PRIZE-WINNING pies are being served up at Dunbar Community Bakery after it scooped two prestigious awards.

Mouth-watering concoctions were delivered to judges at the 2024 World Championship Scotch Pie Awards in Dunfermline.

Nearly 500 of the best pies and baked goods on the market were delivered for “pie professionals” to sample.

Judges then had the task of putting every entry in a variety of categories to taste, touch, appearance and smell tests.

Winners were officially announced at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld last week.

And the staff at Dunbar Community Bakery were celebrating pastry perfection and gorgeous fillings.

Silver and bronze

Isobel Knox, chair of the bakery committee, was joined at the ceremony by Lewis Williamson, who is responsible for making the beef bourguignon pies.

She revealed: “We were delighted to win a silver award for our beef bourguignon pies.

“This was in the speciality savoury category, so a broad range of products submitted and stiff competition.

“Lewis makes these pies.

“We also won a bronze award in the macaroni pie category – this has been a separate category for a few years now.

“Our macaroni pies are made by Tegan Wood, who manages the shop at the bakery.”

The bakery, which sells a wide selection of cakes and bread, was formed in 2011.

Now it has about 1,000 shareholders, from not just Dunbar but also further afield.

Ms Knox revealed that sales of the now-award-winning beef bourguignon pies had gone up since news broke of the award.

'Just the right moistness'

She put the success down to the time taken over each of the products and said: “There are quality ingredients.

“We get our meat from Linton Butchers in East Linton and Lewis takes a lot of care over it.

“He gets pickling onions from the Crunchy Carrot and then two bottles of wine go into the pot.

“It is a classic French recipe.”

Ms Knox revealed that plans were being drawn up for more ambitious culinary creations, including the possibility of a Cullen skink pie.

She also praised her colleague Tegan for the time she took in perfecting the macaroni pie.

She said: “She has taken a lot of care getting the level of hydration right.

“The pie is not too watery and just the right level of moistness and the right amount of cheese on top.”

James Pirie & Son of Blairgowrie, which won the competition in 2018, 2020 and 2022, as well as taking the title World Scotch Pie Champion of Champions in 2021 with its iconic Scotch pie, was again celebrating when its pies were officially crowned the best in the world.

Following the awards, Lesley Cameron, Scottish Bakers CEO, said: “With nearly 500 of the best pies on the market entered by 78 of the best butchers, bakers and other pie makers, and with each and every entry put to the test by 50 pie professionals who were looking for the ‘best of the best’, the annual winners have now been announced and they should all be very proud.”