A fledgling pie company that was only set up in May has scooped two top accolades in The British Pie Awards.

The Cotswold Pie Co in Burford was awarded a Silver for its Moroccan Spiced Lamb and Apricot pie and a Bronze for its British chicken and 'nduja pie.

The awards are a national celebration of British pies in all their varieties and are held in Melton Mowbray, the spiritual home of the food, and hosted by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association.

Chelsea Hancock and Harry Wilkins, who have worked in various hospitality settings, including The Golden Pheasant in Burford and hotels in Lower Slaughter, only made their business idea a reality a few months ago.

Chef Harry, who has the tenancy of the Royal Oak with his father, said: “We are so pleased. This really makes all of our hard work worth it and even more so to have got them in our first five months of trading!”

The couple had always talked about starting a company.

Harry said: “The pub was shut in lockdown and it was always an idea as the pub was already known for its pies. We started out trialling 50 recipes – we ate a lot of pies!”

“We put on so much weight when we were trying out the pastry,” added Chelsea, who is in charge of operations.

Soon they came up with a brand and a website.

All ingredients are sourced from the Cotswolds wherever possible including flour from Matthews Cotswold Flour in Shipton, Cotswold eggs and meat and even the nduja – a kind of spicy salami – is Cotswold.

And it truly is a multi-generational affair as their two children, Lola, five, and Harley, two, are now chief pie tasters.

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The supreme champion by Bowring Butchers beat more than 800 pies, including 70 from vegan the category.

Harry and Chelsea describe their award-winning Moroccan-spiced British lamb and apricot pie as “packed with flavour right to the crust”.

Harry said: “It's like the Cotswolds meets Marrakech”.

Meanwhile the British chicken and Cotswold ‘Nduja?

“Oh, this one's good; it's creamy; it's slightly spiced; and it’s deliciously moreish. These gorgeous meats are bound together in a tasty creamy sauce and paired with rich shortcrust pastry. Every bite of this pie is as good as the last!”

The couple, who met at Burford School and are getting married in November, already have a huge following among the locals but from mid-October will be delivering their pies nationwide through Parcelforce.

As they say: “We are really looking forward to see the full potential of The Cotswold Pie Co in the future!”