Pastry Mad In The Bay

Aucklander Alka Patel has taken the New Zealand pie to the streets of San Francisco, selling the pastry goodness at Stonestown farmers’ market. “I sold out of everything both days,” Patel told SFoodie, including pies filled with lamb curry ($US5.95), butter chicken, and bacon and egg (both $US5). Patel is strict about ingredient purity: She uses organic New Zealand lamb, mostly organic vegetables sourced from farmers’ markets, and Canadian-style bacon she buys at Whole Foods. Alka Patel was a process engineer at a South City biotech company before realising she had a calling in pie-making.