Grumpies of Cornwall

Grumpy pies  to improve your mood?

Two self-proclaimed ‘grumpy old men’ from Cornwall have launched a new range of savoury pies.

My comment was ‘that it saves having to smile at your customers all the time, if looking grumpy is just self-proclaiming the brand.’ I purchased a steak and ale and  blue cheese, mushroom and walnut to take home from the Falmouth Oyster Festival recently and yes they were good.

Grumpies of Cornwall was founded in January 2011 by Trevor Shea and Mark Carne at their bakery in Launceston.

The pair live by their ethos of ‘serious about food’ and use the best Cornish ingredients including local vegetables, Cornish ale, and meat from Philip Warren’s, a prize winning Launceston butcher.

The range of six pies also avoid artificial additives, preservatives and processed ingredients to create products with a home cooked quality.

On creating the pies, Trevor says: “At Grumpies we’re really lucky to work with a chef who has experience of working in restaurants all over the world.

“We told him not to worry about budgets or costings and spend some time at home creating pies as if he was making them for his family.”

The businessmen then displayed their pies to the public for the first time at June’s Royal Cornwall Show.

Mark says: “We booked a stand and took a selection of pies down there in order to gain feedback and introduce ourselves to people. Four hours later, they were all gone and visitors were asking where they could buy them from.

“After a quick call back to the bakery, we decided to start selling there and then. Despite working round the clock back at the bakery, we couldn’t keep up with up with demand and the pies sold out early each of the three days. We couldn’t believe it.”

The gentlemen say the positive feedback continued at both the Cornwall Food & Drink Festival in September and the recent Falmouth Oyster Festival.

Mr Shea says: “The branding has gone down a storm with customers amused to see that the illustrated characters are representative of Mark and I, and everyone has mentioned the high quality of the pies.”

The current range includes four meat options: steak and ale; lamb, mint and potato; chicken, gammon & leek; and pork, apple & cider.

There are also two vegetarian varieties: homity pie which is an open pie topped with local potato, mature cheddar, fresh parsley, leek, onion and garlic; and a blue cheese, mushroom and walnut pie with tangy lemon and a béchamel sauce.

The pair already run the established Cornish Patisserie, which supplies cakes,  gateaux,  and desserts to hospitality establishments across the United Kingdom, however are now looking to diversify with the launch of the new venture.

The Cornish businessmen founded Grumpies, pronounced GrumPIES, to fill a gap in the market for top quality Cornish pies that are also environmentally responsible.

All of the Grumpies packaging is made from environmentally sustainable materials, including the compostable window.

The pies are available from selected farm stores and delis across Cornwall and online at www.foodfromcornwall.co.uk.

For more information please visit www.grumpiesofcornwall.co.uk

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