Made in Britain finalist: Simple Simon's Perfect Pies

Simple Simon's mouthwatering Perfect Pies from Coulter, Lanarkshire made it to the finals in the Country Living, Waitrose and Farmers Guardian annual Made in Britain Awards.

Country Living magazine features local food producers every month - the Made in Britain Awards were launched by the magazine, together with Waitrose and Farmers Guardian, to reward those who are creating the best-quality and most innnovative foods, while keeping traditional skills alive. Five food producers of the year each received £5000 from Waitrose to develop their business. The overall Made in Britain Food Champion (selected from these five) received an additional £5000. Seven finalists were given the chance to have their product stocked in local branches of Waitrose. The Farmers Guardian Best Farm Entrepreneur will also receive £5000 from Waitrose. 

 

Bernard Alessi has his wife to thank for the late career shift that led to the creation of Scotland's poshest pies. "I wanted to retire but my wife wouldn't let me," says the 64-year-old former hotel manager and pub landlord, who sells 2,000 pies per week to fine delis and food halls north of the border. "Now I get up at 2am every morning and she has to make my breakfast," he adds.

 

In a converted 19th-century farm building in Scotland's Southern Uplands, Bernard hand-makes 28 varieties of puff-pastry pie that defy the image of pastry as a cheap but filling snack. "They're designed to be a complete meal for one," he says, explaining that each pie has a layer of steamed, diced potatoes topped with a casseroled meat, fish or vegetarian filling. "The secret is getting the perfect balance between pastry, potatoes and casserole just right," he says.

 

Plunge a fork into the golden crust of Simple Simon's Honeyed Venison Collops pie and chunks of tender, sweet venison tumble out over a moist bed of shredded potatoes, while the inside of the pastry case, juicy with cooking liquid, melts in the mouth. "We do something special with our pastry," Bernard says, explaining how the four-foot by two-foot sheets of demi-puff bought in from a local producer get turned into crisp, buttery pie cases. "We roll it into a long cylinder and then slice off 100g Catherine wheels, which we roll flat before lining the moulds. The result is that the pastry layers climb vertically up the sides and a lot of fat runs away while cooking."

 

Perfect pastry aside, the other reason for his success is Bernard's commitment to top-quality Scottish produce, including waxy Rooster potatoes grown 50 miles away in Airdrie. The Honeyed Venison Collops pie contains wild Highland venison and pure Scottish heather honey: "a marriage made in heaven, inspired by the proximity of deer and heather in the wild," Bernard explains. "We marinate the venison in olive oil before casseroling it with onions, red wine, juniper berries and oranges, which I think go beautifully with game."

 

Based on casserole recipes that he's developed during 30 years in the catering trade, Bernard's other pies include Organic Lamb (with local Blackface sheep), Sicilian Style Calamari (with Scottish squid) and Haggis and Whisky. "I buy organic meat because it's local and I like it," says Bernard, who started making pies when he bought a village bakery in 2004. "The pies we were sourcing weren't much cop - I thought I could do better."

 

Demand became so great that Bernard sold the bakery, opening a dedicated pie factory, where he works from 2.30am to 11am each day, baking every pie himself. His seven staff make the fillings, line moulds and crimp lids while he is in charge of the potatoes, steaming them with their skins on to add flavour. Pies are baked to order and sent out the same day; 30 minutes in a hot oven restores them to justbaked freshness. "When I hear how much someone has enjoyed my pies, it gives me a real kick."

 

Simple Simon's Perfect Pies (01899 220118; www.simplesimonspies.co.uk)

 

Find all of this year's Made in Britain Awards winners here 

 

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