The Pied Pie-per of Cam

Mark Carr is convinced pork pies saved his bacon. Seven-years-ago, his Gloucestershire shop, Cam Family Butcher's, was struggling until one enterprising employee decided to enter an MLC pie competition and, much to Mark's surprise, took bronze. Soon awards were being scooped up left, right and centre, making his shop a virtual trophy cabinet, with the shelves behind the counter groaning under the weight. "It put us on the map," says Mark.

Zoe Ball (no, not that one) is now Mark's chief pork-pie maker, with her latest effort earning the shop an overall winner award at this year's Foodex Meatex pie evaluation.

Both Mark and Zoe have clear ideas about how a proper pork pie should be made and what should be in it - their's is a joint effort. Mark butchers the meat and is very particular about what makes it into the pies - gristle and blood spots are carefully carved away from the shoulder and belly cuts he chooses.

The quality of meat is key. The pork comes from free-range pigs in Surrey, which Zoe says is important to customers. "People ask 'where is it from?' and 'what sort of life has it had?'."

"Free-range has got a flavour all of its own," adds Mark.

Once butchered, the meat is minced, then mixed with seasoning, water and rusk, sourced from Lucas Ingredients. "The critical point is getting the weights and amounts just right," says Mark, who monitors everything precisely. Zoe then fills the organic pastry cases with the mix. Cases are bought in from South of England Pastries in Wokingham.

The pies are glazed and cooked then, once cool, injected with gelatine through a hole in the lid. When this sets, the process is repeated until the jelly fills right up to the top of the case. Zoe experiments with various speciality recipes - pies with chicken and stuffing, pork and Bramley apple, pork and spring onion and, at Christmas, pork and cranberry. "The traditional is the best seller though," she says of the company's award-winner, sales of which have rocketed from 50 to 200 a week since Foodex Meatex.

The traditional pie, which weighs 1lb (450g), sells for £2.75 and costs £1.50 to make, earning Mark a generous margin of around 40%. He also sells small pies at £1.65, which cost 75-80p to make. The speciality pies fetch £3.75 and cost £1.70 to make. "Don't be ashamed to charge for quality," advises Mark.

He is passionate about competitions because of the publicity winning generates. "I've been at this shop for 19 years and before we started entering competitions I had three staff. Now I've got eight," says Mark.

Zoe reckons if you are serious about winning the competitions then talk to the judges: "Keep the judging sheets and improve what you do." Mark just wants to spread the word. "Do it!" he says.

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