The upper crust
The appeal of a high-quality home-made pie can't be overestimated when it comes to driving sales.
The survey of the trade carried out for the annual Publican Food Report consistently puts steak pie at the top of the list of pub menu best-sellers. A Cornish pub is now reaping the benefits of its success in being named the 'Face of British Pie Week'.
The Duke of Cornwall in St Austell convinced the judges with its handcrafted Cornish steak pie.
Paul Harvey and Shane Morris took over the pub as tenants with St Austell Brewery in September 2007, with the team also including chef Mike Greer.
Paul says: "We wanted to make the Duke of Cornwall famous for its home-made traditional dishes. From the onset, it was important to us that we used local ingredients, West Country suppliers where possible, or at the very least high-quality British produce.
"In doing so we aimed to support the local community and economy, and in return the community supports us."
The launch of British Pie Week, sponsored by pastry specialist Jus-Rol and running in the first week of March, gave the pub an opportunity to highlight its food. With the organisers looking for a business to represent the trade during the week, the Duke of Cornwall was given the honour.
The pub serves pies such as steak & ale, chicken & mushroom, steak & stilton, and pork, apple & cider, selling for £6.95 each.
Shane says: "During a typical week we usually sell between eight and 10 pies but British Pie Week saw it escalate to well over 100. Since then we now average 40 pies a week. We also managed to expand our customer base, attracting new faces that now eat regularly at the Duke."
British Pie Week also saw the launch of a pie takeaway concept. Paul says: "There were times during the week when we couldn't take any more bookings, so we gave our customers the take-out option.
"The take-out pies cost £3.50 and it opened up our pub to all-day dining, with customers popping in at lunchtime or enjoying a late-evening snack after a pint."
For chef Mike Greer, coping with the increase in demand was just a matter of organisation. "As a chef, home-made pies are relatively easy," he says. "I make my pies in batches of 12. Fillings are prepared in advance and for the pastry I use Jus-Rol."
"I had too many pies to make and too little time to prepare the pastry from scratch."
The pub's status as a pie ambassador saw Mike go on to become a media star with appearances on radio and TV including a slot on This Morning to cook his winning pie recipe alongside Michelin chef Angela Hartnett.
Mike says: "When we entered the competition I never thought I'd end up on television doing a cooking demonstration alongside Angela."The coverage the Duke has received has been phenomenal. Later in the year we've got some pie fans from Sheffield visiting to learn the recipe."
• For Mike's winning recipe, click on the 'related article' link on the right
