The majority of us Scots have tried rolls filled with bacon, egg or sausage, but members of Nairn County FC have come up with a unique new treat for stadium-goers.
Introduced by the club’s head of hospitality and licence officer, Cindy Milne, and merchandiser Donald Graham – known as Dodo to those locally – ‘pie in a roll’ can now be enjoyed by spectators and players during half-time at Station Park games.
Consisting of nothing more than a fresh Ashers Bakery pie inside a soft bread roll, they are available for £2.50 each.
Pie flavours include Scotch, steak and gravy, and macaroni.
Online success
The creation recently went viral and made it onto the original Footy Food Facebook page, which has over 70,000 likes.
The account shares a range of dishes available at football club’s across the UK, including deep-fried cheese in a roll, sausage in a waffle, giant Yorkshire pudding wraps, steak and gherkin pies, and more.
The club itself also posted a picture of a pie in a roll on Twitter, which racked up 195 likes and over 40 quote tweets.
Chris, you are more than welcome back in Nairn any time and this time we will get you along to Station Park for a Pie in a Roll.
The @FootyScran no. 1 as determined by the #ChrisEvansBreakfastShow on @VirginRadio https://t.co/3KehHTolhA pic.twitter.com/3YXXyFlLDk
— Nairn County FC (@NairnCounty) February 14, 2022
People have referred to it as “iconic”, “incredible” and “majestic” in the comment section.
It’s clear the club has gained some new supporters, too, with one person saying: “Looks like I’ve just got a favourite Highland League team.”
Another said: “It’s high time for my first visit to Station Park.”
They even got a shoutout on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio earlier this week.
Cindy, from Nairn, said: “Social media has definitely helped with spreading the word of them.
“I think people have thought “let’s give it a go”, and they actually taste pretty good.”
Upgraded the Pie in a Roll @NairnCounty to a Steak Pie in a Roll (£3.50). Excellent stuff @FootyScran pic.twitter.com/U5yB7c7cSA
— Joe Pakenham (@JosephPakenham) February 5, 2022
On a roll
The pie in a roll was only introduced to the club’s half-time food offering recently, and it was an instant hit.
Usually selling an average of 50 pies at half-time, as many as 80 pies in a roll were sold at the last home game.
The club has gone on to launch its own pie in a roll badge on the back of their success, which is available for £2 on the Nairn County FC website.
“When we came back to the season after Covid restrictions were lifted, we were struggling to get anyone to run the tea shop so the management committee decided to run it in-house with volunteers,” Cindy added.
“I reached out to friends and family, as did other committee members, and we got a team together.
“Dodo had messaged me with a few ideas. We bounce ideas off each other all the time as he is fabulous with marketing.
“He showed me a photo of a pie in a roll he had years ago, and I thought it was a nice and easy add to our offering.
“Our pie in a roll has only been offered at the last two home games.”
Best quality
All of the club’s hot food is sourced from Ashers Bakery, one of the leading retail bakers in the North of Scotland.
The award-winning family-run company, founded in 1877, has 12 outlets throughout the Highlands, Speyside and Moray areas.
“The Scotch pie is the most popular choice,” Cindy said.
“At the last home game against Buckie, I managed to grab one in a roll and topped it off with brown sauce before they sold out. It was delish.
“The players all think it is a brilliant idea but being athletes, they are all too healthy to have tried one yet – although some injured players have been known to sneak a taste when they’ve come along to cheer on their teammates…”
Nairn County FC also serves items from Highland plant-based cakery and bakery, Pure Bakery, which sponsors the club’s under 15 team.
The bakery created a Nairn County FC cookie that was available at the last home game, and proved popular with fans young and old.
