Wigan is famous for its love of pies and is the home of the World Pie Eating Championship, where competitors and spectators from across the globe gather to witness who can scoff down a pie the quickest.
The annual tradition has been ongoing since 1992 and it's no surprise the reigning champion is from the very town the competition originated from.
The Greater Manchester borough's enthusiasm for pie eating has inspired the Wigan Kebab - a meat pie sandwiched between two buttered halves of a bread roll.
This means the meat-filled pastry can be eaten on-the-go as the bread soaks up any sauce and protects hands from getting burnt.
This local delicacy can be found around Wigan in chain and independent bakeries, and we decided to grab a couple to try for ourselves.
We ordered from Wigan chain Galloways and independent local site The Rolling Pin Bakery in Newtown.
The annual tradition has been ongoing since 1992 and it's no surprise the reigning champion is from the very town the competition originated from.
The Greater Manchester borough's enthusiasm for pie eating has inspired the Wigan Kebab - a meat pie sandwiched between two buttered halves of a bread roll.
This means the meat-filled pastry can be eaten on-the-go as the bread soaks up any sauce and protects hands from getting burnt.
This local delicacy can be found around Wigan in chain and independent bakeries, and we decided to grab a couple to try for ourselves.
We ordered from Wigan chain Galloways and independent local site The Rolling Pin Bakery in Newtown.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 This is a pie barn, or well known to the North West as the Wigan Kebab.
00:04 Wigan is famous for its love of pies and is the home of the World Pie Eating Championship,
00:09 where competitors and spectators from across the globe gather to witness who can scoff down a pie
00:15 the quickest. The annual tradition has been ongoing since 1992, and it's no surprise the
00:20 reigning champion is from the very town the competition originated from.
00:25 The Greater Manchester Borough's enthusiasm for pie eating has inspired the Wigan Kebab,
00:30 a meat pie sandwiched between two buttered halves of a bread roll.
00:33 This means the meat-filled pastry can be eaten on the go,
00:36 as the bread soaks up any sauce and protects hands from getting burnt.
00:41 This local delicacy can be found around Wigan in chain and independent bakeries,
00:46 and we decided to grab a couple to try for ourselves. We ordered from Wigan chain
00:51 Galloways, an independent local site, the Rolling Pin Bakery in Newtown.
00:56 So we're here today to try the famous Wigan Kebab, also known as the pie barn.
01:01 I went to two places today. I went to Galloways, which is a chain bakery in Wigan,
01:07 and I also went to the Rolling Pin Bakery, which was an independent bakery.
01:12 So I thought I'd pick up two to try. I've never tried them before,
01:15 so this is going to be a very unique experience. And then, yeah, let's dig in.
01:19 So we're just going to cut them in half. Now, both of these, I believe,
01:23 are meat and potato pies, which is the traditional way of making a Wigan Kebab.
01:30 So if we just cut this one up and look inside. Oh, there you go.
01:36 So that's what we're seeing inside of the Galloways Wigan Kebab.
01:41 It smells amazing, actually. Okay, so this is the taste test.
01:44 I'm going to try the Galloways one first.
01:48 You know what? I was unsure what to think of this because I was thinking it was a lot of
01:52 just bread and pastry. I thought it's really quite dry,
01:57 but actually it's not that dry at all. I'm really quite shocked with this.
02:00 Let's move on to the Rolling Pin Bakery Wigan Kebab.
02:04 So like I said, this one looks like it's got a lot more potato in it.
02:11 I was expecting them to taste more similar, but they actually do taste
02:15 completely different. This one's really tasty.
02:18 The pie crust is really, really crunchy, whereas this one's a little bit softer
02:22 from Galloways.
02:24 Well, that was the first ever time that I tried the Wigan Kebab,
02:28 and I can say it's completely exceeded my expectations. I definitely thought it
02:31 was going to be really dry, and then not. Obviously, they're a hugely iconic food
02:36 item in the Northwest, and yeah, it was really cool to try them all.
02:40 After sampling the two Wigan Kebabs,
02:43 I think it's fair to say I'm pleasantly surprised by how easy they are to eat.
02:48 I'm not sure I'll get used to the idea of pastry sandwiched between two halves
02:52 of bread, but both pie barms were full of flavour.
02:55 The Wigan Kebab certainly is a Northwest delicacy, and if it's piqued your
03:00 interest, there are plenty available to pick up from bakeries all around the borough.