Pie Society |
![]() |
Pie Club History |
To the untrained eye, they’re just blokes pigging out in a pub. To our pork-pie makers, they’re judge and jury.
“We love our pies. We’re very passionate about this,” says Kevin Booth, life president of the society and one of its founder members. Just how passionate can be gauged by the fact that when his brother and fellow society member Stuart was married earlier this year, instead of a wedding cake there was a three-tier, 50lb pork pie, complete with miniature bride and groom on top. “I think we might have made a few converts,” Booth says with quiet confidence.
The society started in 1982, ironically enough following the opening of
a new health club in the village. “About eight of us used to go there
to work out. Then we’d retire to the
“We were a bit upset,” Charnley admits. Drastic action was needed: they
decided they would take it in turns to fetch the pies. Male competitive
spirit being what it is, it soon became a matter of pride as to which
“pie fetcher”, as they became known, could bring the best Butcher’s
shops for miles around were scoured in search of pies with crispier
pastry, tastier filling. Marks out of ten were awarded and comments
noted, at pies (which is still brought out for meetings like a religious relic), but then in a more official logbook. The Pork Pie Appreciation Society was born.
The club now has a hard core of nine members, from self-employed
builders to managers for Yorkshire Water, all living within a five-mile
radius of Ripponden. Each week, the designated pie fetcher will select
a traditional butchers shop, sometimes travelling up to 20 miles in
their hunt for the perfect pork pie. There are far fewer independent
butchers now than when the society started, although it’s generally
agreed that those that have survived are of a very high quality. “We’ve
done all the butchers in this area, so it’s nice when guests bring pies
from somewhere different,” Its annual pork-pie championship, which takes place in spring, attracts around 50 independent butchers and pie makers from the North and Midlands. It’s so highly regarded that even a placing in it can make a huge difference to the entrants.
“Business can double,” says Simon Haigh of Hinchilife’s Farm Shop in
Netherton, Huddersfield three time championship winner and the maker of
the giant pork pie for So what constitutes a good pork pie? For a start, it must come from a traditional butcher’s rather than a supermarket. Ideally, it should be eaten the day it’s cooked. While it is possible to “boost” an older pie by warming it in the oven, that’s something pork-pie purists regard in the same light as an athlete taking steroids.
Then there’s appearance. A pie should have straight or bulging sides
(pork pies should
After that, it’s down to personal taste. “We don’t always like the same
pies. It’s not always unanimous,” says Booth. This week, hot weather
has meant the pies have been kept in the cool pub cellar to stop them
spoiling. Each member takes one, munches away thoughtfully and
scribbles his score on a scrap of paper. But the results aren’t revealed yet. In fact, the pies aren’t mentioned at all. In a sort of formalised version of what men tend to do in pubs anyway, current and sporting events are first discussed, with each topic faithfully recorded in the logbook. Finally, Booth clears his throat. “Right We’ll get on with the pies now.”
Finally, the pie fetcher himself delivers his own judgment a tad defensively after the criticisms about the temperature and reveals the pie’s provenance: bought that morning from P. & I. Hopkins at Birkenshaw, Bradford. “Bloody hell, that’s a pedigree pie,” one member declares, to general nods of approval. Business concluded, the PPAS members settle down to their pints with the satisfaction of a job well done. “I think we’ve helped to make pork pies better,” says Booth. “There’s good pies and there’s great pies. But there’s no such thing as a bad pork pie.”. Report Simon Beckett Photographs John Angerson |