In search of the perfect pie

Less than a week from now, the Australian public will know who the big winner is. No, it has nothing to do with sport, or a state lottery – on August 1, the nation will know who makes the best Aussie meat pie.

Organised by the popular That's Life magazine, which has a readership of more than a million around the country, there are ten finalists; voted by pie lovers from all around Australia.

If you’re shrugging your shoulders at all this, don’t forget that Australians eat more meat pies per head than any other nationality. Move over Tetsuya's in Sydney, stand back Vue de Monde in Melbourne -- when it comes to the finishing line, the Great Aussie Meat Pie is the country's signature dish, a cultural identity with a squirt of tomato sauce.

A popular variation is the pie floater, a meal served at pie carts in Adelaide and elsewhere in South Australia. It was once more widely available in other parts of Australia but its popularity has dipped over the years.

A true pie floater consists of the traditional Australian meat pie covered with tomato sauce (similar to ketchup), sitting, usually inverted, in a plate of thick green pea soup .

Believe it or not the pie floater was recognised as a South Australian Heritage icon by the National Trust of Australia in 2003.

Visitors to Sydney can tuck into a late night pie floater at Harry's Cafe de Wheels pie cart situated in Woolloomooloo, which is located not too far from Otto's, one of Sydney's leading celebrity eateries.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels is also listed on the National Trust Register as an historic icon, having started selling meat pies back in 1938. Although it was shut during the war years, it was re-opened in 1945 and has been serving pie floaters ever since.

As the years passed, Harry's Cafe de Wheels gained new fame as a tourist attraction. Indeed, at one stage in its history a visit to the Harry's became a 'must' for visiting celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum and Marlene Dietrich.

In 1974, Colonel Sanders stopped at Harry's and found the food so finger-licking good that he got through three 'pies and peas' – which, in Sir Lunchalot's humble opinion, should have gained him honorary Australian citizenship.

In 1976 the Federation of Australian Pie Connoisseurs was formed, or so Sir Lunchalot has been informed, and it evidently adopted the following federation song (to be sung to the tune of Australia’s national anthem Advance Australia Fair:

When Englishmen go out to dine
Roast beef’s their staple dish
The Russians all eat caviar
And Eskimos chew fish.

The French, they say, are fond of frogs;
The Yanks - Kentucky fries.
But dinkum Aussies, one and all
Shout: 'Give us hot meat pies'
Yes, dinkum Aussies, one and all
Shout: 'Give us hot meat pies'

With that in mind, maybe the Aussie anthem should be renamed Advance Australia Fare.

Of the ten finalists in this year’s Australia’s Best Meat Pie competition, three contenders come from New South Wales, two each from Victoria and Western Australia, and one from Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) and South Australia.

Watch this space for news of the winner – if you can bear the suspense.