Pukka Pies
Encyclopedia
Pukka Pies is a manufacturer of pies that is headquartered in Leicestershire
, United Kingdom
. A family company founded in 1963 by Trevor Storer, it is currently run by his sons Tim and Andrew. It employs 262 people at its factory in Syston
, producing 180,000 pies and pastie
s per day. The brand is one of the most popular pie brands in the United Kingdom.
With the company's net worth at £35m as of 2003 and turnover as of 2007 at £25m, Trevor Storer is the 904th richest person in the United Kingdom, according to a Sunday Times
survey.
s, catering sausage
s, and frozen puff pastry
. It also includes non-meat foods, with the company's Potato, Cheese, and Onion Pasty and Vegetable Pre-Sheeted Puff Pastry Roll both having been approved by the Vegetarian Society
.
According to the company, the favourite pie flavours in the United Kingdom, based upon its sales, are:
A pastiche
of Pierre-Auguste Renoir
's painting Le Déjeuner des Canotiers
hangs in the reception at the company's headquarters, with the original characters replaced by members of the Storer family.
Pukka Pies are most commonly seen for sale in chip shops. In 2008 though, the company started selling their pies in UK supermarket
s for the customer to heat up themselves at home.
, home ground of Rotherham United F.C.
, was the first sporting venue where Pukka Pies were sold. The supporters of Rotherham United still maintain the record for the most pies consumed at a football match, with a consumption of pies 40% above the Football League average.
and the NSPCC
.
Advertising slogans for the company have included "Socialise with Pukka Pies" and "Pukka Pies, don't compromise", which has been the subject of satire
.
The main stand at Boundary Park
, home of Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
, is called the Pukka Pies stand. The company is the official sponsor of the England Band who also play for Sheffield Wednesday.
They also sponsored the 2009 UK Snooker Championship
, and the winner, China's Ding Junhui
, was awarded his body weight in meat pies, a total of 276 to match his 69 kg body weight. He later announced that he would donate all the pies to Homeless and Roofless at Christmas (HARC), a Sheffield
-based charity.
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A family company founded in 1963 by Trevor Storer, it is currently run by his sons Tim and Andrew. It employs 262 people at its factory in Syston
Syston
Syston is a town and civil parish in the district of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. The population is 11,508 as of the 2001 Census.-Overview:...
, producing 180,000 pies and pastie
Pastie
A pastie is a large to medium sized round battered pie common to Northern Ireland. It is a peculiarity of Northern Irish cuisine and is rarely if ever seen outside the area...
s per day. The brand is one of the most popular pie brands in the United Kingdom.
With the company's net worth at £35m as of 2003 and turnover as of 2007 at £25m, Trevor Storer is the 904th richest person in the United Kingdom, according to a Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
survey.
Products
The range of products produced by the company also includes sausage rollSausage roll
A Sausage Roll is a type of savoury convenience food commonly served at parties and available from bakeries and milk bars as a take-away food item...
s, catering sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s, and frozen puff pastry
Puff pastry
In baking, a puff pastry is a light, flaky, leavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20 °C . In raw form, puff pastry is a dough which is spread with solid fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out and used to produce the aforementioned pastries...
. It also includes non-meat foods, with the company's Potato, Cheese, and Onion Pasty and Vegetable Pre-Sheeted Puff Pastry Roll both having been approved by the Vegetarian Society
Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society is a British registered charity established on 30 September 1847 to "support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK."-History:...
.
According to the company, the favourite pie flavours in the United Kingdom, based upon its sales, are:
| Flavour | Popularity |
|---|---|
| Steak & Kidney Steak and kidney pie Steak and kidney pie is a savoury pie that is filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney , fried onion, and brown gravy... |
42% |
| Chicken & Mushroom Chicken and mushroom pie Chicken and mushroom pie is a common British pie, ranked as the most popular type of savoury pie in Great Britain and often served in fish and chips restaurants. The outside is usually a full top and bottom crust, with the filling made up of small pieces of chicken and sliced mushrooms in a creamy... |
32% |
| Minced Beef & Onion | 18% |
| Others (Steak; Meat & Potato; Balti) | 8% |
A pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
's painting Le Déjeuner des Canotiers
Luncheon of the Boating Party
Luncheon of the Boating Party is a painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It was purchased from the artist by the dealer-patron Paul Durand-Ruel and bought in 1923 from his son by Duncan Phillips. It is currently housed in The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C....
hangs in the reception at the company's headquarters, with the original characters replaced by members of the Storer family.
Pukka Pies are most commonly seen for sale in chip shops. In 2008 though, the company started selling their pies in UK supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s for the customer to heat up themselves at home.
Sale at football grounds
MillmoorMillmoor
Millmoor is a stadium in Rotherham, England. It was built and was used for football matches, and until the end of the 2007–08 season was the home ground of Rotherham United F.C., until a dispute over ownership forced them to move to the Don Valley Stadium in nearby Sheffield.The stadium was...
, home ground of Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
, was the first sporting venue where Pukka Pies were sold. The supporters of Rotherham United still maintain the record for the most pies consumed at a football match, with a consumption of pies 40% above the Football League average.
Promotion
Several workers at the factory posed for a nude calendar for 2006, in order to raise money for the Tsunami Appeal2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
and the NSPCC
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
.
Advertising slogans for the company have included "Socialise with Pukka Pies" and "Pukka Pies, don't compromise", which has been the subject of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
.
The main stand at Boundary Park
Boundary Park
Boundary Park is the main sports stadium of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with the towns of Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively, giving rise to the name Boundary Park....
, home of Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, is called the Pukka Pies stand. The company is the official sponsor of the England Band who also play for Sheffield Wednesday.
They also sponsored the 2009 UK Snooker Championship
2009 UK Snooker Championship
-Final:-Qualifying:These matches were held between 23 and 30 November 2009 at the Pontin's Centre, Prestatyn, Wales.-Qualifying stages centuries:* 143, 125, 110, 104 Tom Ford* 141 Stuart Bingham* 138, 101 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh* 135, 115 Jimmy Robertson...
, and the winner, China's Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
, was awarded his body weight in meat pies, a total of 276 to match his 69 kg body weight. He later announced that he would donate all the pies to Homeless and Roofless at Christmas (HARC), a Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
-based charity.