A pie made by Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been rated as one of the best pies in the country at the British Pie Awards 2013.
The game pie produced by Croots came second in the Speciality Pie section of the annual awards, which celebrate the UK’s best pies.
Hosted and organised by the British Pork Pie Association in Melton Mowbray, the awards attracted almost 1,000 pies this year across 20 different classes.
Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot said: “We are thrilled that our game pie was rated so highly in the speciality pies category.
“We narrowly missed out on taking the champion slot but we were up against some amazing pie makers and pies from across the UK, so to be a runner up and come second is absolutely brilliant. The feedback we get from customers about our pies is great, but to have it recognised by the judges at the British Pie Awards is excellent and a real coup for the team at Croots.”
The game pie is one of a number of sweet and savoury pies made by deputy manager Margaret Robinson at Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, Duffield.
The game pie features venison, pheasant and rabbit, with ingredients varying throughout the year depending on what’s in season.
Croots has won several accolades at the British Pie Awards previously. Last year it won five silver or bronze awards, and the previous year it scooped four gold, silver or bonze awards.
More than 130 producers from across the UK entered their pies into the awards. Some 106 judges were recruited to munch their way through the entries, including TV chef and food campaigner Rachel Green, food writers and journalists, and cricket broadcaster Jonathan Agnew.
Croots Farm Shop has won more than 60 awards for its sausages, pies and home-made items since opening in 2008, and has built up a strong reputation for the quality of its butchers’ counter. Croots also sells a range of food and drink produced locally, regionally and from further afield. It stocks products from up to 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius of the shop
Next month it is due to open its extended restaurant area, which is being built in response to customer demand.
Croots Farm Shop is open Sundays from 10am to 4pm, and from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm. It is closed on Mondays.
For more information visit http://www.croots.co.uk/
Photo shows deputy manager Margaret Robinson and Steve Croot.
