Pie factory sticks to winning formula for national celebration week
A popular pie factory in Sandwell will stick to its winning formula as it joins a national celebration.
Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory has been a featured part of food and drink in the region for more than 40 years, producing top quality pies from local sourced meats and produce from the restaurant and pub in Tipton.
At the start of National Pie Week, which runs until Sunday, March 12, the pie factory has been more popular than ever, with owner Pete Towler saying it has seen record business over the last month.
He said the popularity of Mad O'Rourkes came down to not changing the formula that had made it so successful.
He said: "We don't change things very often, if at all, and we like to keep things exactly as they were from the first day we opened.
"We've had different people making the pies over the years, including one who has worked here 25 years, and we don't change what we do and it's quite simple, with all the ingredients being top end and all the meats being locally sourced."
Part of the popularity of the pie factory has been the more unusual pies it has produced, such as the Tyson Fury Pie, which is made of beef brisket in an onion gravy, and the Andy Murray Pie, which is a chicken curry in a pie, topped with a naan bread.
There is also the Desperate Dan Cow Pie, named after the Dandy character, which is four pounds of steak and kidney with seasonal vegetables, baked with a pastry lid and horns.
Mr Towler said his own personal favourite was the Steak 'N' Kidney Pudding and said the restaurant wasn't afraid to experiment, while also respecting the history of the pie.
He said: "We try to keep everything up to date in terms of what we put on menu, such as the Tyson Fury Pie, which is now a regular part of the menu, so we like to play around and do different things.
"Pies are everything and the history of it goes back centuries as it was quite an easy way of putting something in pastry and putting a lid on it and it's something which goes back a long way.
"Something like this week is everything to us as we employ people and we support them and want to give them a good living, so it's very important to us."
