For the first time ever, a vegan baked good has won a nationwide baking competition in Australia. Ka Pies, an Australian company crafting savory hand pies, beat out more than 1,700 other entries from across the country in the Australia’s Best Pie competition with its lemongrass and chili-infused Thai Vegetable Curry pie. Helmed by New Zealander Doug Meijer, the company entered its other popular meat- and cheese-based options, but the vegan pie ultimately won out, snagging top honors. It’s just the latest development in the world of award-winning New Zealand vegan hand pies—a meat- and dairy-free Mexican-inspired pie beat out hundreds of other entries in a customer submission competition last year, affording the winning recipe to be mass-produced and distributed among one of New Zealand’s top gasoline chains. The pie—the first vegan offering made available by the chain—has been so well-received that it’s been added permanently to the lineup.

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