It's the week before Christmas, and the Punch Tavern in Fleet Street, London, is fully occupied with its busiest time of the year for functions. On this particular evening, the kitchen is gearing up for a party of Americans from one of the City's financial institutions - something of an endangered species, but still spending.
Although the group is keen to enjoy traditional British fare, roast turkey and all the trimmings is not on the menu. Instead, they'll be sitting down to chicken, leek and mushroom pie served with mash and carrots - an award-winning dinner.
The Punch Tavern, run by lessee Sunnil Panjabi, has picked up a number of industry accolades including being named Pub Food Pub of the Year at the Publican Awards 2006. Last year, it added another honour to its increasingly strained trophy cabinet when the chicken, leek and mushroom pie was named the Peoples' Choice during British Pie Week 2008.
Dee Whooley, the pub's chef, creates a range of bespoke pies for the menu through the year. The range now includes steak and ale, chicken and stilton, Moroccan lamb, fish, lamb and mint, mixed game, cottage pie, steak and stilton, steak and mushroom, and apple, as well as the People's Choice winner.
"It's great coming up with new varieties," says Dee. "The Moroccan lamb pie, introduced this year, has been particularly successful. But we have to make sure we feature all the old favourites as well."
Through the winter, the pub aims to offer a different pie every day of the week, ending up on Friday with a particular favourite such as steak and ale. In summer, when comfort food is slightly less in vogue, varieties such as fish pie come into their own.
The pub is very effective at rallying its customers, using an email database which regularly updates
customers on everything from menu changes to quiz nights. Even so, as marketing manager Dave Pocock points out, the vote for the People's Choice was entirely down to individuals.
"We let them know about the competition, but it was the customers who voted, which is great," he says.
The success of the Punch's pies has been incremental to its food business. "We have a classic pub food menu," says Dee, "and everything on it is still as popular as ever - but we're also selling hundreds of pies a week."
British Pie Week 2009
The pie is one of Britain's most popular dishes, and the best seller on many pub menus, according to The Publican Food Report 2008.
British Pie Week 2009 runs from March 2 to 8, in association with Jus-Rol and supported by The Publican. The initiative has also earned the support of the Craft Guild of Chefs.
The week is designed to celebrate all things pie and encourage chefs and operators to ditch the pre-made and put homemade pies at the top of their menus.
As part of British Pie Week, pie fans are encouraged to vote for their favourite pub pie in the People's Choice Award, won in 2008 by the Punch Tavern with its chicken, leek and mushroom pie.