Fife butcher wins title for best traditional steak pie in the East of Scotland

The Main Street business – which has been a butcher’s shop since the late 1800s – beat off stiff competition from throughout the region to secure victory in the Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) Awards 2023.Delighted owner Steven Reaper said they were “shocked but thrilled” to win the regional title for a product that they can trace from farm to fork.Steven, a local farmer, took over the butcher’s business in 2021 and supplies the shop from his own herds or other local suppliers, ensuring the quality of all their products.“We are established hog roasters, supplying around 350 a year to events across Scotland,” said Steven, “so we know the importance of good quality meat and that is what we guarantee at Leuchars Butchers with beef, lamb and pork.”Steven is gradually picking up all the skills of a butcher but accepts he has a way to go to match those of the shop’s Billy McGregor who protects the award-winning steak pie gravy recipe passed to the shop by a predecessor and dating back to the 1950s.“We select the finest carcass shoulder steak for our pies which we bake in small batches each day,” explained Steven. “We pride ourselves on producing a more artisan product and it’s really rewarding to know that the judges loved it as much as our regular customers.”Steven said it was a tremendous accolade to capture the regional title.“I look at the people we beat to be crowned East of Scotland regional champions in the traditional steak pie awards – much bigger businesses,” he said. “Yet a wee shop in Leuchars is judged to have a better steak pie than all the others – it’s just fantastic.”

Gordon King, Executive Manager of Scottish Craft Butchers, said Leuchars Butchers’ pie had proved a winner with judges looking for the perfect traditional Scottish product.“Nearly 100 steak pies were forwarded to the awards evaluation .

“We always have a strong entry for this category as every butcher wants to be the champion in the run-up to Christmas and New Year."