Nice as pie!

"IS THERE a microwave anywhere in this place?" Frankly, it¹s not the kind of question you expect the organisers of a prestigious cooking contest to be asked, but Sarah Peukert is having a bit of a pastry crisis.

The young chef wants to warm up her pastry to make it more malleable.

However, with the otherwise impeccable catering facilities of Westminster Kingsway College failing to run to a microwave ­ possibly because they hide them from visitors on such occasions ­ Sarah is forced to resort to the old-fashioned hand-warming method.

The issue was clearly not make-or-break, because Sarah¹s recipe, Wimpole¹s Raised Steak & Mushroom Pie, saw off the competition to win the National Steak Pie Competition 2007.

Organised by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX), the annual competition invites cooks to submit recipes for great steak pies made with English steak.

Since steak pie, particularly when combined with ale, is a staple of pub food menus, I was invited to join the judging panel when the six finalists gathered for the cook-offs at the London college. To get this far, the chefs had submitted their recipe, with costings, to EBLEX, after which 18 potential winners were put through to a mystery visit stage. The final six were selected based on reports from these visits.

With five out of the six finalists working in the pub trade, it looked pretty certain at the outset of the cook-off that a win for the trade was on the cards.

Hugh Judd, EBLEX foodservice project manager, briefed the rest of the judging panel ­ Richard Ali, EBLEX chief executive; Jim Hodge, licensee of the Mill Inn in Mungrisdale, Cumbria, and owner of the Pie Mill business, as well as myself ­ on what to look for.

"We want to see how that pie comes together from scratch," said Hugh. "Ask them about the meat, where it comes from and what specifications they give to their butcher. Keep a careful eye on their pastry." If this last piece of advice seemed like an obvious one to a novice pie judger such as myself, it soon became clear that it¹s the pastry that separates the Gordons from the Jamies in a great pie contest.

Chefs who looked supremely confident when their steak was simmering away on the hob suddenly developed a sheen of sweat and a slightly manic look when it came to the crowning glory.

Those taking part shared a few thoughts and theories along the way. Neville Brown, from the Talbot Arms in Dorset, said: "I worked for 12 years with a former army chef who taught me his recipe for steak & ale pie. He's passed on now and I feel I¹m carrying on the tradition."

Carl Smith, of the Young¹s-owned Guinea Girl in Mayfair, London, is also a stickler for tradition. "I¹m only using traditional English ingredients. I don¹t hold with changing the classic recipe ­ I wouldn¹t add tomato purée, for example," this purist explained.

In the end, fewer than 10 points out of a possible 400 separated the top four pies, with Sarah, who works at the Old Rectory Restaurant at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, coming out top.

Her winning pie used meat from rare breeds raised on the farm at the National Trust property, as well as herbs and vegetables from its walled garden. Pies and sausages made from Wimpole Hall¹s rare-breed stocks are a regular feature on the menu.

The judges were impressed by Sarah¹s confidence and skill in the kitchen, as well as the quality and taste of the pie. Jim Hodge, who has expanded into commercial pie-making after his daughter Amanda won the competition two years ago, said: ³She made a warm-water pastry, which is the kind you¹d normally find on a pork pie.

"That¹s hard to do at the best of times, let alone under competition conditions."

The prizes were presented by Lord Rooker, minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), who said: "It's great to see the traditional English pie doing so well, and I¹m sure all the finalists will continue to find the pies are successful for their businesses."

And even if it wasn¹t a pub pie that won ­ and we like to think that Sarah¹s home-made, locally sourced creation is at least in the spirit of the best pubs ­ the competition was a triumph for a pub food classic.

National Steak Pie Competition 2007 finalists

• Winner ­ Sarah Peukert, Old Rectory Restaurant, Cambridgeshire: Wimpole¹s Raised Steak & Mushroom Pie

Other finalists

• Neville Brown, Talbot Arms, Dorset: Steak & Ale Pie
• Ashley Bignell, Wills O' Nats Inn, Holmfirth: the Geordie Pie
• Carl Smith, the Guinea Grill, London: Steak & Mushroom Pie
• Martin Rudley, Ring O¹Bells, Bradford: Diced Steak & Country Vegetable in Abbot Ale & Thyme Sauce Encased in a Caramelised Shallot & Sage Shortcrust Pastry
• Paul Walker, the Five Bells Inn, Devon: Citrus Beef, Leek, Thyme and Pickled Kumquat Pie in a Potato Pastry Basket