After winning his fourth World Championship Scotch Pie Award this week, Alan Pirie is still on the hunt for someone to take over the business – and pass on the secret recipe to.
At just 15-years-old, Alan started supplying the people of Newtyle and beyond with meat and pies. He joined his father at James Pirie and Son five years after its opening in 1960.
For nearly six decades, the now 72-year-old has made countless burgers, sausage rolls and Scotch pies.
His business boasts a grand total of 193 awards across its products, including the world’s best Scotch pie in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
At this year’s World Championship Scotch Pie Awards he also won the top prize for his sausage roll.
“It’s amazing, I’m absolutely over the moon,” he beams.
“It’s a massive award and we are very pleased.”
The secret to Scotch pie success
The butcher has not changed a thing in the successful recipe. While he’s not the only person who knows the secret, he confirms it’s closely safeguarded.
Despite the mystery looming over the Scotch pie, Alan is happy to reveal how he makes them.
Local Angus meat is a big part of the secret to success.
He says: “The best quality ingredients, best quality seasoning, top-notch pastry and a lot of care and attention. That’s how they are made.
“It’s all good local stuff we use and made with a lot of care. They’re all handmade in small batches, not mass produced.”
Newtyle might be a small village, but James Pirie and Sons’ audience stretches far and wide.
Alan regularly serves customers from Fife, Perthshire and other corners of Scotland in his shop. He says it’s satisfying to know people are willing to travel for his products.
Search for new owner continues
At the end of 2022, the butcher announced that he is finally ready to hang up his apron and retire after 57 years.
But he will not be leaving the shop until a new owner of the business is in place.
“We’re looking for someone to take it on and keep things going to the same standards,” he says.
“Hopefully there’s someone out there that will carry it on, with new ideas and ways of doing things, it could all be taken to the next level.”
For now he is behind the counter of the busy Church Street shop enjoying his recent award wins.
But when he hangs up the apron, he won’t be picking it up again for the odd pie making session with his wife Norma.
“No, no, no, I have done enough. That’s one thing I’ll not be doing! I’ve got plenty of things to do, but I’ll not be doing that when I retire,” he says.
“We just had our first grandson, so we want to spend a bit more time with him. That’s one of the main things.
“We want to make the most of the time we haven’t had while we’ve been working.
“We’ve got a lot of things planned, a lot of places to go, a lot of people to see and we’ll make the very most of it.”
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