The power of a pie: South West baking success story starts new chapter

When it comes to the pleasures of a good pie, there’s not much Michael and Kate Lane don’t know.

After starting up Little Pie Lane at the Subiaco Markets, the couple moved “down south” in 2015 where they fast won over fans with their hand-pressed pies, made with a vintage pie press they brought to Australia from Bolton in the United Kingdom. (“It looks a bit like a pill press,” admits Michael, about the six-month ordeal getting the innocuous bit of kit past customs.)

“I could see that little glint in Kate’s eyes,” says Michael about the chance to establish a dedicated pie baking facility.Credit: Max Veenhuyzen

After successful stints at the Margaret River Farmers Market and Gracie’s General Store, where they also added Cornish pastries to the range, the Lanes opened the prosaically named Pies & Ale in Margaret River’s Boranup Forest in September 2022.

It was perhaps then that they encountered their first “oh” moment when it came to pies: they didn’t realise how popular the shop would be.

This summer, Pies & Ale regularly sold out of pies by 1pm: just two hours after opening for lunch. When you taste the pies, it’s not hard to understand the warped demand versus supply metric.

Made with a combination of butter and hot water, the Lanes’ pastry is nicely short without being overwhelmingly buttery. Inside, the pies are all-killer and no filler, whether it’s the sweet richness of the chicken katsu curry pies, or the gutsiness of the all-day brekkie pie complete with a whole egg inside each pastry shell.

Considering the Lanes’ eatery is something of a destination cafe in the bush, eaters that made the trek into the trees only to come up empty-handed weren’t too impressed. The Lanes shared their disappointment.

The basic equipment and lack of space at Pies & Ale meant that they could only prepare a limited number of pies each day and once the lunch rush started, the focus became serving guests rather than baking more pies. The solution? Move the baking of the pies offsite to a dedicated space with increased capacity.

Enter a former restaurant and cafe site in the Margaret River township. In May, the Lanes began moving equipment into the space on Fearn Avenue with production kicking off soon after.

“I could see that little glint in Kate’s eyes,” says Michael about the chance to establish a dedicated pie baking facility.

In addition to putting an end to run-outs in the forest, establishing a dedicated pie bakery has also allowed the Lanes to expand their range. At present, the plan is to go from a core range of seven pies to 15 and bring back some popular, predominantly British-inspired pies that were previously offered.

Kate bakes the pies each morning. Michael picks them up after dropping the kids at school, and brings them to Pies & Ale.Credit: Max Veenhuyzen

Among the pies making a return are a pork and Stilton cheese pie, and a black pudding pie. Less traditional pies such as a Texan pie (hint: it involves chilli con carne and a burrito) and an Italian-inspired Mamma Mia made with risoni, tomato and Parmesan will also be appearing on the comeback trail.

The pies are baked by Kate daily each morning with Michael picking up the pies after dropping the kids at school and bringing them to Pies & Ale. In addition to supplying the cafe, the Piehouse will also sell pies through the day.

His advice to eaters is to get to the Margaret River bakery as close after 10am as possible to ensure they get to choose from as many pies as possible. He knows first-hand what it looks like when folks miss out.

Piehouse is at 3/23 Fearn Ave, Margaret River and is open from 8:30am till 4pm, Monday to Friday.

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