Traditional pigs 'make perfect pie' (From Oxford Mail)

Traditional pigs 'make perfect pie'

8:40am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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A HERD of traditional Oxfordshire pigs is behind the success of a new giant pork pie which has sold out at local farmers' markets.

Chef Paul Bellchambers was so impressed with the pork sold by Jane and Mark Cooper at markets in Wallingford and Wolvercote that he came up with a recipe for the perfect pie.

Mrs Cooper said: “It has been very well received. We had one large pie at Wallingford and it all sold — about 20 to 24 portions.”

She went into pig-keeping after attending a course two years ago, looking for a career she could combine with bringing up her two young daughters.

The couple built up a herd of about 28 Oxford Sandy and Blacks, a 200-year-old breed sometimes known as the plum pudding or Oxford forest pig. “They are outside all the time, and they can root around as much as they like, or shelter in a wooden ark,” said Mrs Cooper.