www.mmppa.co.uk mocallaghan@tiscali.co.uk melton mowbray pork pies dr matthew o’callaghan chairman...

www.mmppa.co.uk mocallaghan@tiscali.co.uk

Melton Mowbray Pork Pies

Dr Matthew O’CallaghanChairman MMPPA

Melton Mowbray

Pork Pies

• What’s important about a pork pie?– What it’s made from– How it’s made– Where it’s made

• 1998 increasing sale of non-authentic pies

• Action vs Marks & Spencer failed– Trading Standards: ‘passing off’

Melton Mowbrays

Pork Pies: 1998

• Pork Pie Market worth £160m• Melton Mowbray Pork Pies £50m• Premium and growth of MMPP’s

• Increasing sales from outside area • Increasing sales of non-authentic pies• 45% of pies non-authentic and rising• No protection: consumer law or trade mark• Seek protection – European PFN Scheme

First Steps

• Formation of Association

• Specification: Melton Mowbray Pork Pie– What does it contain?– How is it made?– Honesty and openness

• What makes it unique?

• Where should it be made?

• Research: Link product and place

Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

Association

Members

Formation of MMPPA

• Started by non-producer – local authority• Independent Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer• Company limited by shares £1• All members equal: 1 share = 1 vote• Funding on basis of turnover of pies

• One very large producer (95%) + 4 smaller

Charnwood Bakery Dickinson & Morris (Samworth)Elizabeth King (Bakers) Forryan’s (Bakers)Bailey’s (Butchers) Patricks (Butchers

Related Place History

• 1700’s enclosure common land in county

• 1720’s start of stilton cheese industry

• 1750’s whey fed pigs increasing

• 1753 formalisation of rules of fox hunting

• 1830’s Melton Mowbray: 3 hunt capital

• 1838 ‘Painting the Town Red’

• 1840’s Railway, expansion of market

‘Painting the Town Red’

Evolution of the MM Pork Pie

• Stilton cheese industry gave excess pork• Pigs killed autumn–spring, hunting season

– so fresh not cured pork used; grey inside

• Baked in pastry ‘coffins’ by farmers– so no hoops were used

• Inedible pastry made edible, pasties were pies• To stop break-up jumping fences, pies jellied • Also helps preserve pies if no refrigeration

The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

• Ingredients– Fresh pork, flour, lard, water, salt, pepper– Not possible to supply locally, so PGI

• Recipe – not written, debate on hand raising– Hot water crust pastry raised around a dolly– Filled with chopped pork season salt & pepper– Bake free-standing in oven– Inject hot bone stock jelly when cooler

Hand Raising

a Melton Mowbray Pork

Pie

Authentic Melton Mowbray

• Made with fresh pork Grey inside

• Baked free standing: no hoops or supportsBowed shape

• Made in and around Melton Mowbray

The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie

Define the Area: Boundaries

• Criteria – sold at Melton Market

• Day’s ride from Melton, 25 miles

• Natural and social boundaries

• North – River Trent

• East – Great North Road

• South – A47

• West – River Soar

Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Area

Submission to Defra

• Petition

• Celebrity and political support

• Concessions on boundaries

• Transition arrangements

• Considerable press interest

• Increased sales

Legal Action - 2005

Northern Foods

Judicial ReviewHigh Court 2005Court of Appeal 2006

Generic StatusRecipeArea of Production

Branding and Message

Logo - “Authentic Melton Mowbray”

Message

When buying a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie check:

That it’s bow-sided

That it’s grey inside

That it’s made in or around Melton Mowbray

Benefits

All manufacturers have seen a rise in salesMajor retailers switched before registration

Northern Foods closed Wiltshire plantInvested £11m in Nottingham Factory8 members of AssociationProtection granted June 2009First ‘processed’ food protected

Advice to Producers (1)

• Is your product unique: if so why?• Does it need protection and/or promotion?• Form an association; not everyone will join• How will you run the association?• Find a ‘driver’; producer, local authority etc• What are the ingredients common to all?• Can they be sourced locally? (PDO/PGI)• Is everyone agreed on how it is made?• Are there any old recipes around?

Advice to Producers (2)

• What links the product with the area?• Is there documentation on the product?• Why is it unique from surrounding areas?• Why is it different from other products?• What is the area you are trying to protect?• Who is likely to oppose you and why?• What support can you get for your product• Can this be part of a wider strategy?

Promoting an Area through PGI

• MMPP part of wider food heritage strategy

• Link with Stilton Cheese

Melton Mowbray

• Melton Mowbray Pork Pies• Red Leicester (Leicestershire Cheese)• Stilton Cheese• Capital of Hunting• Painting the Town Red• Third Oldest Market in UK• Vibrant Livestock Market• Home of Afternoon Tea

Food Tourism

250,000 visitors a year 2M visitors spend £65M

Diversity of Attractions

MarketsShopsRestaurants - Cafés

Bison FarmBrewery CentreDairy Centre

Belvoir Castle: Afternoon Tea

Melton Mowbray: Rural Capital of Food

Museum of FoodFood Trails

Livestock MarketFarmers Market

Events in Melton Mowbray

• East Midlands Food & Drink FestivalLargest regional food festival

200 producers

Children’s Food Festival

• British Pie Awards• National Rare Breeds• County Show • Victorian Fayre

DiversificationEthnic Foods

Halal AbattoirTofu & Paneer Herbs & Vegetables

School Meal ServiceLocal Procurement

Investment

Rural Food CentreMajor Visitor AttractionResearch and Training

65% Jobs in FoodNSA National championRural & Regional Food

A Way Forward

• List regional foods

• Identify potential candidates: x per year– Commercial potential– Under threat of disappearance or alteration– Supportive producer group

• Potential for wider tourism benefit

• Support in bringing forward – ‘form filling’