Hello all, Alex here again. Welcome to the next issue of "Proper People by LANX". If you have missed the previous instalments, we have discussed some fantastic local brands. You can peruse our previous episodes here. This month, we have decided to feature a brand called Great North Pie Co (GNPC), who we consider very great indeed; so much so, that in addition to featuring them in our Proper People blog, we have also teamed up to create a very special limited-release sneaker (more on this below).
The perceptive reader amongst you may have figured out that this company specialises in pies, and they have been keeping bellies full for the past few years. GNPC are based in Wilmlsow, just south of Manchester, and are only a few years old but have already made a huge impact on the culinary world.
Starting life in the humble home kitchen of their owner and former copper, Neil Broomfield, GNPC work under a simple ethos: ‘Take something simple and create a real quality version of it’. By producing their own takes on classic pies, alongside new recipes with a modern twist, their product quickly turned heads of customers and critics alike.
Their excellent home-made pies have already collected an impressive amount of awards, including a win in 9 categories at the ‘British Pie Awards’, as well as a ‘North West Fine Food Producer of the Year’ award presented by Whalley’s own Michelin Star-winning chef Nigel Haworth. Not bad for a company fresh off the starting blocks eh?
These well-deserved awards that GNPC have under their belt are thanks to their unique formula of components that go into making the perfect pie. They use fantastic locally sourced ingredients from proper local companies, such as Lancashire’s own 'Dewlay’s Cheese' for their Classic Lancashire Cheese & Onion pie (an obvious LANX favourite). They have perfected an all-butter pastry recipe that delivers a light and crispy finish, and their own custom-made pie tins hold all these components together for the perfect sized pies every time.
GNPC started to get traction at artisan food stalls and farmer’s markets around Manchester, and it was at Altrincham Market where the LANX lot first learned of them a few years ago. We spent the early years building up the LANX company face-to-face by appearing at many events and artisan markets. It's always a pleasure to meet customers in person and allow them to try on our footwear, however if we are very honest, market life can be a tough a gig when the British weather decides to rear its ugly and wet head.
One thing that kept us going on the markets were big flasks of warm coffee and good homemade grub. In fact, market traders are spoilt for excellent food choices, hence why some of us carry a bit of extra timber. LANX staff looked forward to certain markets where their favourite food trader would be attending and more often than not that would be wherever Great North Pie Co would be selling their award-winning pies.
If you want to sample a Great North pie, they opened a café in Ambleside in 2017 where you can pair your pie with an accompanying bottle of beer. As far as we know, you can still find GNPC at the weekly farmer's market stalls around Manchester in places like Didsbury, Northwich, Wilmslow, Chorlton, and of course Altrincham, so if you’re in the area I highly recommend sampling a pie.
If you’re not in the area, you can order yourself something off their website and receive it in the post, so you don’t have many excuses to not grab a few for tea at the weekend.
For Father's Day this year, LANX and Great North Pie Co have teamed up to bring you the "Pie & Sneakers Project"; a heavenly combination of proper smart sneakers and proper savoury pies.
We wanted to produce a sneaker that mirrored GNPC's beautiful pies: no fuss, British-made and proper tasty. After a bit of back and forth with designs we got the job done. The shoe features our popular Sankey sneaker white upper, with a gum sole, navy rear heel collar and gold foiled logos.
Every pair of LANX x GNPC sneakers purchased between now and 15th June 2021 will also receive an assortment of 4 of their succulent pies on us, delivered to the same postal address in time for Father's Day. The selection includes:
Lancashire Cheese & Onion
14 Hour Braised Beef & Ale
Roast Chicken & Mushroom
Homemade Beans & Cheese
The perfect gift for Father's Day (or for scoffing to yourself).
My belly is rumbling now as I have spent too much time thinking about pies, so I’ll leave you to continue with the rest of your day.
Many thanks for reading.
Alex Jackson - Warehouse & Shop Manager
