Shire has always been based in the Midlands. The company began in 1970 in Warwick with just eight people working out of a double garage, using one van to deliver the pies. Things were basic then. The cooling system for the pies was under the veranda outside, using fresh air. But the first pie order came from the old Rolls Royce factory canteen (they must have needed classic food to turn out classic cars).

As Shire grew more famous the garage began bulging at the seams. One solution was to buy the house next door and turn it into the company office, freeing up space in the garages. Another was to turn the garden into a car park. Finally, in 1992 Shire moved to a bigger bakery with a carefully designed production line. By the early 90s production was growing fast as Famous Pies went on sale in Coventry City’s ground, followed by other Premiership stadiums. Fans couldn’t get enough. Around 60 football and rugby grounds now sell Famous Pies.

The next innovation was the birth of the Chicken Balti Pie, a true classic. Who would have guessed that English pastry would work so well with an authentic curry sauce? But it does, and fanatical Balti Pie fans can now be found throughout Britain, desperate for their Shire Balti Pie. By the mid-2000s Shire had once more outgrown its premises and in 2006 the company moved into an even bigger purpose built bakery in Leamington Spa. We now make and bake more than 25 million pies, pasties and sausage rolls a year.

Despite the amount we produce, we’re still obsessed with getting the details right and maintaining genuine quality. It helps that with around 100 of us we’re small enough for everyone to take real pride in their work, which is why our pies are famous for being so good.