We’re picky about our pies in the west of Scotland - we can spot a bad one a mile off. In this part of the world, we’re all pie connoisseurs in a way.
So to serve up pies that Glaswegians consistently come back for, over the course of almost 90 years, is something pretty special.
Earlier this year, we featured Ballieston butchers Chapman’s on our site on account of their eye-catching breakfast pie, featuring all of our favourite Scottish staples - square sausage, black pudding, potato scone and haggis.
And, with that delicious dish and an outpouring of love from customers on social media having gotten our attention, we wanted to find out more about the favourite neighbourhood butchers that has been selling quality Scottish meat in Glasgow’s east end for almost nine decades.
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Started by Jimmy Struthers in 1933, the Baillieston Main Street-based business has been passed down through the generations. Jimmy’s son Ian was next to take it on, before handing it too his daughter Lynne around 10 years ago when he retired.
A serial award-winner, Chapman’s gained nationwide attention when it took home the prestigious Best Steak Pie in Scotland prize in 2007, which Lynne describes as a ‘massive moment’ for the shop. Ten years later, in 2017, Chapman’s was picked out above thousands of others across the UK to become finalist in the Butcher Shop of the Year Awards, a sign of their continuing success.
But what makes Chapman’s so different? There aren’t many local butchers shops to survived - and thrived - for close to a century.
We asked Lynne for her family’s recipe for success: “I think customers keep coming back because we are a small business. I’m at the front of the company and people see me every time they walk in.
“My friend worked for me over Christmas and New Year and she said to me ‘you know every single one of your customer’s names, orders and everything!’. I think we’ve got that real personal touch.
“One of the guys who works in here, Kenny, he’s 56. He started working with my dad when he was 15 and he’s still here. The other boy Brian who helps in the shop as well has been here for many years. I’ve got good loyal staff who stay here and connect with the customers really well.”
Then, there’s that steak pie, the shop’s most popular seller. When Lynne’s dad Ian landed the prestigious award 15 years ago, it was with his dad Jimmy’s recipe, one that has remained unchanged since the shop first opened. Why change a winning formula?
Lynne said: “That was massive for the shop and we’ve still kept that going.
“We’ve still got my grandfather’s cast-iron boiler in here which is over 50 years old. We cook the stew and everything in there.
“It’s all about buying in quality beef. We make sure it’s well trimmed, there’s no fat on it.
“Obviously our gravy is really nice as well which we make from the stock of the stew that comes out.
“It’s cooked to perfection in the big boiler, which I think really makes a big difference in taste.”
Yet, having served their first customer way back in the 1930s, Chapman’s has obviously had to move with the times. In recent years, Lynne and her team have developed a loyal following among a younger crowd, who can’t get enough of the likes of chicken tikka chasni, macaroni and doner meat pies.
It’s that blend of the old and the new that has kept the Baillieston butchers so popular.
Lynne explained: “We’ve stuck to traditions, back to when butchers would buy in sides of beef. A lot of butchers now buy in vacuum-packed meat and things like that.
“We’ve got a steak deck where we can cut the steak to people’s liking.
“We also do gigot chops, pork chops, all the old-fashioned stuff which caters to the older generations.
"But off the back of the success of the steak pie, we’re trying to cater to a younger generation by putting different things in pies.
“We’ve done them with doner meat, chicken tikka chasni, steak, haggis and peppercorn, breakfast pies which have a wee bit of potato scone, sausage, black pudding and a wee bit of everything in it, all these different types of pies that are dragging people through the door which has been great.
“Also we do a lot of the ready meals and we do slimmers boxes as well which cater to people who want to lose weight and we have the likes of protein boxes which are virtually fat free boxes.
“Then there’s the mega boxes which have your full week’s dinner in it. All you need to do is bung it in the oven or cook it.
“It’s all lean, it’s all fresh. We buy all our meat from Scottish farms.”
And when speaking to Lynne, it’s clear that at the heart of Chapman’s is a desire to serve and give back to the local community. Every Friday, Lynne gets in the car to deliver meats and meals to the elderly who struggle to get out the house.
But, with the likes of their Scottish breakfast pies going viral, it’s clear this neighbourhood butchers is having a wider appeal beyond Baillieston and across Glasgow.
When asked what people can expect to find when they come through doors at 53 Main Street for the first time, Lynne said: “They’ll get a great service, a friendly face.
“Everything’s cut fresh that day. There’s nothing pre-packed or vacuum packed. Everything is fresh beef from the Scottish Borders.
“We do a full range, from steak to pies to ready meals to slimmers stuff. We do absolutely everything.”
It’s safe to say Chapman’s is nothing short of a Glaswegian institution.
To find out more about Chapman’s, their mouthwatering meats and pies, you can visit them on Facebook here or at their website here.
