Pie man Rob tastes success with his savoury snacks

“It’s been incredibly busy for me especially since the lockdown because more Londonderry shoppers than ever are buying local and supporting producers who are providing quality food that’s hand made from the best ingredients available in the North West,” he says.

“It’s immensely encouraging for smaller and artisan producers to see so many people now enjoying the amazing food and drink now readily available here.”

He’s also quick to acknowledge the promotional support for local producers now being provided by the council under the developing LegenDerry scheme.

The success of his drive to regenerate pie making in the area has also led him to launch three new versions since the lockdown was lifted – chicken and mushroom;

steak and stilton; and chilly beef and cheesy nacho crumb

“Customers clearly appreciate my attempts to keep my range interesting with new and different flavoured additions such as the chilli beef and cheesy nacho crumb for the growing lovers of Mexican snacks,” he continues. “Business is also being helped by the reopening of street markets in the city and region including the Taste Causeway in Coleraine, always good for me.”

He’s already taking orders for a “full haggis pie” and a novel Clonakilty black pudding flavour.

“Shoppers are increasingly realising that my handy sized, convenient and freshly baked pies are just a good size for them to experience different flavours,” he adds.

Setting up his own handmade pie business was Rob’s response when he couldn’t find the pies he liked after arriving in Londonderry with his wife and family from Scotland.

“There was a gap in the market that I reckoned I could fill with my own pies. There was no-one in the city or elsewhere hand making the tasty pies I’d grown up enjoying in Scotland,” he explains.

Originally from Scotland’s Central Highlands, Rob, who has a background in retailing including a period as a staff trainer with Sainsbury’s, started work on a range of savoury pies in Londonderry in 2019. He had moved to Derry years with wife Brigeen, a digital technology expert, and their two young sons after 16 years living and working in Scotland.

He decided to create a business using his experience in catering, especially bakery, and retailing as well as his knowledge of how to run a small business to see if this would yield a worthwhile opportunity.

“It was a fascinating experience which helped to highlight the quality and variety of locally produced food and drink developing in the region. There’s a really vibrant food industry here with many enterprising people. I also visited several shows such as the monthly Walled City Food Show in Guildhall Square, the successful Street Food Festival in the city and the popular Slow Food Festival for smart ideas,” he explains. “I tried a lot of delicious food especially from smaller enterprises here. The one significant gap in the market that I spotted was for savoury pie and so I set about making my own individual pies using the experience of my time in a bakery back in Scotland.”

The next stage was to start experimenting on distinctive recipes for the individual- sized pies that he and the family enjoyed.

“I wanted a pie with a richly flavoured and quality filling within light, flaky pastry. It took longer than I expected to create exactly the quality of pie that wanted to enjoy. I was also keen to include as many fresh ingredients sourced from other smaller food producers in the North West,” he adds.

He launched an initial range of pies in July 2019 and hasn’t looked back since then. Rob also found a wealth of support and plenty of good advice in Londonderry from other artisan producers for his venture. There was also practical support and expert advice readily available from Foodovation at the North West Regional College which has contributed a great deal to the emerging food and drink industry in the region over the past five years.

He has since created nine quality fillings, all based on his unique recipes.

He continues to prioritise local suppliers including all his meats from a family butcher in the Waterside.

“Everything I include in my pies is completely traceable,” he concludes.

“The beef, furthermore, is carefully slow roasted by Rob for three hours before inclusion in the pies. The pies, in addition, are very low in salt, low in fat and saturates.”

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