Top Mann! Joe Mann crowned Champion of Champions at Eat Game Awards 2024
Among the worthy winners at this year’s Eat Game Awards was Joe Mann from Queen’s College in Taunton, who was awarded Champion of Champions on the night.
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And the winner is…….
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.
So much has changed
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.
Get involved
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!
Nominations for the Eat Game Awards close on 20 November 2022.
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BASC Media team
Eat Game Award winners crowned
The winners of this year’s Eat Game Awards were named at a glittering ceremony in London this evening.
