The Real Pie Company in Crawley started life in 1999 in a Sussex butcher’s shop, eventually moving into its Crawley kitchen where it ships handmade pies bound for London and towns across the south.
Just weeks before the first COVID-19 lockdown began, 14 of the family-run company’s pies were commended by the British Pie Awards, including a gold medal for its steak, mushroom and stilton pie.
So naturally The Real Pie Company’s online delivery service was very popular as restrictions kept people at home.
Yet the COVID-19 pandemic brought the firm closer to its roots than ever. It opened a shop in the Sussex village of Cowfold, its first retail outlet since the company closed its Crawley shop to expand its pie production, then opened a second in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
The company hopes to open more shops in the future, buoyed by the fact its Christmas delivery slots were fully booked weeks in advance of the festive season.
See: The Real Pie Company website
Photos: The Real Pie Company – Large peppered steak pie, chicken pasty selection, steak stout pie and traditional sausage roll (credit The Real Pie Company)