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Mighty Santa pie takes top honours at Royal Sydney Fine Food Awards The rich flavour and eating quality of Santa Gertrudis beef has helped deliver a major win at the prestigious Royal Sydney Fine Food Awards, with a Sydney pie maker's Mighty Santa Pie claiming the highest-scoring pie of the show. Named in honour of the "Mighty Santa Gertrudis", a breed celebrated for thriving in Australia's most challenging environments while consistently producing high-quality beef, the pie scored an outstanding 91 points out of 100 in the savoury pie category, claiming gold medal honours and the title of highest-scoring pie in the competition. The award marks a significant milestone for the breed, with the Mighty Santa Pie becoming the first Santa Gertrudis beef pie entered in the Royal Sydney Fine Food Awards and claiming victory at the first attempt. Santa Gertrudis Breeders' (Australia) Association General Manager Brad Cooper said the result highlighted the exceptional quality and versatility of Santa Gertrudis beef. "This award is a fantastic endorsement of the eating quality, flavour and consistency that Santa Gertrudis cattle are renowned for," Mr Cooper said. "To see a pie carrying the Santa Gertrudis name not only win gold but achieve the highest score of the entire savoury pie class is a tremendous result for everyone involved, from our breeders through to the bakery team that brought this concept to life."
2025 Santa Gertrudis Breed Ambassador Eleni Fogden with the mighty Santa pie at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show.
The award-winning pie featured beef supplied by Queensland processor Nolan Meats from purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle sourced from the nearby Wide Bay region and short fed for 70 days at the company's Cinnabar feedlot west of Gympie.
“The result reinforces the breed's growing reputation for producing high-quality beef that delivers outstanding eating experiences from paddock to plate,” Mr Cooper said. "Santa Gertrudis cattle are renowned for their ability to thrive in challenging Australian environments while still producing cattle that grade exceptionally well under the Meat Standards Australia eating quality system.