Songheng Sor – Lord of the Pies
A Hamilton bakery has won a national pie award for the third consecutive year, taking out the 2026 Bakels award for Best Steak and Cheese Pie.
People have been coming from as far away as Auckland, Raglan and Taupo just to try one of High Bakery’s pies.
Sales have doubled since winning and the couple have been known to put in shifts of 14 hours plus, to keep up with demand.
High Bakery operates in Silverdale, and is run by Songheng Sor the baker and his wife Kemheang Ouch, the bakery is popular with both locals and students.
This annual event is run by Auckland-based company, Bakels. Pies are sent from all over Aotearoa/NZ for judging, and awarded points on four criteria; the pie top, base, filling and baking properties including the overall visual appeal
They only arrived from Cambodia four years ago, and are excited about winning this award.
Sor said he learned the craft of baking from scratch, he had never baked before arriving in Hamilton with his wife, and has become a better baker by trial and error, “My first pies were no good, I learnt from failure.”
He puts great emphasis into hard work and the quality of his pies and Ouch explained, “when he is in the kitchen, he is intensely focused like he’s meditating and he doesn’t like any kind of interruption.”
Sor tells a funny story about a regular customer, “He kept saying the pies are terrible, but he returns every day and buys another one. He said they made him addictive; and he couldn’t stop eating them.”
Sor thought there was something wrong with his pies but it was just that they tasted so good to this person.
The couple said they enjoy the size of Hamilton and feel the Silverdale community plays a big part in their success. Ouch said “we like it here; the community is very supportive”.
Having established the business so successfully, Sor and Ouch look forward to a bright future perhaps expanding High Bakery and hiring some more staff.
