Two Dumfriesshire businesses have been shortlisted in the 22nd World Championship Scotch Pie Awards.
The Little Bakery of Dumfries at Heathhall and Annan High Street’s Dunnabie Farm Shop will find out if they are winners at the prestigious lunch on January 18 at the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld, hosted by Carole
Smilie.
They made it through to the shortlist following the annual judging day held earlier this month. More than 70 butchers and bakers delivered more than 400 of the nation’s best pies to be judged by more than 50 experts.
Under the watchful eye of head judge Ian Nelson, each entry was carefully assessed for its appearance, consistency and, of course, taste.
The judges selected a series of best in category pies including the 2022 World Champion Scotch Pie, although for this ultimate category there is still one final stage to determine the winner – a mystery shop - to ensure the Scotch pie entered into the awards is exactly the same pie that is sold day in and day out to happy customers.
As always, the judges were looking for pie perfection across entrants in 11 categories; Scotch pie, football pies and savouries, macaroni pie, steak pie, sausage roll, cold savoury, hot savoury, vegetarian savoury, haggis savoury, bridie and apple
pies.
Alasdair Smith, chief executive of Scottish Bakers who run the competition on behalf of bakery and butchery trades, said: “Announcing the shortlist is such a momentous moment as it’s the first inkling our entrants get that their pies have been judged to be the best of a very good field, so it is with great pleasure that we can announce that The Little Bakery and Dunnabie Farm Shop have made it through.
“And for me it’s great to be recognising products which have been lovingly made from scratch from locally sourced ingredients, freshly made daily by skilled craftspeople. Roll on January 18.”
