Pie maker Dan Lione has been blown away with the response to his new shop. Opening day on Saturday, February 25, saw customers queueing around the block to sample the wares at Project Pies in Carlton.
And again this week shoppers waited in line to buy one of his mouth-watering pies and sausage rolls that started as a venture during the pandemic lockdown. The first day was non-stop and a sell-out success and Dan hopes demand will continue.
He said: "It was brilliant, absolutely amazing. It took me massively by surprise. I was here all night, Friday baking. I was planning to open Sunday but I didn't get that far as I'd sold out just after 2pm.
Tell us where you think the best place to live in Nottingham is. Have your say here
"I'd baked about 400 pies. I'm really blown away. It's a dream come true having the shop. It's something a bit different. I thought in lockdown, get some different food out to people."
Dan, who has previously worked at Caffe Nero, YO! Sushi and in a butcher's shop, has taken over the former premises of Big Mike's Artisan Cheesecakes on Carlton Hill. Opening the bi-fold doors allows the aroma of freshly baked pastry to attract passers-by.
The range includes individual and family-sized pies made from shortcrust pastry and fillings, from traditional steak, minced beef and onion, and chicken, to the kick of chilli beef, Jamaican jerk chicken and beef balti. There's also a range of specials, amongst them cheeseburger pie and unique to Nottingham, a Goose Fair pie with minced beef and onion with a layer of mushy peas and mint sauce.
Six types of pork pie are on the menu including the classic, and also Stilton-topped, Huntsman and Sticky Fingers with red onion marmalade and Red Leicester cheese. Sausage rolls are packed with a meaty filling of pork, pigs in blankets, and a third has the addition of cranberry and stuffing. Scotch eggs - bigger than the average snack - come in plain, katsu curry or cajun.
Dan, who is definitely not desperate like The Dandy's Wild West cartoon character whose book is on display, bakes on the premises in a kitchen at the rear of the shop before opening the doors. Then he's busy serving.
"I was planning to open six days a week but think I might have to knock it down to five so I've got more prep time. It's just me. I can't afford staff, the game changes then, so I'll try to see how far I get without staff."
Customer Andy Lindley, of Colwick, said: "I was one of the first to try Dan's pies during lockdown. He started advertising on social media over two years ago. The first pie I had was steak and Stilton and it just blew me away. It was like no other pie I'd ever had.
The retired district fire commander for the city added: "The same with his sausage rolls. They're a meal in themselves - they're that big and filling. The filling is absolutely unbelievable, it's so nice and the pastry is to die for. Since then we have been ordering whenever we fancy ordering a pie, which is quite regularly.
"I think I've gone through all the list, along with his pork pies as well. Dan and myself had a walk around Colwick Park about a year ago now and he was discussing ideas with me for pies and he did a pie for the Goose Fair. They're really nice and tasty and excellent quality."
Dan is no stranger to Carlton, or the shop where he's now based, as he used to sell from there on Mondays during the summer when Big Mike's was closed. The 42-year-old began making pies during lockdown at the weekends on his days off from the butcher's shop and began advertising them on Facebook and Instagram, starting off on a small scale.
Next thing he knew he was getting phone calls from all over Nottingham from people wanting to buy the delicious home-cooked pies as news of him spread through word of mouth.
The pies come in two sizes. An individual pie is £3.75 to £4.50 and family-sized is £7.50 to £8-50. "Some people say that's expensive but if you try it, it's not like one you get from Tesco or Marks & Spencer. You can taste the difference and you get what you pay for," he said.
READ NEXT:
