Destination Southern Highlands has set an ambitious task of selling half a million pies for Pie Time 2021 and they have a strong backer.
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The fifth iteration of the month-long Pie Time was launched on Tuesday at Peppergreen Estate in Berrima and featured 'Pie Minister' and AFL legend Robert DiPierdomenico.
Dipper, as he is better known, played in Hawthorn's champion team of the 1980s, winning five premierships and the Brownlow Medal in 1986.
But on Tuesday he was taking to his Pie Time ambassador role with relish, having visited various bakeries and pie shops along the 'Pie Trail' the day before.
"The humble pie has brought Australia together for many, many years," Dipper said.
"My role as the Pie Minister is to get people to understand that June 1 is a special day, National Pie Day!"
Pie Time has become an institution in the Highlands with pie makers from around the region invited to create a 'hero pie' for visitors to try during the month.
Destination Southern Highlands' Steve Rosa said the concept of Pie Time was originally to just have a bit of fun.
"It started out as a bit of a fun idea and was initiated by one of our staff who undertakes a product audit each year to see how many hotels, rooms, cafes, restaurants we've got," Rosa said.
"We noticed that we had a high concentration of pie makers through the bakeries. So five years ago we got together with the pie makers and launched that [pie trail] and it's really gone gangbusters ever since."
While locals will see orange 'Pie Trail' banners around the area, Rosa said the actual economic impact could be seen year on year.
It's not the only good news for the region either, following Berrima's recent victory in the NSW Top Tourism Town Awards.
"June was an off-peak season, it's now become a peak season," he explained.
"Economically it drives additional visitation, we've seen about a 40 per cent increase. In the first year we measured that 100,000 pies were actually produced and sold, that increased to 200,000 the next year and 300,000 the third year.
"Unfortunately during Covid we had to put it on hold but we're hoping that this year, the fifth year, we can crack the half a million pies produced and sold in the month of June.
"We want to own Pie Time as being the home of pies in the Southern Highlands. You know that when you go on a road trip you've got to buy a pie as part of that experience."
As for the Pie Minister, he had one big policy idea to bring to Canberra.
"This country has been energised by a lot of different things. This is the slogan I gave the Energy Minister, 'Australia, powered by pies!'
"Take that back to ScoMo!"
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