The best pie in Britain has been decided - and it’s a vegetarian and gluten-free pie from Bristol.
The ‘Gluten Free Mooless Pie’ beat off competition from almost 1,000 other pies made in Britain to be crowned the Supreme Champion at the 2022 British Pie Awards.
The British Pie Awards work a bit like Crufts, with different categories of pies having winners, which then go through to be judged against each other - and it’s the very first time a pie which was named the best in the ‘Free-From’ category went on to be crowned Supreme Champion.
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There was a record-breaking 976 pie entries overall.
And in what traditionalists may regard as something of a shock, a pie that substituted meat for jackfruit and made sure its craft ale is gluten-free beat off competition from all the real steak and kidney, beef and ale, pork pies, chicken or minced beef pies Britain produces.
It’s a triumph for Bristol-based Pieminister, which has grown from its origins in the city’s alternative Stokes Croft area over the past couple of decades since it was founded in 2003 by Tristan Hogg and Jon Simon. The business has three outlets in Bristol and before the pandemic opened new pie shops in Sheffield and Liverpool.
The world-famous British Pie Awards were hosted from their traditional base in Melton Mowbray, but it was not a pork pie that was crowned champion this year.
The Gluten Free Mooless Pie, a vegetarian jackfruit ‘steak’, gluten-free craft ale and black pepper pie, from Pieminister takes over the title of Supreme Champion from Bowring Butchers, who beat out competition across 23 categories in the previous 2021 awards with a traditional British Meat and Potato pie to be crowned ‘pie of pies’ at last year’s event.
So what was it about a veggie gluten-free pie that won over the judges? “This was a superb pie, it looked good, had a nice even golden bake,” explained Matthew O’Callaghan, the chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association and host of the British Pie Awards.
“The pastry was crunchy complimented by the moist filling which had ‘bite’ and the balance of flavours in the pie was just right. Up to now, Gluten Free Pies were always compared unfavourably with other pies. With this pie, Gluten Free Pies are now equal to any other pie. “Being Vegetarian and Gluten Free, Pieminister’s ‘Mooless Pie’ is an ‘Everybody’s Pie’, be they vegetarian or meat eater, gluten tolerant or intolerant. Serve this at a meal and almost everyone’s a winner! Congratulations Pieminister!” he added.
In 2020, Pieminister's vegan pie won a Gold medal, but this year they've gone one better with a free-from pie and been named Supreme Champion
As well as the national prestige and acclaim of their pie peers, the Pieminister team get a trophy and - even better - an expenses paid trip to the British Fair in Japan, courtesy of the Hankyu Department Store - whenever covid allows the next British Fair in Japan to take place - and this will give Pieminister an opportunity to showcase their pies to the Japanese.
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