Scotland’s Baker and Butcher ‘Pieoneers’ Tackle Pie-Fuelled Challenge to Mark Silver Anniversary
Scotland’s love affair with pies and savouries reached fever pitch last week (Wednesday 29 January) as football legend Kris Boyd kicked off the countdown for the 25th annual World Championship Pie Awards at Scotland’s national stadium, Hampden Park.
Celebrating a quarter of a century of pie-making excellence, Scottish Bakers, the organisers of this iconic competition, staged a friendly showdown with butchers and bakers going head-to-head in the home of Scottish football.
This year’s competition welcomes the launch of Scottish Bakers’ new campaign, ‘Pieoneers’, celebratingthe passion, skill, and dedication of bakers, butchers, and pie makers across the UK and beyond. Designed to shine a spotlight on the pie and savoury industry trailblazers, the silver anniversary awards will showcase these pieoneers’ craftsmanship, innovation, and commitment to keeping Scotland’s culinary heritage alive.
Under the watchful eye of head judges Gordon Newlands, Brands Development and Scotch Butchers Club Manager, Quality Meat Scotland* and Kyle Rogers, UK Sales Manager of Rainbow Dust*, bakers and butchers faced off in a series of fun, Tough Mudder-inspired challenges, refereed by football star Kris Boyd. The Tough Mudder inspired mini tournament featured:
- Scotch Pie Hurl: Distance challenge with ultimate bragging rights on the line.
- Tug o’ Pies: A pie-fuelled tug-of-war showdown.
- Pie-nalty Shootout: Score as many goals as possible—with pies in play!
Commenting on the 25th anniversary awards launch, Lesley Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Bakers, said: “As we celebrate 25 years of the World Championship Pie Awards, we take pride in reflecting on the incredible talent and innovation within Scotland’s baking and butchery industries.
“This year, the competition see’s the launch of our new Pieoneers campaign which celebrates the camaraderie between our Bakers, Butchers and Piemakers.
“I call on all Pieoneers to visit scotchpiewards.com to enter, and I am excited to see who this year’s winners will be. I would also like to thank our strategic partner, BAKO Group for their support, without our sponsors the event would not exist.”
Gordon Newlands, Brand Development and Scotch Butchers Club Manager at Quality Meat Scotland, added: “I am proud to be selected as one of the head judges in the year’s competition.
“It celebrates the very best in modern butchery and further showcases the passion to a craft that blends traditional skills with innovation and technology.”
Kris Boyd, sports presenter and footballing icon, commented: “This is a big shout to all the bakers, butchers, and pie makers out there to get your entries in for this year’s World Scotch Pie Championship Awards!
“What you do takes dedication, passion, and hard work – it’s not so different from what we aim for on the football pitch. Just like in football, teamwork, resilience, and striving for excellence are at the heart of what you do. I wish you all the very best of luck in the competition.”
Since its inception in 1999, the World Championship Pie Awards has set the standard for Scotland’s pie industry, with thousands of pies and savouries assessed by expert judges across multiple categories.
Competitors can enter across the following categories with the Scotch Pie award, the ultimate prize for the World Champion title, which is currently held by Blairgowrie-based James Pirie & Sons.
- Football Pies & Savouries
- Macaroni Pie
- Steak Pie
- Sausage Roll
- Hot Savoury
- Vegetarian Savoury
- Haggis Savoury
- Bridie
- Apple Pies
Key Dates for the 2025 Competition:
- 29 January: Entries open
- 3 March: Entry deadline
- 26 March: Product Judging and shortlist at Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline
- 10 May: Awards Event at Hilton, Glasgow
For more information or to enter, visit https://scotchpieawards.com.
PICTURES: Sandy Young