[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-ballarat-ballarats-best-pie-august-trail-plan":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"slug":6,"description":7,"content":8,"source_url":9,"published_at":10},54,"A Ballarat's Best Pie winners follow-up","ballarats-best-pie-august-trail-plan","Use the 2026 winners list as a cautious food-stop shortlist now the August trail has finished.","Ballarat's Best Pie is no longer a live August trail for 2026, so use this guide differently from the original version. The current Visit Ballarat page has shifted to a winners-and-next-year page: it tells readers to stay tuned for 2027 details and lists the 2026 winners. That makes the article useful as a cautious food-stop shortlist, not as proof that every competition pie is still available today.\n\nStart with the judged winners if the group wants a simple shortlist. Visit Ballarat lists The Shared Table's Sher Wagyu Reuben pie as both Ballarat's Best Pie and Best Savoury Pie. It lists Cookie Cult's Struck Gold and It's Sticky pie as Best Sweet Pie, available through Yellow Espresso, and Sovereign Hill's slow-cooked blade steak pepper pie as Best Bakery Pie. It also names Flying Chillies' pandan flower pie as the Brilliantly Unexpected Pie, available at The Salty Sparrow Cafe and selected local markets.\n\nTreat People's Choice as a separate signal. The official page says public voting through August put Emma's Bakery first for its Meredith Dairy goat deluxe pie, Mrs Browne Bakes second for its banana and honey miso caramel gold fever hand pie, and Sovereign Hill third for its slow-cooked blade steak pepper pie. Those results are helpful if you want a resident-backed option, but they still do not replace a direct venue check.\n\nA practical plan is to choose one winner that already fits the day. If the visit is central, check whether The Shared Table, Yellow Espresso, The Salty Sparrow Cafe or another listed venue still has the relevant pie before travelling. If Sovereign Hill is already the main heritage stop, its bakery winner can sit inside that plan instead of creating a separate food crawl. For market-led options, confirm where Flying Chillies is trading before assuming a stall will be present.\n\nThe main correction is timing. Do not invite readers to vote, chase an August map, or assume the 30-entry competition program is still operating. Use the source link for the winners list, then confirm current menus, opening hours, dietary details, prices and stock directly with each venue. That keeps the guide useful after the campaign without inventing live availability or stretching a finished promotion into current advice.","https://www.visitballarat.com.au/ballarats-best-pie","2026-09-11T05:23:22+10:00",1789428634781]