When I gave up investment banking in 2004 and moved to Norfolk, where I grew up, it was to an eight-acre smallholding with several animals. I opened a shop specialising in food sourced in Norfolk and rare-breed meats, and the best-selling product by far was the pork pies.I sold my stake in the shop when I had a baby, but after that I started selling the pork pies by mail order, and the business became self-propelled without a great deal of effort. I met Sarah when we were both part of the 'No' campaign against plans to build a wind farm in this idyllic bit of Norfolk. From producing our own pigs but using a butcher to make the pies to our recipe under the Bray's Cottage brand, we are looking to take over the whole process with our own team. We have won a big contract with retail chain EAT, and are in all 75 of their stores, mainly in the south east. I used to buy lunch at EAT when I worked in the City, and they said the pies were exactly what they wanted, and even asked to use our brand name. We wanted to get away from the mass produced/garage forecourt image of a pork pie that has made it unpopular with women because they wonder what they are biting into. I wouldn't have eaten a pork pie prior to my involvement in the business, but because of the quality of the ingredients, the hand-made credentials and the trustworthiness of the brand, we have built a large following among women. The recipe uses bacon to give it a smokey taste and onion marmalade for sweetness, but little else other than herbs and spices. But the main thing is the quality of the pork, which is from rare-breed, outdoor-reared Saddlebacks with some Gloucester Old Spot pigs reared on the farm or locally. We use high quality cuts that pies don't normally see, such as tenderloins and legs. We produce about 40 pigs a year ourselves. We are planning to increase that to 80, getting about 700 6 oz pork pies from each pig, and making about 12,000 pies a month. We also sell through our website in frozen raw or ready cooked forms, and at farmers' markets and local events, but want to take on another contract or two. We are talking about a hot pork pie for winter, and in the longer term I would like to make other varieties of pies. But they would have to be home-made to the same high standard to fit the brand.

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