Melton Mowbray's newest pie shop launched in style
Melton Mowbray’s newest pie shop was launched in style on Saturday.
The King’s representative in Leicestershire, the Lord Lieutenant Mike Kapur, officially opened Brockleby’s Pie Shop in Church Street.
Fittingly, the shop is located in the shadow of St Mary’s Church, where in 2023 its acclaimed Moo and Blue was crowned Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards.
The business was founded in 2003 at Asfordby Hill, where 10,000 pies are baked every week and where workshops are held to teach people how to make pies, bread, pizza, pasta and sausages.
It is the brain child of cattle farmer Ian Jalland, whose family have farmed in the area for five centuries.
At Saturday’s launch, he told customers who had gathered for the opening that it would have a different offering to other local shops, with workshops and even a pianist playing some days.
"We are a Melton-based business but we are on the periphery at Asfordby Hill,” he said.
"We think that by coming into town we are going to help the Melton tourist economy and this is just an absolutely superb location to have a shop.”
Mr Kapur, the Lord Lieutenant, commented: “Brockleby’s has always prided itself on quality and provenance and the fact that the family ethos from all these centuries is being embedded into this business is absolutely tremendous.”
A highlight of the launch was a pie-eating contest where participants were challenged to eat a Northerner Pie – designed for a family of four and consisting of 1,500 calories – in the quickest possible time.