British Pie Week 2009: Make it a pie day

Back in March, the Duke of Cornwall in St Austell was crowned the Face of British Pie Week after head chef Mike Greer won a national recipe competition with his handcrafted Cornish steak and ale pie.

Having taken over the pub just six months earlier, along with Mike, licensees Shane Morris and Paul Harvey were thrown into the limelight to become local celebrities - and increase their pie sales by 400 per cent in the process.

British Pie Week 2009 launches this week, backed by Jus-Rol in association with The Publican​.

So how has the pub fared since? "When we took over the Duke of Cornwall back in September 2007 we were facing a huge challenge," says Paul, who shares the tenancy with Shane.

"The pub had a poor reputation for food with locals and we were working hard to turn it around. Winning British Pie Week enabled us to achieve that - our pie sales escalated from an average of nine a week to over 100, and six months on we still sell over 40 pies a week!"

The pub has seen its takings increase by over 25 per cent and now averages 230 covers a week. With the Duke averaging a 58 per cent profit on every pie sold, pies remain a key part of the menu.

Mike makes a fresh batch every day, and while the winning steak and ale is still the most popular, new recipes have been added. Pork, apple and rattler pie, made with the Cornish house cider of the pub's owner, St Austell Brewery, is very popular, as are chicken, mushroom & white wine and lamb, mint & puy lentils.

Shane says: "The impact of winning British Pie Week on the business has been phenomenal. Our food takings are up and our Sunday carvery is doing especially well. Previously we'd be lucky to get 15 people through the door and now without fail we average 60 to 80 covers."

New initiatives including a pie take-out service have also been established. "There were times when we couldn't take any more bookings but our customers still wanted to support the week and try the winning pie, so we gave them a take-out option," Mike says.

"The pies cost £3.50 and it opened up our pub to all day dining."

The team has also introduced a midweek OAP lunch, priced at £4.95 for two courses. "Wednesdays were always a little quiet for us," adds Mike. "Now we've got an established customer base our Wednesday club is growing as our regulars bring their friends and families along too."

So would Mike recommend entering this year's competition? "Our customer base and food sales have grown by more than 25 per cent and we now have a great reputation with the locals for homemade food," he says.

"We put the cash prize towards refurbishing the kitchen and the development day gave us the inspiration and the tools to drive the business forward."