There is a decidedly patriotic flavour to some of the entries in this year’s World Scotch Pie Championships.
Some of the more unusual entries have included a pie named after Scotland’s other national drink, complete with not so subtle orange potatoes and purpley turnip, to an SNPie a concoction of minced Scottish beef for strength, Scottish tatties for stamina and beans for wind!
Organiser Alan Stuart, of Stuart’s of Buckhaven, said the majority of the record entry of 89 competitors had made it to Dunfermline’s Carnegie College with their prized pies before the deadline of Pie Noon on Tuesday.
Maurice Irvine of Beith in Ayrshire is defending his title from a strong field which includes English heavyweight Greenhalgh’s, who have 60 outlets in north-west England.
The Scotch Pie category has attracted 86 entries but there are also several other categories and the team of judges took five hours to wade through mouthfuls of 66 sausage rolls, 63 bridies, 48 steak pies, 12 vegetarian and 10 fish pie entries.
Making his pie judging debut this time was 1994 Masterchef champion Gerry Goldwyre from Edinburgh. Impressed, he said it was ”almost mind bogglingly difficult” to try to analyse entries one after another.
”The standard has been from exceptional to average. It is great so many people care enough about what they do. When you speak to some of the guys here with all their experience and expertise you soon realise how pies are now made relative to how they were made in the past.”
Mr Stuart said there would be the usual good-natured rivalry between butchers and bakers until the winners are announced in January.
”There’s quite a srong but friendly rivalry between the two I think we’ve had seven bakers win and five butchers so it is tight.”