Finalists announced in the Eat Game Awards
A record number of votes were cast as the top three finalists for each category have been confirmed.
Get information on the legal shooting season for mammals and birds in the UK.
Apply for funding for your project or make a donation today
Comprehensive information and advice from our specialist firearms team.
Everything you need to know about shotgun, rifle and airgun ammunition.
Find our up-to-date information, advice and links to government resources.
Everything you need to know on firearms law and licensing.
All the latest news and advice on general licences and how they affect you.
The Wyre Pie Company is just one of the businesses to benefit after winning an Eat Game Award – find out how business and life has changed for company director Steve Powell.
And the winner is….” The pause felt like an eternity. The silence rang in my ears. “The Wyre Pie Company for its venison pie!”
Wow. We had won. We had been nominated for Best Added Value Game Product at this year’s Eat Game Awards. Having come to London for the awards ceremony, here we now were, going up on stage to collect our award.
We had travelled to the ceremony from our base in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire – myself, Peter Edwards (founder of The Wyre Pie Company) and his partner Debi Reeves.
And we were there because people had faith in us. They saw something in us, they put us forward for consideration and then people voted for us. That was the best thing about it I think, the fact that people had taken the time to recognise our work. We were on cloud nine.
I’ve been with the company for two years now and I was ecstatic enough. But Peter was another story. With more than forty years of master butchery behind him, Peter began making his own pies from a five-star hygiene rated garden shed in 2014. Helped by Debi, the company grew rapidly and now operates from a 4,000 square foot unit and retail shop with twelve employees.
The hard graft had been recognised and a good night was had by all and what’s happened since for the business has been nothing but positive.
The secret to our pies is using quality ingredients all the way through. We also go for locally sourced produce as much as possible. Our focus is traditional artisan methodology, including hot water pastry and a rich gravy, and I think that comes through with all our products.
We were recently awarded some funding to build a website which will act as a shop window for showcasing our pies. A digital presence will allow us to branch out into the world of online ordering and pie shipping. We will no longer be restricted to customers visiting the store – people across the UK will soon be able to sample our wares, too.
Winning has also given us a boost in terms of community engagement. We have always been a business with strong local ties, and we try to give back where we can. We provided support during the extensive flooding in our hometown of Tenbury Wells a couple of years ago. We also get involved in many charity events, organise game taster days, and work closely with schools to offer families the opportunity to try locally sourced game, too.
We are currently awaiting confirmation whether we can accept school groups into our unit so we can explain to schoolchildren all about the field to fork journey and show them the work that goes into creating our pies.
Our company’s core ethos is to offer the best quality for the most affordable price. This mantra is even more important now, given the increases we’ve seen in the cost of living. I imagine it also had a part to play in people’s decision to put us forward.
We are truly grateful for all the support we have received from customers, friends, and family. It’s been an incredible journey and we are very proud of what we have achieved. The feeling of winning was incredible.
I would certainly encourage everyone to nominate the businesses and individuals they think deserve to be involved in the Eat Game Awards 2023. Nominating gives hard-working people the chance of being recognised and rewarded for their success, innovation and passion. If they’re anything like us, they’ll still be absolutely made-up months later!
A record number of votes were cast as the top three finalists for each category have been confirmed.
The winners of this year’s Eat Game Awards were named at a glittering ceremony in London this evening.
Nominations are now open for the Eat Game Awards 2023 as we seek out the champions of British game meat.
Sign up to our weekly newsletter and get all the latest updates straight to your inbox.
© 2024 British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Registered Office: Marford Mill, Rossett, Wrexham, LL12 0HL – Registered Society No: 28488R. BASC is a trading name of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 311937.
If you have any questions or complaints about your BASC membership insurance cover, please email us. More information about resolving complaints can be found on the FCA website or on the EU ODR platform.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.
Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
More information about our Cookie Policy