Pub pie contest throws down the gauntlet

A challenge has been issued to the nation's pie makers by the pubco organising the World Pie Eating Championship.

Tony Callaghan, boss of Yesteryear Pub Company, hopes a home-town supplier will come up with the goods for the contest at Harry's Bar in Wigan on December 15.

However, in the interest of fairness, other pie-makers are being given the chance to get involved in the complex business of baking contest-standard product.

The cooked dimensions need to ensure a diameter of 12cm and a depth of 3.5cm inches, and a pie wall angle from base to top of between zero and 15 degrees.

"I've taken expert advice from our chefs," said Tony. "We need world-class hand-made pies, consistent in size and texture, that are easily bitten, chewed and digested, while not lying so heavily on the stomach that it prevents a fall-off in competitive eating standards later in the competition.

"These pies have to be top quality: we don't want the 'cream cracker factor' resulting in a dry mouth and therefore what we would term a 'swallow-stall', nor do we want a filling that is over-absorbent and therefore provokes spongification in competitors' bellies, thereby delivering premature digestive over-capacity.

"A pie that is too crumbly will produce a contest that could result in facial spillage and thereby short-weight consumption - and loss of credibility in the eyes of the world's gastronomes.

"A pie with too runny a filling might well result in some fast eating times but would not be representative of the quality of pie expected of the world's top pie-makers."

The pies will be tested and tasted at a pre-qualifying event in Harry's Bar on December 1.

Tony said: "We are confident a pie-maker from Wigan will provide and deliver pies to the appropriate standards and specifications, however in the interests of promoting regional goodwill we may possibly consider pies from outside Wigan."