Heritage NZ
Mince and cheese pie: bakery classic.
Mince and Cheese Pie
New Zealand's iconic mince + cheese pie
View page →Heritage New Zealand cuisine reflects British colonial inheritance, refined into distinctively Kiwi forms: mince and cheese pies (sold at every dairy and rugby match), pavlova (NZ claims invention 1926), Sunday roast lamb with mint sauce, fish and chips Kiwi-style, scones with jam and cream, anzac biscuits (made for WWI soldiers). The cuisine is hearty, unpretentious, and built around the dairy + lamb agricultural economy that defines NZ.
The Palate
Start Here
New Zealand's iconic mince + cheese pie — ground beef in gravy topped with cheddar, encased in shortcrust + puff pastry. Eaten at every rugby match with tomato sauce squeezed through the steam vent.
Why start here · The mince and cheese pie distinguishes NZ from Australia — the added cheese is the Kiwi national signature, sold at every dairy in the country.
The Pantry
See all 49 ingredients›
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within New Zealand — each its own tradition.