COWDENBEATH butcher Tom Courts is celebrating a haul at the World Scotch Pie Championships, after scooping an incredible seven awards!

The competition, which has been running for 16 years, sees the top butchers and bakers in the country go head-to-head for the accolade of having the best products, and team Tom Courts Quality Foods were among the top stars as they raked in the honours at the ceremony on Wednesday.

Tom Courts beat off competition from over 100 other businesses to win the top diamond prize in two categories - one for their meaty sausage rolls and the other for their unique Boxing Day quiche, which also won the MacLean Cup for best overall savoury product. Several bronze awards were also picked up for their Scotch pie, apple pie, creamy chicken, mushroom and bacon savoury and their hand-held steak pie. According to Tom, the recipe for success is simple - good ingredients make good food!

“The meat that we use for the sausage rolls is the same we use in our pork sausages, which have been Scottish champions since 2011, no it was no surprise,” he said, “On the day we won more awards than any other butcher in the country. People were saying to me I’d wear out the carpet with the amount of times I had to walk to the podium!

“It was great because everybody works hard and our baker, George White, is due to retire soon, so it was nice for him.

“It was especially good for an actual butcher to go to a bakers’ competition and do so well.” The results of the championships were announced on Wednesday, and already on Thursday morning delighted shoppers were congratulating Tom and the rest of the staff.

“Word-of-mouth,” Tom said. “It’s always the best sort of advertising!” One of the more quirky winners was the Boxing Day quiche, which sees the left-overs from Christmas dinners such as chipolatas and streaky bacon thrown in to create a delicious cold savoury snack. “That was the brainchild of my father,” admits Tom. “We just trialled it at Christmas and it was really good so on the back of that we tried it in the competition.” Indeed, it was Tom’s father, Tom Courts Snr, who first started the business back in 1967. Since then, it has grown and gone from strength to strength, and since Tom took the reigns has even expanded, with a new store in Lochgelly. “I took over in 2003 after I’d been working in the police,” Tom explained. “It was a good time to make the change, but one of them said I was a fool for going back to a declining trade! We’ve now got 27 employees and I’m proud of the achievement. We’ve been trying hard to increase sales and invest in premises, and I think we’re the biggest employer in the town apart from Morrisons.” Now with two more top awards and even more accolades to boot, Tom and his staff have more reason than ever to be proud of their work. “What I like about the awards is it gives the staff the chance to get involved,” added Tom. “Everyone gets to put an idea in for something new - whether it’s good or horrible!

“It’s all good fun, and winning is just the icing on the cake.” To taste some of Tom Courts award-winning treats for yourself, visit the shops at the Raith Centre, Cowdenbeath, or Bank Street, Lochgelly.