There aren’t many places where you can hear “Shang-a-Lang” played on the pipes or see a giant pie-shaped cake.
But when your guest judge is the frontman of the Bay City Rollers, you need to offer something unique for his birthday.
Singer Les McKeown got a special treat during his second stint as a tester at the World Scotch Pie Championships in Dunfermline.
Before being serenaded and presented with his pie-shaped cake baked by last year’s winners, the Kandy Bar in Saltcoats the musician joined dozens of other judges to pick the cream of the crop from Scottish butchers and bakers.
He said: “I’m really proud to be taking part in this event again.
“I know it doesn’t seem like the coolest thing in the world, but it’s the kind of thing that everyone has an opinion on everyone has a favourite baker or pie shop.
“This competition says that we’re proud of being Scottish and proud of our produce.
“It’s also about raising standards and raising the quality of butchers and bakers.”
This year’s championships attracted a record number of entries, with almost 100 people submitting a total of 579 pies, sausage rolls, savouries and apple pies.
Although the top snacks from each category were chosen, the winners will now go into a second round of the competition.
The chief executive of Scottish Bakers, Alan Clark, said: “We will go into the bakers and butchers to buy their products for further judging.
“We are trying to make sure that ordinary customers are getting what we have recognised today as the best quality pies.
“It’s all about dragging up standards.”
The competition has run for 16 years and aims to highlight bakers and butchers who create top-quality pastry products and is supported by Scottish Bakers and the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders.
The winner of the scotch pie category will remain a closely-guarded secret until the world champion is declared during a glittering awards ceremony in January.