Annual British Pie Awards: Top judges ate all the pies for national awards

Some 825 pies are being tasted at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray for the annual contest (PA)

Judges have been tucking into hundreds of pies that are being considered for the Annual British Pie Awards after the event opened yesterday in the home town of the pork pie, Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

Some 825 pies are being considered at St Mary’s Church, where producers large and small are going up against each other across 19 classes, from speciality pie to football pie – a category for those served up at grounds on match day. The winners will be announced today.

The food critic Charles Campion, along with television chefs Rachel Green and Andy Bates, are among a panel of 110 expert judges who will consider the filling, texture, taste and look and feel of the pies in each category.

Mr Campion said: “We’ve just tasted a New York deli pie that has pastrami and pickle in it so there’s a lot of invention going on here as well as just the straightforward pork pies, which are very difficult to make well.”

The food critic Charles Campion says seasoning is the secret to a good pie (Rex Features)

The critic said the secret to a good pie is the seasoning. He said: “It’s very difficult to cook the seasoning in the pie so it tastes good the other end.”