Three north-east pie makers are in the mix for the world title at this year’s Scotch Pie Championship.
The Hame Bakery of Peterhead, Bert Fowlie of Strichen and Bruce of the Broch, Fraserburgh, have already been named as finalists in the competition.
ALl three pie experts were sercretly judged by the Scotch Pie Club back in November.
They will hear in January whether their recipes and efforts have earned them the privilege of calling their pies the best in the world.
This year, more than 600 different pies from more than 100 bakers were submitted for the competition, now in its 16th year.
Alistair Bruce, owner of Bruce of the Broch, last night said that local butchers and bakers make all the difference when it comes to the perfect pie.
Bruce of the Broch has won the award for the best steak pie four years in a row.
Mr Bruce said: “A lot of people often say they didn’t realise we have so many awards – we’ve actually run out wall space. We’ve rolling screens in the shop with all our awards.
“With us being local butchers, we buy all our own cattle and we do our pies differently from bakers. What they’ll do is mix up their raw ingredients with the pies and cook it that way.
“We tend to cook our meat first then put it in. We think it cooks better that way – it makes a difference to the judges.
“Where we score is that we have four chefs that work for us. They do all the fillings for our pies.
“It’s quite well supported. It’s a fair day they must have judging everyone,” he added.
Speaking on the award, last year’s winner, Stephen McAllister of The Kandy Bar in Saltcoats, said it gave his business a “phenomenal boost”.
“The immediate impact was absolutely phenomenal, our pie sales were up over 100%. They’re still up on average 40%, it really has created a great source of extra income for the business,” he added.