‘It’s baked into our culinary DNA’ - Ripon's world beating pie maker James Sturdy celebrates Yorkshire’s rich food culture

Mr Sturdy recently gained a reputation for the ‘best pie in the world’, however, his enthusiasm for the quality of the products he uses from local suppliers reveals there is much more to the ‘humble pie’ than meat and pastry.

Live at the Game Cookery Theatre Mr Study demonstrated a rich dish of Venison fillet cooked with black garlic, orchard and red wine, which had crowds salivating for a taste.

He said: ”We had a pie operation in the family from around 1930”

“I began with a company that made pies and thought this an opportunity to do things slightly different.”

Mr Sturdy talked through the cooking process and picked up a ready made game stock by another Ripon-based food company - TRUEfoods who now supply many Michelin star chefs across the world.

He said:”I think that’s what’s fantastic about Yorkshire, we have producers that are passionate about what they do.

“There’s no better way to showcase ingredients than to put them in a pie in my opinion.

“What we are trying to reflect in our pies is Yorkshire's rich landscape and culture, it’s turning our wonderful pastures into incredible meat and giving people a way of enjoying it.

Whilst not much changes in the tastes of the Yorkshire people, he said: “Steak and Ale always has been and I imagine, always will be, the most popular pie”.

“We still go on a journey with a new ingredient and create something new.”

Adding fresh bay and thyme to the dish, he said:”I love the cooking style of places like Italy and Spain.

“It’s simple ingredients done well, there’s reasonality to each step.

“I believe we’ve got all this in Yorkshire.”

Yorkshire Handmade Pies sell around 15,000 pies a week across from an online store which began at the start of lockdown and experienced a rapid rise in popularity.

Mr Sturdy is conscious of becoming ‘too big and generic’ being clear the quality of the products comes first.

He said: “We have a really passionate team always coming up with ideas.”

One of the things Mr Sturdy is keen to unpick is what ‘the pie’ means to Britain and believes it deserves to be Britain's national dish.

He said: “Everyone has some nostalgic memory or moment, whether it’s grannies apple pie or it’s on the football terraces on a Saturday.

“It’s baked into our culinary DNA.”

The first recorded example of a pie being written down was from Bolton Abbey in 1303.

He said:“It’s the first reference to the word pie.

“It served everything from people working in the fields to Aristocracy.

“A lot of these famous foods originated as a piece of utility.”

Whilst finishing the dish, the crowd rushed up for a taste, he said: “Venison is a meat we should eat more of.

“Good meat is expensive but it’s a reflection of quality.

“It can be a false economy to buy cheap meat.

“Yorkshire people are really proud and passionate, combine that with the produce we have here and you have something incredibly special.”