J&H Cairns on shortlist for World Championship Scotch Pie Awards

The annual judging day was held earlier this month when nearly 500 of the best pies on the market were delivered to Dunfermline by 78 of the best butchers, bakers and other pie makers in the country.

They were put to the test by 60 pie professionals who have now selected the best of the best.

The news comes just a couple of months after J&H Cairns won a silver award from Scottish Craft Butchers for its Balmoral Wellingtons.

And it was this success which prompted the Cairns to enter the prestiguous world championships event.

Jim Cairns founded the traditional butchers with his late dad Henry in 1984; Jim’s son Jamie joined the family firm 23 years ago. And he decided that it was about time they once again flew the flag for the local business.

He said: “Initially, dad and grandad did enter all the competitions but we’d stopped doing it. Earlier this year, I thought it might be a good idea to start showcasing what we can do.

"We were delighted to receive the silver award and that really prompted us to enter the championships.

“Dad and I are both over the moon to be shortlisted, although we don’t know which pie is in the running. We entered six which we'd made that morning for the shop – a Scotch pie, chicken tikka, chicken curry, steak and haggis, steak and gravy and a sweet chlli haggis roll.

"Fingers crossed, one of them will be announced as a winner on January 24th – we’re delighted to be shortlisted in any case as it’s great publicity for the shop.

"Our loyal customers already know what we can do but it’s great to get our name out there nationally too.”

The winner of the Scotch Pie category will be declared World Champion; all Best in Category winners will be announced at the awards lunch on January 24 at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld.

Scottish Bakers organises the annual competition to shine a light on the industry.

Chief executive Alasdair Smith said: “Announcing the shortlist is always a great moment as it’s the first time our entrants get an inkling that their pies have been judged as amongst the best in the land.”