Fairlie Bakehouse, famous for its pies and now its pastry, is expanding
Monday, 21 July 2025
The Fairlie Bakehouse is famous for its pies and now, as it eyes a butchery expansion, it is home to New Zealand’s top pastry chef.
Achira Kularatne, the bakery’s pastry chef, recently won the New Zealand pastry chef of the year award in Auckland against some intense competition.
“I was very happy,” Kularatne said of the result.
“I had to take the ingredients to Auckland, things like baking trays. I had 57kg of equipment.”
Kularatne had to create two entries.
The first, with a two-hour time limit, had to contain a certain number of required ingredients. He created a passionfruit cheesecake with royal chocolate soufflé and vanilla ice cream.
He was given three hours for his second mouth-watering pastry, producing a detailed creation: a mirror glazed entremet layered with dark chocolate mousse cake, orange sponge soaked in vanilla sugar syrup, raspberry compote, crispy feuilletine and chocolate marquise sponge.
Kularatne grew up in Sri Lanka and was trained by his father, a baker.
“A guy from an agency came to the shop and liked my work, so I went to Dubai as a cake decorator at first. I was there for 17 years.”
Kularatne worked for top hotels in Dubai, becoming the best pastry chef in the United Arab Emirates city and going on to represent the country in international pastry competitions.
“I won a gold medal at the Food Olympics in Germany and four golds at the Food World Cup in Luxembourg.”
So how did one of the best pastry chefs in the world end up in Fairlie, where the population is just under 1000?
“I came to New Zealand in 2023 because my parents are living in Auckland,” he said.
“I don’t like Auckland. I like Fairlie better than Auckland.”
Bakehouse owner Franz Lieber handled the recruitment for a new staff position, to which Kularatne applied.
“My daughter appointed him; there were 80 to 100 applications,” Lieber said.
“He likes it here because it’s always busy, like Dubai.”
Lieber realised how fortunate he has been to get Kularatne.
“He has been here two-and-a-half years. I bought a flat for him to rent rather than getting kicked out of a flat every five minutes, which happens.”
Kularatne works alongside his wife, Mariyan, also a pastry chef, and they met in Dubai. He starts at 3am and works to about 2pm.
Not surprisingly, the couple bounce ideas off each other.
“She helped with the competition,” Kularatne said. “We’re a team.”
Like the bakehouse pies, the pastries fly out the door. “There’s never enough,” Lieber said.
He hoped the Kularatnes would make Fairlie their home for a long time yet but said he would understand if eventually they decided to move.
Lieber applauded Kularatne’s success in Auckland.
“He’s a very nice man, very focused on his art and quite humble, not arrogant.”
Demand for the bakehouse goodies shows no sign of slowing down.
“Our record [for selling pies] was 4900 in a day,” Lieber said. “We usually sell from 2500 to 3000 a day.”
Lieber started the business 17 years ago, just as a small family operation and not expecting it to take off as it has.
“It’s grown every year and now [we] have 70 staff. Seven or eight of them have been here 10 years. I think I am Fairlie’s biggest employer after the council.”
Lieber said he liked the town and area since it reminded him of his native Austria.
Now with a champion pastry chef on board, he is in expansive mood with plans well advanced on building a butchery that will employ five or six staff.
“I already employ two butchers, but we are going through big volumes of meat.”
Lieber said 4½ to 5 tonnes of beef, 2 tonnes of chicken and 4 tonnes of pork belly were used each week.
“There’s a lot of chopping.”
Lieber has considered expanding the existing shop premises but has no intention of establishing a bakery chain.
“I don’t believe in franchising. I can’t handle one; it must be very hard with four or five.”