Posted by Sleaford Standard, UK on November 05, 2008 at 12:03:23:
Richard's 20 year pie prize quest is over
Date: 04 November 2008
A BUTCHER has achieved his ultimate goal after being selected as the best pork pie maker in the county at a prestigious competition.
Richard Thorpe, proprietor of Southern and Thorpe butchers of Ruskington, has dreamed of winning the top prize at the Lincolnshire Poacher Competition for his popular pork pies for the last 20 years and now he has finally achieved that goal.
The contest, staged at the Lincolnshire Showground, was sponsored by Tastes of Lincolnshire and looked for the best traditional produce in the county, with a focus on the delicacies of stuffed chine, Lincolnshire sausages, haslet and pork pies, although there are a number of other categories too.
The Ruskington butcher clinched the best in championship prize for his pork pies and described the result as 'absolutely fantastic'.
Mr Thorpe said: "We have had some cracking results in the past and I have tried for 20 years to win the jewel in the crown for me - the pork pies - as we sell about 3,000 pies a week and do a good trade.
"We have come so close in the past but it is down to the judges on the day."
Southern and Thorpe's pies are much sought after and are supplied to Chatsworth Farm Shop and the Royal Farm Shop in Windsor, as well as numerous butchers and shops in the county.
The Poacher 2008 event proved highly successful for Southern and Thorpe picked up the championship prize for their haslet, a silver award for Lincolnshire sausage, a gold award for sausage rolls, a gold award for home dry cured bacon, a silver award for a speciality pork, cheese and pickle pie and a bronze award for home cured ham. In the past the business has won top prize for its sausages on two occasions and three times for its haslet.
Mr Thorpe said: "We have always kept our pork pie recipe the same and never compromised, never bought cheap ingredients, always the best of everything. No artificial preservatives, just pork, salt and pepper. We just keep it natural."
There will be a presentation evening on November 26 in the food hall of the Lincolnshire showground, when all the winning entries will be on display at the Tastes of Lincolnshire food fair.
*Picks butchers of Dorrington won a bronze award for their pork pies.
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