East London’s acclaimed Shamrock Pies celebrate 50 years in business

One of SA’s oldest pie companies, East London’s very own Shamrock Pies, will be celebrating 50 years in business this year.

To mark five decades of producing pies that have become a household name in the city and beyond, the family business has expanded operations to the Western Cape.

The pies are sold in towns all over the Eastern Cape, including East London, Mthatha, Gqeberha, Cradock, Komani and Graaff-Reinet, to name a few.

The depot in Gqeberha supplies as far as Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.

Shamrock Pies director Grazia Linden said they opened a Cape Town depot last month.

The response, she said, had been incredible because they had a huge following of Eastern Cape residents who had moved to the Western Cape.

Linden said a professional telesales team was responsible for customers’ orders.

Unbaked pies are transported from the factory in East London in temperature-controlled trucks to the depot in Gqeberha and now Cape Town.

Shamrock Pies is a privately owned family business founded by Irish confectioner Tom Ryan in 1973.

Ryan perfected the “Shamrock Pie” and the original recipe and baking and cooking methods are still used today.

From its humble beginnings in the Vincent Park Centre, the business moved to Fort Jackson.

Tony and Grazia Linden bought the business in June 2000 and moved operations to bigger premises in Braelyn, where they are still based.

“Many factors contribute towards building and keeping the good reputation of the pies,” Linden said.

“Dedicated, well-trained staff use only the best quality ingredients.

“Emphasis is on superior quality, with no compromise. Only the leanest, most succulent steaks and chicken are used in the meat pies.

“Trimming off fat and dicing of meat is done in-house so that quality can be controlled.

“Shamrock pastry is unique. Not only is it crisp and tasty but it microwaves well to keep its crispness and delicious flavour.”

Linden said Shamrock Pies complied with the Good Food Safety Initiative standards and was subject to audits from QPRO, which provides food safety auditing and related services.

Asked how SA’s energy crisis had impacted business, she said: “Load-shedding has not affected our production. However, it is expensive to keep a factory running on diesel.

“We are hopeful that the Eskom crisis will diminish and be resolved.”

Linden said some staff members had worked for Shamrock Pies for more than 25 years.

“Over the years, the staff complement has more than tripled to about 100 people.

“The staff take great pride in their work and are proud to be associated with the excellent reputation of the business.”