The Hokonui Breakfast Ashburton radio show set out to find the region's best pie in September, with 24 pies from 11 local stores and producers nominated.
Tamar Farm's Red Devon pie came out on top, winning the gold award by a landslide, capturing almost half of all votes.
"We've almost got to the point where we've run out of pie meat because the pies are so popular," said Chrissie Wright, who owns Tamar Farm near Mount Somers with husband Richard.
Tamar's pies come with both steak and mince fillings, are bakes by Sims Bakery in Tinwald, and are exclusively sold at the Mt Somers Store - but they can also be ordered direct from the farm.
The recipe for the filling was developed by Richard, Chrissie and the team at Tamar, with the key ingredient being, of course, their Red Devon beef.
Tamar has a herd of about 2500 Red Devon cattle, which are known for their slow growth and well-marbled, tasty meat.
The farm's venture into pies came about due to their efforts to find new markets for their beef, while also retaining a traceable, single-origin offering.
While Tamar's premium cuts like rib eye and sirloin are in high demand, including at top Christchurch steak restaurant Bessie, the less popular cuts haven't been so easy to move.
"When you get an animal processed, you'll get eight boxes of meat back and only one of those boxes contains steak," Chrissie said.
"It's easy to sell the steaks, but that's why we've come to doing the pies."
The couple's long-term goal is to find a wider market where the time and care they put into their beef is recognised.
"The proudest moment will be when we see it everywhere, with our Tamar logo on it, and people associate that with a quality product," Richard said.
The Wrights' efforts to find new markets for their product and maximise value are in line with broader sector trends.
"As an export economy we need to be looking to sell our story and our products abroad, and it all starts on the farm and the brilliant work many of our farmers, like the Wrights, are doing," said Lorraine Mapu, managing director of business and agri at ANZ, which banks Tamar Farms.
Export earnings are rising again, she said, helped by stronger prices in key markets.
"We have an opportunity to enhance New Zealand's reputation as a source of the highest quality goods - but we will only get top prices if we only get top prices if we give consumers proof of where their food comes from, and how it was created."
That's where single-origin branding, on-farm assurance, and digital traceability are moving from "nice to have" to "must have", she said.
"On farm, the strategy looks a lot like what Tamar is doing: keep the steaks premium, find loyal customers for the less glamorous cuts, and make sure the consumer can trace the story back to the farm gate."
In the meantime, the Wrights' plan is to keep building a brand people recognise and trust - which will be helped along enormously by their new accolade.
"People are prepared to pay once they know it's a quality product," Chrissie says.
