After posting out more than 65,000 pies across the country to hungry pie fans, the Pie Shack at Lochinver Larder has 18 different flavours to choose from, meaning there’s a pie for all.
In the Highland village of Lochinver, a pie revolution is happening.
On the village’s Main Street sits Lochinver Larder which, in its grounds, plays host to a portable bar and pie shack called Vera.
Found on an industrial estate in Wigan, Vera is a former 4×4 military truck that has been converted into a bar on wheels.
At the moment she is based in the garden of Lochinver Larder, serving customers with the business’ popular sweet and savoury pies.
There are hopes that Vera will be hitting the road in the near future, bringing pies to the people of Scotland. But, in the meantime, curious foodies who aren’t able to venture to the pie shack in person are able to sample the goods via Lochinver’s Pies By Post service.
Set up in 2003, Pies By Post has seen more orders in 2021 than ever before, with 65,000 having made their way across the UK since January.
High demand
Duncan Cameron, Lochinver Larder’s hospitality director, says the demand for pies by post grew substantially during the second lockdown.
“We’ve sold more than 65,000 pies this year and that’s broken any record we’ve had before,” Duncan said.
“We didn’t open the larder until April 26 so all pies sold before then, since January 1, were sold online as part of Pies By Post.
“Pies By Post has actually been in operation since 2003 but we were selling around 250 pies a week. But December just gone was our busiest time just for that service – I think we were doing around 4,500 pies a week during the second lockdown. That was just from online.
“We were really pleased with that and didn’t expect it. Now we have reopened the Pie Shack and are also busy with the over-the-counter sales, we’ve had to cap how many pies we can sell online each week at 300 as we can’t physically do any more.
“There are so many people turning up in person for the pies so we have to meet demand for them, too.”
Steak and ale
Starting at 5am every morning, Lochinver Larder’s pie makers churn out around 700 pies a day for visitors to the shack, with the classic steak and ale proving to be the most sought after.
Duncan adds: “The steak and ale pies are our most popular. Last year the popular one was venison and cranberry but this year steak and ale has taken the title, with the venison and cranberry following close behind.
“We have 18 different varieties of pies and our pie makers start at 5am to hand make each and every one of them. We’re always making them and at this time of year, we are just working to capacity.”
Sweet or savoury
When it comes to ordering by post, customers are able to select their chosen flavour via the website and choose from an array of flavours including savoury pies such as pork, apple and cider, or sweet pies such as rhubarb and strawberry.
“We charge £5.95 for a savoury pie and £4.95 for a sweet pie. I think when people see the price they think these are quite expensive but they are quite substantial pies,” continued Duncan.
“All of our pies are pre-baked when we send them out so customers have the option of eating the pies cold or reheating them. They can be stored in the fridge for up to three days and then warmed in the oven or can go in the freezer for a maximum of two months.
“We collect all the orders up over the week, with the cut off on Sunday, and they will be dispatched on Tuesday and should arrive within two days. We deliver all over the UK – we’ve just added the Scottish Islands and the Isle of Man.
“When it’s quieter in terms of in-person sales then we will send out pies four days a week, Monday to Thursday, but during the summer season we only do one day a week.”
To order your very own pie by post from Lochinver Larder, visit piesbypost.co.uk or visit the Pie Shack itself in Lochinver.