Twyford pie shop enjoys fresh batch of awards
A TWYFORD pie shop is celebrating a fresh batch of awards.
Rural Pie Co won a silver medal and three bronzes at the annual British Pie Awards, held in Melton Mowbray earlier this month.
Almost 1,000 handmade pies from producers all over the UK were entered in the event, which were judged in 23 classes.
Piemaker and Rural Pie co-owner Amy Smith, who runs the London Road café with husband Phil, said that judging in this year’s event was tough.
“Some of the big names who we’d usually expect to see win something didn’t,” Mrs Smith explains.
“Even though we did not get a gold medal, we’re still really chuffed that three of our pies were recognised as being good enough.”
Rural Pie’s chicken, pancetta, brie and cranberry pie came home with a bronze in the hot eating savoury pie class, and a silver in the chicken category.
Its steak and onion pie was awarded bronze in the beef and any flavour group, and its venison, red wine and plum combination took bronze in the speciality meat and game section.
Mrs Smith said that for her chicken pie to be recognised in two classes means that it is a “very good pie”.
“To get an award for our venison pie was great, because we don’t do many game pies, and some makers who specialise in this area missed out.” she added.
“And to get something in a large class like beef and any flavour means that the execution of our steak and onion pie was exceptional.”
Pies are judged according to category criteria, but judges generally look for the appearance and texture of the pie.
“Things like evenness of pastry thickness, evenness of bake, balance of ingredients and whether the filling spills out are looked it.
“They are literally pulled apart, but it all comes down to personal taste,” Mrs Smith explains.
It is the third year in a row that Rural Pie has entered the awards, winning seven awards in 2020 and four last year.
For Mrs Smith, the awards are a refection of the attention to detail the couple have for their pies. As well as classics, limited run specials are always being added to the menu.
“Our meat is trimmed of as much fat as possible and we use a butter pastry which reduces saturated fats when compared with lard-based pastries,” she said.
“We also do not add a lot of salt or use any preservatives.
“The pastry it is not too thick, fillings are not wet and we make sure our pies are filled to the lid.”