Beloved butchers fly the flag for Glossop during Pie Week

Glossop-based butchers J W Mettrick & Son Ltd are flying the flag for the town after entering three pies into this year’s British Pie Awards.

The family-run business has submitted its best-selling Large Pork Pie, a traditional Steak and Potato Pie, and its increasingly popular Venison, Red Wine, Mushroom and Pancetta Pie. 

Judging will take place in Melton Mowbray, widely regarded as the UK’s pie capital, on 4 March, with the results announced at the awards lunch on 6 March. The overall Supreme Champion, known as the ‘Pie of Pies’, will win an expenses-paid trip to Japan to promote British pies at the British Food Expo in Osaka this October. 

The awards coincide with British Pie Week, running from 2-9 March, which celebrates one of the nation’s most iconic culinary traditions. Britons consume more than £1 billion worth of pies each year, spanning hot and cold, sweet and savoury, as well as gluten-free and vegan varieties. Pies date back to the Middle Ages, when they were known as ‘coffyns’, while the phrase “to eat humble pie” originates from ‘umbles’ – a pie made from venison offal. 

To mark the week, J W Mettrick & Son will be showcasing their pork pies at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester alongside the production Road, featuring Johnny Vegas. On Wednesday, pupils from St Andrew’s Primary School will also visit the butcher’s Glossop shop, where they will make their own pork pies to take home. The visit will also include sausage-making as part of National Butchers’ Week, which runs alongside British Pie Week. 

The business has a strong track record at the awards, having previously won class titles in Melton Mowbray for both its Large Pork Pie and Steak and Potato Pie, the latter also claiming Best Football Pie. Last year, its Venison Pie was named Best Game Product in the country at the National Craft Butchers Awards, and the team has even reached the finals with its much-talked-about Squirrel Pie. 

The team is hopeful for further success this year, with best wishes extended to bakers Sam, Duncan and Jasmine, and butcher Adam, who developed and crafted the competition entries. 

The celebrations follow further recent success for owner John Mettrick, who was named Food and Drink Retailer of the Year and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Glossop & High Peak Business Awards in February.