The Shared Table's Sher Wagyu Reuben pie has won top prize in Ballarat’s Best Pie 2026.
Weaving locally-sourced ingredients into a tried-and-true flavour profile, the savoury sensation features braised wagyu with pastrami flavours, sauerkraut, cheese, dressing and pickles in a rye flour pastry.
The decadent dish was also crowned Best Savoury Pie at the Ballarat's Best Pie 2026 awards ceremony at Itinerant Spirits on Saturday 1 August.
The judging panel of pie connoisseurs featured acclaimed Melbourne chef Alejandro Saravia; Herald Sun food and wine editor Kara Monssen; MasterChef Australia semi-finalist and Good Chef Bad Chef co-host Tim Bone; veteran food writer Richard Cornish; and City of Ballarat Deputy Mayor Cr Ben Taylor.
All the 2026 winners
Ballarat's Best Pie
- Grand prize: The Shared Table's Sher Wagyu Reuben pie
- Second: Cookie Cult's Struck Gold & It's Sticky pie (available at Yellow Espresso)
- Third: The Buninyong Hotel's Sri Lankan chicken curry pie
Best Savoury Pie
- The Shared Table's Sher Wagyu Reuben pie
Best Sweet Pie
- Cookie Cult's Struck Gold & It's Sticky pie (available at Yellow Espresso)
Best Bakery Pie
- Sovereign Hill's slow-cooked blade steak pepper pie
Brilliantly Unexpected Pie
- Flying Chillies' pandan flower pie (available at The Salty Sparrow Cafe and selected local markets)
People's Choice Pie
- First: Emma’s Bakery's Meredith Dairy goat deluxe pie
- Second: Mrs Browne Bakes' banana and honey miso caramel gold fever hand pie
- Third: Sovereign Hill's slow-cooked blade steak pepper pie
Each category winner was awarded a hand-painted pie dish crafted by Ballarat's ceramics queen Shelby Sherritt.
