Secrets of our success: Great North Pie Co
Policeman turned champion pie maker Neil Broomfield tells us how he struck pastry gold.
It takes a special pie to be crowned Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards. And the Great North Pie Co's Neil Broomfield’s chicken, mushroom and English mustard cream pie is, by all accounts, a very special pie.
Neil is no ordinary pie maker. Before setting up the Great North Pie Co, he was a policeman. For eight years, he worked in one of the toughest areas of Manchester. On his days off, he used to make pies and sell them to colleagues and at farmers’ markets. “It was just something to do in my spare time really, but the feedback was good and it spiralled.”
From the pass to the police and back
As we chat, I learn that this actually isn't his first professional stint in a kitchen. After graduating from university, he worked alongside chefs such as Paul Heathcote and Jeff Baker in Michelin-starred restaurants.
“After university, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do so I went and knocked on doors of couple of kitchens,” he recalls. He left the industry when friends were going travelling. “It sounded fun so I went too. When I came back, I was looking into different things and the police were doing a big recruitment drive. I applied and a couple of months later found myself in training school wondering how I got here.”
“But my main love was always food,” he adds. “I’d spend all my time eating out and cooking at home, so I decided that’s what I wanted to try and spend life doing. It’s a different world now of course, but experience of other jobs always helps especially when it comes to dealing with problems.”
Putting the 'art' into artisan
As for the pies, well they’re not called ‘artisan’ without good reason. They are hand-crafted and made with all-butter pastry and fillings change with the seasons. Current fillings include slow-roast ham, Charles Macleod’s black pudding, English mustard cream, carrots, tarragon, lemon and paxo “stuffing” breadcrumbs and a vegetarian goat’s cheese, pea cream, crème fraiche, garlic, lemon juice and zest, mint and caraway.
So where does he get the inspiration for these creative fillings? “I’ve always enjoyed the creative side and I just follow my ideas without too many restrictions,” says Neil. “It’s fun experimenting in the kitchen. I enjoy food and taking inspiration from different meals and different parts of the world. We’ll often take a traditional idea and try and give it a tweak.”
Neil is particularly inspired by the cuisine and Michelin-starred restaurants of the Basque country in northern Spain. “We travel all over but especially love San Sebastian. I love the food culture over there. Food is such a big part of everyday life there and the quality of ingredients is a big deal. “
Good produce is what makes Neil tick. “We want to use the best ingredients out there,” he says. “We’ve developed good relationships with local producers, and there are a lot of quality producers out there. They do the hard work – we just make the pies really.”
Family team
The company now has 12 staff with regular stalls at farmers' markets across Cheshire. “My partner Sarah is also part of the business. To be honest, she’s the main reason the business has pushed on,” he says. “She used to work as a manager for a restaurant group so that’s her forte. I don’t even have to look at the management side of things as she handles it.”
Neil’s ambitious but it’s not just a case of bigger is better. He simply wants to be one of the best pie makers in the country. He recalls chef Rick Stein’s Food Heroes series where he travels around Britain and Ireland finding great producers. “That’s what we want to be. All we want to do is make something special, that people really enjoy. If someone from abroad had never tried a pie, we’d want them to try ours and for it to be the best version they’ll taste.”
New plans brewing
While making top-notch pies is their main job, they are venturing, albeit slowly, into new territory. “We’re making beer on a small scale to use in our pies. We use a brewing kit and play around with different flavours. Plus we can have a drink in the kitchen! We’ll also be experimenting with making our own cheese too.”
Of all his award-winning pies, does he have a personal favourite? “Well, I do love the cheese and onion pie but my favourite is corned beef and potato,” says Neil. “When I was younger, my dad would make corned beef hash with tinned corn beef and instant Smash. So we do a version of this but with proper brisket, Cheshire potatoes, double cream and lots of white pepper.”
And are pies a favourite food at home? “Ha. We do get pie-d out. It’s got to be a takeaway, something dead simple. I love Indian food and all the chickpeas and daal.”
Find out more about the Great North Pie Co and where to buy their pies
You might also enjoy:
British Pie Awards 2015: chicken pie reigns supreme
Where is the UK's best food market?
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature