Country Cob bakery in Victoria has won the Australian Best Pie Competition for the fifth time in eight years with a Malaysian-style prawn curry pie. The bakery, run by Cambodian brothers Ryan and Chan Khun, has also produced award-winning satay fish and Cambodian pork pies, with a Singapore chilli crab filling in development.
From Pie Beginner to Prize Winner
Ryan Khun arrived in Australia from Cambodia in 2012 at age 27, having never tasted a pie. His first pie, a meat pie from a service station, left him unimpressed. "There is something I don't really like," he recalls. Despite studying and working in IT in Cambodia, he couldn't find local work in that field and joined his brother Chan at his bakery in Kyneton, Victoria. "I never thought I would be baking," says Khun, who started work at midnight, rolling from their home upstairs to the bakery downstairs.
Developing Award-Winning Recipes
Initially, the brothers only baked bread, with pies supplied by a third party. Those pies were "too dry, too salty" according to Khun. After a few years, they decided to make their own pies and cakes, enrolling in baking trade school while working baker's hours. Their first original recipe was a garlic prawn pie, still on the menu. By 2018, they had moved to another shopfront in Kyneton and won the Baking Association of Australia's (BAA) best overall pie award for the first time with a satay fish entry. A judge described it as "unbelievable – well created with that smooth satay flavour and seafood cooked to perfection." They won again in 2019 with a caramelised pork and pepper pie inspired by the Cambodian dish kaw sach chrouk, and in 2023 with a fish amok filling.
Adapting to Local Tastes
Khun notes that the bakery's mostly white customer base was initially apprehensive about non-traditional fillings. The recipes have been tweaked to suit local tastes – slightly sweeter and not as spicy. A small, multicultural team at Country Cob deliberates on new pie flavours before production; the Malaysian prawn pie took three months to perfect. Not all flavours succeeded: kung pao chicken, kimchi pork, and beef bulgogi were among failed experiments. Singapore chilli crab and "super cheese" are on the research and development list.
Expansion and Production
Country Cob has expanded beyond the original Kyneton store, with branches in Boronia and Springvale and a production kitchen in Dandenong South. Staff bake more than 10,000 pies weekly, filling the warehouse precinct with the aroma of freshly baked pastry. "I love baking," says Khun. "I enjoy making pies and making everyone happy when they enjoy the pie."
Customer Reactions
At the Springvale store, Malaysian Australian retiree Yvonne Au travelled with a friend to try the award-winning prawn pie. She disagreed it was Malaysian in flavour but conceded "it's quite tasty." Bob Reggio, who drove from Sydney to Melbourne with a Mustang driver's club, called it "absolutely delicious … it brings a tear to my eye." Customer Teresa Nguyen praised the range of adventurous flavours, saying, "We're not a boring country. We're not monoculture."
