The winners of the Scotch Pie Awards will be announced next January – after judges tasted nearly 500 pies, pasties, sausage rolls, bridies and savouries at the finals this week.

More than 100 butchers and bakers entered the annual competition and former Dunfermline Athletic football manager and Provost of Fife Jim Leishman was chosen to judge the new football pie category.

Leishman said: “As a football professional, I was delighted that the new category of best football pie in Scotland was added this year and I was flattered to be able to get involved. The standard of entries was incredible and the judges were hard pressed to pick a winner. But I am well aware of the role the football pie plays in fan’s enjoyment of a match so to be able to help judge which pie is the best in the land is a huge honour.”

Head judge Robert Ross said: “The competition, which has run for 14 years, aims to highlight that bakers and butchers create high quality artisan pastry products.  Recognising the “great and the good” in this way rewards excellence and raises the bar in the industry. With more entries than ever before and the bar set incredibly high, we had a hard job on our hands but we are confident we have made the right decision.

The competition is supported by Scottish Bakers and the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders, sponsored by Bako Northern and Scotland and the winners will be announced on 9th January at Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline.