Kentish Mayde: the Biddenden pie maker with over 45 British Pie Awards and a passion for proper pastry

Kentish Mayde, based in Biddenden in the heart of the Kent Weald, has been making award-winning pies and puddings from scratch since 2001. In the years since, the family-run business has accumulated over 45 British Pie Awards, built a customer base that stretches from Kent farm shops to Premier League football clubs, and maintained a commitment to making everything by hand that is increasingly rare in the food industry. This is the Kentish Mayde story.

The business began as many of the best food businesses do: with a conviction that the existing options weren't good enough, and a determination to do it properly. From the outset, Kentish Mayde made its own pastry - not one type, but five, each developed to suit the product it encases. The suet pastry for the steamed puddings. The hot water pastry for the hand-raised pork pies. The flaky pastry for the sausage rolls. The shortcrust for the savoury pies. The sweet pastry for the fruit pies. Each one made in-house, each one integral to the finished product.

The approach to meat is equally hands-on. Kentish Mayde employs its own team of skilled butchers, who prepare all the meat used across the range on-site. This isn't just about quality control - though it delivers that too - it's about knowing exactly what goes into every pie. When the filling says chunks of steak, it means chunks of steak. When it says tender slow-cooked lamb, that's what it is.

The multi-award-winning Steak and Ale Pie is perhaps the best-known product in the range: chunks of steak in a rich ale gravy, encased in handmade shortcrust pastry, and a consistent winner at the British Pie Awards. But the range extends far beyond it - to suet puddings that take over two hours to steam, hand-raised pork pies that weigh 1.5kg and make a centrepiece of any table, and quiches, tarts, and pasties that bring the same attention to detail to lighter eating.

Over two decades on, Kentish Mayde is still based in Biddenden, still making everything from scratch, and still winning awards. It's one of the most consistent and quietly impressive food producers in Kent. Find your nearest stockist at kentishmayde.co.uk/where-to-buy.