Pie-maker Mud Foods has secured a supermarket listing after winning the first episode of TV show Aldi’s Next Big Thing.
The show gives independent food and drink producers from across the country the chance to present and pitch their products to Aldi. Mud Foods was one of six contestants in the ‘dinners’ episode of the Channel 4 show, which was aired on 20 October.
The judging panel that decides which products will win a listing includes Aldi managing director of buying Julie Ashfield, grocer and cookbook author Chris Bavin, and TV presenter Anita Rani.
Mud Foods, based in Midhurst, entered its Chip Shop Chicken Curry Pie into the competition. The recipe contains free-range chicken in a mild, sweet curry sauce infused with fresh ginger, chilli and coriander.
“This pie was inspired by the curry sauce I used to buy at my local chippy when I was a boy, it has an incredibly moreish taste – once tasted, never forgotten,” explained Mud Foods owner Christian Barrington on the company’s website.
Filming for the show included the production team visiting the firm’s bakery, and filming Barrington’s wife and daughters at the Mud Foods stall at a weekend farmers’ market.
The six contestants were eventually whittled down to two, with Aldi having to decide between Mud Foods and Mandira’s Kitchen, which makes Indian food for a catering and online business.
“When they called out Mud had won I was genuinely in a state of shock,” said Barrington. “It was a moment of absolute disbelief but once it had sunk in it was pure joy and elation.”
The Chip Shop Chicken Curry Pie is currently on sale at Aldi, while stocks last, priced £3.99 for the 270g pie.
Among the contestants for this week’s episode of Aldi’s Next Big Thing, airing on 27 October, is Chester-based Pastry Pedaleur, which produces classic French baking with an Indian twist.
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