Pie carts are a much-loved kiwi institution. In the 1950s and 1960s, in the days of the six o'clock swill and long before the advent of sophisticated cafe culture, where else could you be assured of a hot feed and a warm welcome, in any sizable New Zealand town?

Colourful characters gathered around the cart, enjoying the company and the hot food. The menus were small and the food basic - but this was part of the appeal. Nothing fancy: just pies and sauce, sausages, maybe oysters in season, eventually burgers, sometimes chips. The carts remained popular throughout the 1970s, but are now an endangered species, gradually disappearing as the range of dining options have multiplied in every metropolis.

The authors have travelled the country to capture the pie cart stories, before they become extinct. Illustrated with an extensive selection of photographs and graphics, this book is a warm tribute to the owners and operators of those quirky fixtures dotted around the country: the glorious pie carts.

Author Biography

Lindsay Neill, a trained chef with 20 years experience, lectures in hospitality management at the Auckland University of Technology. He hosts easymix radio's Dining Detective slot, offering commentary on the latest in food. He is the 2007 Emerging Food Writer of the Year - awarded by the Food Writers Guild of New Zealand. Ted Bryant is currently Director of the Summer School at Auckland University of Technology and for this book researched contemporary carts around the country taking many of the photographs. Claudia Bell is a well-known sociologist whose previous writing includes a Montana Book Award short-listed title Putting our Town on the Map, 1997 and a New Zealand bestseller Inventing New Zealand, 1996. She has published work on many topics which focus on everyday life in New Zealand.