Taste of success
A Wishaw butchers has scooped a Diamond Award for one of its pies.
Hugh Black & Sons’ chicken and smoked ham hough savouries have been judged the best chicken pies in Scotland.
The tasty favourites received the highest possible recognition from the industry evaluator in the Scottish Craft Butchers Savoury Pastry Products Awards 2018.
And the Caledonian Road butchers chain also secured two Gold Awards for their Scotch pies and steak and haggis pies as well as lifting Silver Awards for their bridies, handheld steak pies and chicken Madras curry pies.
Delighted partner Craig Black said the Diamond-winning pie was one of their new premium range recipes launched recently.
He added: “We produce thousands of pastry products every week and a national industry endorsement will undoubtedly increase demand for the award-winning products.”
Factory manager and product development chief Willie Kemp devised the new recipes and is thrilled with the success of his chicken pie.
“We have our own abattoir and bakery so we know the provenance and quality of all our ingredients,” he said. “I create a sauce and meat combination that I know will work and then we taste test it with staff and customers.”
Hugh Black & Sons was one of around 60 butchers from all over Scotland who collectively submitted nearly 300 different handcrafted pies, sausage rolls and bridies which were judged across six categories in one of the industry’s most keenly contested awards.
A second Wishaw butcher also enjoyed success at this year’s evaluation.
James Chapman Butchers secured a Gold Award for both their handheld steak pies and their chicken curry pies. And the traditional family butcher also lifted two Silver Awards for their bridies and mince onion pies.
Bakery foreman Robert Patterson, who has been with the company for 44 years, is behind all the award-winning recipes which he believes remain true to traditional meat pastry favourites.
“One exception would be our chicken curry pies which we decided to make on the back of the success of our chicken curry ready meal,” he said.