Calculation of pie adds to sausage triumph for farm shop

But as most Yorkshire folk know, there is a true art in creating the perfect pork pie.

Achieving the right combination of crisp pastry, jelly and peppered meat is a calling to which many butchers across the region have devoted whole careers.

And yesterday, in the 24th Great Yorkshire Pork Pie, Sausage and Products Competition – the only one of its kind in the country and seen as the Champions League of pie-making – one Huddersfield farmer achieved just that.

Simon Haigh, who runs Bolster Moor farm shop with business partner Andrew Whitwam in Golcar, has clinched a historic double of best pork pie and best traditional pork sausage, just weeks after being declared national champion at another competition in Harrogate.

The team of judges praised the stand-out quality of their pies, despite hundreds of butchers from across the region entering the annual competition at Bradford’s Cedar Court Hotel.

“I first entered these awards in 1999 and have won several times before, but this is the first time we have managed both categories,” Mr Haigh told the Yorkshire Post.

“This is the biggest competition in the county and there was some very stiff competition.

“We are delighted to have won but had to get up at 3am to prepare for the competition, so will only be celebrating with a few pints, a few pies, then home.”

In total there were eight categories in the competition, organised by the Confederation of Yorkshire Butchers’ Councils.