Chef Jo Barrett's pies have a buttery crust filled with tender meat marinated in rich flavours such as red wine, rosemary or pepper.

"The pie is an Australian icon," she says, standing in her Beechworth kitchen in Victoria's northeast after a morning of baking.

What sets the award-winning chef's pies, sausage rolls and dumplings apart is their fillings: wild venison, boar, goat and even Flinders Island wallaby.

Ms Barrett, The Age newspaper's Good Food Guide 2024 chef of the year, shut her lauded Lorne restaurant Little Picket to focus on making gourmet pies with meat that is often overlooked or left to waste.

Wildpie uses cuts from species being culled to manage their overpopulation, geared towards Australian diners' desire to eat sustainably and know where their food comes from.

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