Aldi's Next Big Thing: Pie-making dad's tears as he…

Aldi's Next Big Thing: Pie-making dad's tears as he battles to get life-changing supermarket spot

A pie-making business owner was left in tears on brand new foodie show - Aldi's Next Big Thing - as he made his emotional pitch for a life-changing spot on the budget supermarket's shelves. Christian Barrington, a self-confessed "workaholic" and Chief Pie Maker at Mud Foods, opens up to the show's hosts Anita Rani and Chris Bavin, and Aldi's managing director Julie Ashfield, about why he brought his product into the fold.

Pitching Mud Foods' trademark chip shop chicken curry pie to the judges on the Channel 4 series, Christian chokes up and explains: "My youngest daughter came along and she was diagnosed with a really rare genetic abnormality. She’s one of 800 in the whole world. She’s an absolute joy, an absolute delight but she has loads of challenges in her life," before describing how he would like to spend more time with her.

Hosted by Rani, of Countryfile and BBC Radio 4 and Bavin, of Britain's Best Home Cook and Eat Well for Less, the six-part series, which starts tonight, October 20, sees suppliers compete in categories such as dinners, baked goods, treats and store cupboard essentials. The winning supplier from each category will receive a life-changing contract to stock their product at Aldi stores.

After Christian has dried his eyes, the judges give their opinions. Julie simply says: "I love it. I just love it," once she has tried a small sample. Anita, meanwhile, comments: "That is really delicious and far superior to any other chip shop curry sauce that I've ever had."

According to the Mud Foods website, Christian was inspired by a fond childhood memory of his mother and grandmother making homemade pies and disillusioned by a fairly dull work life in sales. He explains in the show: “I’d had a career in financial services. I was at a seminar and just looked around the room and saw all these old, grey-haired men and women and thought, ‘Do you know what? I do not want to be here in ten years' time’, so I started doing pies at the farmers market.”

He adds: "The family side of the business is really important. I’ve got my wife and ten-year-old daughter helping me. Having this opportunity to pitch the product is just phenomenal and doesn’t happen."

The multi-category competition is part of Aldi’s ongoing commitment to locally sourced products. Aldi has pledged to prioritise home-grown suppliers as it works towards spending an additional £3.5 billion a year with British businesses by the end of 2025.

To find out if Mud Foods made it on to Aldi’s shelves watch Aldi’s Next Big Thing on Channel 4, every Thursday at 8pm until November 24

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