British Pie Awards: 'Why I'm aiming high with my donner kebab pie'

This year's British Pie Awards are nether mode and with entries including bacon cheeseburger and donner kebab, judges accidental the contention has ne'er been much varied.

In caller years, the awards person not been without a broadside helping of debate, aft immoderate astonishing winners person triumphed.

This year, organisers person noticed a inclination for a assortment of pastry they person named "fusion" - pies with fillings that, traditionally, would beryllium connected a full different paper specified arsenic donner kebab and bacon cheeseburger.

With the winners owed to beryllium announced later, the BBC spoke to the producers down them who are hoping for their portion of the action.

Jay Jones, 33, is the proprietor of Pietanic, a thoroughfare nutrient institution based successful Birmingham.

"We bash euphony festivals, shot matches and different sporting events similar Cheltenham and Aintree," helium said. "We started doing pop-up thoroughfare nutrient events 9 years agone and it went from there."

He said the concern specialises successful pies due to the fact that helium believes they are an underrated British food.

"When we started out, determination were tons of thoroughfare nutrient places doing burgers and hotdogs but cipher doing pies," helium said. "But the possibilities are endless."

Jay has proved this to beryllium the lawsuit with his bacon cheeseburger pie, which is made astatine his business's prep portion successful the city.

"It's got each of the elements of a bacon cheeseburger successful a pie," helium said.

"We person mince astatine the bottom, past smoked bacon, tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar and a pickle connected top. The pastry replaces the bun.

"When you person a bite, you tin spot the layers.

"We took it to the pastry awards for the archetypal clip past twelvemonth and we got into the apical 3 sports pies.

"People accidental 'What connected world is that?' and past erstwhile you explain, they accidental 'That makes full sense'."

Mark Wilkinson was a cook for 20 years earlier starting The Treacle Town Pie Company, based successful Macclesfield, successful 2009.

One of his entries this twelvemonth is the Italian-style meatball pie.

He created the pastry successful 2015 pursuing a proposition from his son, who was 7 astatine the time.

"He said 'Dad - let's marque an antithetic pie'. I said 'Right - what's your favourite food?' and that was spaghetti and meatballs," helium said.

"He's present 16 years aged and helium inactive likes the pie.

"When you divided it open, you tin odor the tomato, the basil, you've got the small beef meatballs.

"When we person it connected successful the bakery it ever sells out, which is fantastic."

He said helium had entered the awards for the archetypal clip successful 2014 and had got golden for his steak and ale pie.

"We're backmost this twelvemonth to springiness it a go," helium said.

"You tin enactment astir thing that goes unneurotic into a pastry and it works.

"I'm not a pastry idiosyncratic personally - I similar sausage rolls. But I cognize however a pastry should sensation and each the flavour combinations."

Piemaker Alexander Melling has 2 entries successful the contention that honour his family.

Alexander, who runs Baldy's Pies based successful Wigan, is entering the Big Jim - a steak and bulb pastry - successful representation of his dada who passed distant a fewer years ago.

Meanwhile, the Nearly As Good As Mama Joan's Lasagne Pie is dedicated to the "rock of the family" - his mum.

He said the pastry contains his mum's peculiar herb condiment with a blanched pasta expanse successful the middle.

It besides has a triple truffle food béchamel sauce, portion the crunchy bits connected the apical of a lasagne are replicated with shavings of pasta sheet.

Alexander said the Big Jim had won bronze astatine the awards past twelvemonth and helium is hoping to spell adjacent amended this year.

"It feels similar it's meant to beryllium due to the fact that it's Dad's day this week," helium said.

Calum Nall is simply a cook astatine the Anne of Cleves pub successful Melton Mowbray, which is located adjacent doorway to the religion that hosts the pastry awards.

He said it was his team's archetypal spell astatine entering their Deer successful the Black Forest Pie successful the awards but helium thought it mightiness conscionable beryllium antithetic capable to win.

He said the pie's flavours had been inspired by the cervid who unrecorded successful the section countryside and their habitats and includes venison, redcurrants, mushrooms, junipers - and acheronian chocolate.

"We tried it retired astatine the pub and it worked - everyone loved it," helium said.

"It tastes a spot similar a achromatic wood gateau, due to the fact that you've got the berries and the chocolate, but we added venison to crook it into a nutrient pastry alternatively than a dessert.

"I deliberation a pastry tin bring a household together. It conscionable makes radical happy, cutting successful and smelling the flavours."

William Hall runs W.M. Frasers Butchers successful Stranraer, a store that has been going since 1887.

"It's 1 of the oldest successful Dumfries and Galloway - but I've been successful the store for 14 years," helium said.

This year, William volition beryllium entering a donner kebab pastry into the awards - a delicacy helium says that is gaining immoderate traction northbound of the border.

"Donner kebab pies are starting to go a happening successful Scotland - chiefly astir Glasgow," helium said.

"It's a takeaway pie, basically.

"Donner kebabs are 1 of the things you get arsenic a takeaway erstwhile you've been connected a nighttime out.

"It's got a Scottish pastry ammunition - rather a crusty, hard pastry - and it's a pastry you tin devour connected the go, either blistery oregon cold, whether it's astatine a shot lucifer oregon successful your luncheon break."

He said his squad marque the pastry and fillings connected site.

"It's a donner kebab lamb, mixed with herbs and spices, with a saccharine chilli glaze," helium added.

"It's proved precise fashionable astir present - we person radical coming successful for them particularly and, successful 1 case, they ate it successful their car and past came consecutive backmost for different one."

Bison is not the lone eye-catching constituent successful Clare Read-O'Donnell's pie.

It besides includes coffee, cumin and 3 layers of antithetic kinds of chilli.

She said: "It's a bison successful a spicy legume condiment - the eventual accelerated nutrient without each the additives successful it."

Clare, who works arsenic a chef, demonstrator and pastry adept for Brockleby's Pies, based successful Melton, said she had been inspired to make the pastry - named the Ruffalo Buffalo - owed to the beingness of a bison workplace successful the adjacent colony of Nether Broughton.

"Bison is simply a truly thin meat, akin to lamb, precise steadfast with a mild taste," she said.

"It's rather a delicate nutrient truthful it's fantastic astatine taking those kicks of vigor we've enactment done it.

"We're hoping it volition spell down precise well."