The world-famous Awards, now in their 10th year, will take place on Wednesday 7th March in the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray – the nation’s capital of pies.
As the deadline for entries to the 2018 British Pie Awards draws near (16th February), hundreds of pies have been entered, and at least 40 new professional bakers, butchers and chefs from across the UK have registered alongside returning competitors, making this year’s Awards the most exciting yet.
The British Pie Awards, held during British Pie Week (5th-11th March 2018) and hosted by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, celebrate our nation’s love of pies – one of the true icons of British cuisine. An impressive line-up of 140 expert pie judges has been confirmed to date – with further opportunities remaining for experts and pie lovers to join the panel.
The current list of pie aficionados includes national food writers such as Taran Bassi of the Metro, William Hartston of the Daily Express and Olive’s food director Janine Ratcliffe. Other foodie experts include established food historian Marc Meltonville and Colin Lomax of the British Society of Baking.
As usual, there are 21 classes to enter at the Awards including this year’s themed class. This year, Class 21 will celebrate the pies that entrants are proud to serve in the public sector, for vital services including schools, hospitals and the armed forces. Pies entered into this class do not have to be available commercially – as long as they follow the rules of entry.
Matthew O’Callaghan, Chairman of the British Pie Awards, said: “We’re so looking forward to the British Pie Awards this year – an opportunity to celebrate traditional British craftsmanship and a decade of truly outstanding pies. We’ve judged well over 7,000 pies since the awards were first founded but we’re still hungry for more!
“We’ve lined up another great panel of expert judges and we’re already so impressed by the number of pies that have been entered. If you’ve only just heard about the Awards however, don’t panic! There’s still time to submit your entry forms online and get involved.”
There’s still time to get involved
Entry to the Awards is still open and will run until 5pm on Friday 16th February 2018. It’s open to anyone who sells pies commercially in the UK, with a special rate for companies employing fewer than five pie makers. Pie makers can enter the awards by filling out an online entry form on the website, where there is also a full list of this year’s classes:
For more information click here