastry to eliminate animal fats, while their Vegan Mince and Cheese offers a plant-based alternative to the iconic lunch favourite.
Sustainability is woven into everyday operations at their Tauranga bakery. Over half of the facility's power requirements are supplied directly from an on-site rooftop solar installation comprising 330 450-watt photovoltaic panels. As the team likes to say, their award-winning golden pastry is helped along by the sun.
Whether spotted under the recognizable Pats Pantry footpath signs outside local dairies and service stations or sourced through their product catalogue, Gourmet Foods remains a true cornerstone of New Zealand pie-making history.