Somewhere among hundreds of crisp crusts and meaty morsels set out like a king’s banquet in Fife was the world’s best Scotch pie.
Bakers from around the UK, and even a few from overseas, had worked through the small hours to create their finest fare.
The pies, bridies, sausage rolls and other savoury and sweet treats they had lovingly produced were examined, prodded and ultimately tasted by a team of expert judges.
The judging of the 20th World Scotch Pie Championship was conducted on Wednesday at the Carnegie Conference, in Dunfermline.
Previous winners from Courier Country have included Murrays of Perth and WF Stark and RT Stuart, both of Buckhaven.
This year’s competitors will find out early next year, who is top crust.
Around 50 judges savoured and scored the produce, which included more unusual bakes such as a Jack Daniels chicken pie and a chilli nacho pie, lead by head judge Ian Nelson in what he said was a fantastic job.
He said: “It’s not just the Scotch pies, there are all different types of pie, bridies, football pies. These are the best savouries in Scotland, who wouldn’t want to be doing this?”
Judges spent up to three hours carefully inspecting and sampling the entries and scoring each on quality, including the headline Scotch pies.
Ian said: “We are looking for a nice shape, a nice colour, a nice even bake. If it’s glazed you want an even glaze, if it’s got a hole the hole needs to be in the middle. You certainly don’t want it burnt and it needs to have a nice overall flavour, it shouldn’t be too salty or too spicy.”
Ronnie Miles, president of Scottish Bakers which runs the competition, said: “In the room today are some of the best products in Scotland from some of the best bakers.
“It’s a highlight of the year and it gives bakers a chance to show off their products.
“The good news is the products here are products you can buy any day of the week in your local baker.
“Bakers are magicians, they start off every morning with flour, butter, margarine and they produce the most marvellous products.
“It’s good value, there’s provenance behind the ingredients and a lot of bakers in this competition are at the heart of their local community.
“Everyone has their own favourite local baker and who doesn’t love a Scotch pie?”
The Scotch pie champion will be announced at a ceremony in Cumbernauld in January.
Prizes will also be awarded for the best football pie, apple pie, bridie, vegetarian savoury, cold savoury, hot savoury, macaroni pie, sausage roll, steak pie and haggis savoury.
