Pie day in Wigan - 09-10-2008

NOW that's a pie!

After seven and a half hours beating, mixing, stirring and cooking celebrity chef Tom Bridge unveiled the ultimate pie at Wigan's second Food and Drink Festival on Wednesday.

A three layer cheese pie cooked from an 1861 recipe, baked in a replica Mrs Beeton's pie mould and packed with spinach, potato and eggs.

It brought a round of applause from a crowd gathered at Wigan Outdoor Market as part of the festival's Kitchen Theatre programme.

More than 2,000 people passed through the marquee as Tom Bridge hosted a day dedicated to showing everyone how to cook Wigan's favourite grub - the pie!

Tom said: "What I hope the Victorian pie shows is just how much effort they used to put into making one pie.

"And the flavour is just wonderful."

As part of "Pie Day" onlookers were treated to samples from Waterfield's Bakers, demonstrations by Tom on how to cook the perfect Roast Dinner Pie and how to perfect a three-course pie dinner - Lancashire tartlet starter followed by local game, white onion and thyme pie main course, followed by blackberry and meringue pie.

Tom added: "Pies are synonymous with coal mining towns like Wigan because the miners would take the pie down the pits. At dinner time they'd break them open and eat the insides before throwing the pastry - which was covered with soot off their hands -away.

"It was an easy convenient meal for them."

Wigan Outdoor Market Kitchen Theatre started on Monday 6th October and runs until Saturday 11th October. Each day visitors to the courtyard in Wigan Outdoor Market in the town centre can experience scores of different interactive events from a demonstration in how to perfect a three course pie dinner to a talk and tasting session from Wigan based Allgates - the award winning brewery.

The Outdoor Kitchen Theatre is one part of Wigan's second Food and Drink Festival sponsored by Hitchen Foods.

For ten days from 3rd October visitors, residents and food fans can enjoy a Fine Food Trail, a real ale trail called ‘The Road to Wigan Beer' and a celebration of Café Culture.

Food Festival organiser and Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust's Tourism Manager Keith Bergman said: "The food festival is about putting out a positive message about the quality of restaurants and chefs we now have in Wigan Borough.

"But the reality is you can't move away from Wigan's culinary past - which is pies.

"This was a day dedicated to the humble pie but with a twist because it's all about using different ingredients and recipes."

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