There’s nothing more comforting on match day than a pie. Whether you're winning, losing or freezing to death in the stands you’re always safe in the knowledge that half time brings with it the promise of some stodgy, comforting goodness.
Why should we have to miss out on that experience just because we’re not allowed to watch the game in person?
That’s exactly the thinking behind “Pie Sports”, a pie delivery service launched last year by Ross Hamilton and business partner Brian Sarafilovic, who refuse to let lockdown get in the way of this sacred sporting ritual.
Ross said: “It’s amazing how synonymous a pie is with football. Even guys who go for hospitality at football matches will pay £200 odd for their meal, but if their pie isn’t on the table at half time, my goodness they get upset.”
Ross and Brian, who now go by the professional title of ‘Pie Sport Correspondents’, have years of experience working in match day hospitality services between them which helped them to develop the idea for their new experimental venture.
Ross said: “Brian and I have supplied football grounds with pies for years and during lockdown we had a conversation about how this year everyone was going to be watching games with a virtual season ticket at home.
“We decided to launch pie sports as a wee quirky punt to see what the uptake would be, and it was amazing. People bought into the idea right away
“Basically, it’s a home delivery system for the food you would usually get at football matches or other sporting events, including things like Bovril, which tries to bring the stadium experiences into people’s homes.”
“At the height of lockdown when it was just families at home, and you weren’t allowed anyone over Pie Sports meant you could make it a wee bit of a special occasion.”
Eager to cater to all tastes, the company have a vast range of products sure to keep every member of your match day squad happy, from the classics like Steak and Gravy or Macaroni to more adventurous fillings like Chicken and Chorizo or Haggis and black pudding.
Veggies aren’t relegated to the side lines either as the Pie Sports even offer a Vegan alternative range of sausage rolls and pies.
Ross said: “We just thought, if people are happy to spend £20 odd for a takeaway pizza then they could spend the same and have eight to ten pies delivered to their homes which, in our opinion, is much better value for money.
“We recently added a ‘build your own’ box to our website and its proved spectacularly successful. People are really keen to indulge in a couple each and try all the different fillings.
“We get feedback from people saying: ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I’ve eaten three pies today’ but we’re always happy to hear that.”
Although initially the Pie Sports team initially saw their delivery service as a lockdown project, the staggeringly positive response has encouraged them to keep supplying half time provisions to fans all over the UK. Ross said:
“The uptake really has been remarkable. I’ve delivered products to Northern Ireland, the Shetlands and as far south as Cornwall. Ex-pats in particular love to get their hands on a proper pie.
“We’ve always had this idea of pies being a sort of Scottish street food. You can go abroad and get paninis or kebabs and a pie is like our answer to that. It’s easy to carry easy to eat and usually pretty tasty as well.”
The sense of novelty and fun that comes with the company's branding is a key aspect of their success and something that Ross is eager to uphold. He said:
“Really it’s all about putting a smile back on peoples faces. We’ll try and do things like bring out a new flavour on transfer days or if we ever do expand to outdoor catering then we’d like to call it ‘Pie Sports Live.’ It’s all a bit tongue in cheek.”
As restrictions ease in Glasgow we can only hope that it ‘Pie Sports Live’ will soon be a reality, although Ross is keeping any further details firmly to himself for now. He said:
“We do have a lot of plans for the future, we’re hoping we’ll have some big news in the next few weeks, but that’s all I can give away at the moment.
“We are going to keep going with the home delivery though because we think it’s still got some real mileage in it.
“Everyone has bought into the idea of Pie Sports so well, the support we’ve had from people has been so phenomenal because I think the appreciate what we’re trying to do.”
There you have it sports fans, If your goal is a taste of an authentic match day experience, then the pie really is the limit.
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