Melton pork pie shop 'beyond thrilled' to scoop three national pie awards

Nearly 1,000 pies were entered from producers across Britain – they were judged at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray and trophies were presented at the same venue on Friday.

The Dickinson and Morris Ye Olde Pork Shoppe, based in Nottingham Street, won the classes for Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, Pork Pie and Large Speciality Pie and also claimed a flurry of six Gold, five Silver and five Bronze awards at the event.

It comes a year after a major refurbishment of the historic shop site – more than doubling its footprint and size – where pies have been made since 1851.

General manager, Natasha Gascoine, said: "We are beyond thrilled to win these prestigious awards.

"It’s an incredible honour to be recognised so highly at the British Pie Awards, and we’re so proud that our pies have resonated with the judges.

“This is a tribute to the hard work and passion of our team, and of course, to the generations of loyal customers who have supported us throughout the years.”

The shops expects to see an even bigger demand for its pork pies on the back of the awards.

Its Christmas Dinner Pork Pie, which won the Large Speciality Pie category, will be available in December and is expected to become a firm festive favourite.

Reflecting on the awards, organiser Matthew O’Callaghan told the Melton Times: “This has been one of our best awards.

"We had over 900 pies, a record number of judges, 168.

"The media interest has been unprecedented with coverage by BBC and ITV television, BBC Radio 2 and 3 and Virgin Radio.

"So far we have achieved 278 media insertions across regional, broadcast and national media.

"Highlights include pieces in print and online in The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The i news, Channel 5 news and a host of BBC regional radio stations.

"This is really positive for Melton, enhancing our reputation for food and in particular pies.

"We are now starting the planning for the cheese awards on the May 15 and the Annual Cheese Fair on the weekend of May 24 and 25.”