Theatre of Pies

John Gall isn’t a name known to most supporters - but it should be. He is the master baker behind the fabled Killie Pie.

Gall’s symphony in pastry, steak and gravy has won a string of awards down the years and its popularity at Kilmarnock has seen Rugby Park nicknamed “The Theatre of Pies” by connoisseurs of savoury snacks.

“It’s taken years to get the pie just right,” Gall, 43, who runs his family’s firm, Brownings The Bakers, in Kilmarnock, said. “But the recipe we have now is as perfect as I can make it. The shell is made from Canadian flour, which is the very best there is, and the steak is 95 per cent lean, best Scottish beef.

“The gravy was the most difficult part. It can’t be too runny for a football pie, because when you’re eating it in the ground you don’t want it running all down your football strip. But just now I’m delighted with the consistency. It’s what you’d call a smooth gravy.”

At the home game with Celtic on Saturday, Gall expected to sell 5,000 Killie Pies, as well as 2,000 mince pies. He boasts a pie-per-punter ratio about double that recorded by other clubs’ piemen. “Word has gone around by now, and supporters know all about our pies. They look forward to coming to Kilmarnock just to have a Killie Pie,” he said.

Gall has also moved into the export business, by carrying a consignment with him when he goes abroad with the Tartan Army. “I’ve been all around Europe with Scotland, and the pies go with me too. I see myself as an ambassador for my country’s pies,” he said.

“I’ve been to places like Italy and France, where they think they know something about food, and the locals couldn’t believe how good the Killie Pie is. It’s a real credit to Scotland and Scottish cuisine.”

Among the many honours that have come Gall’s way, one stands out above all others. “In 2004 I became the first Scot ever to win the British Baker of the Year Award,” he said. “It was very emotional. You have to understand that these are the Oscars of the baking industry, and to be the first man from Scotland to win it meant everything to me.”

The Killie Pie has been so successful it has overshadowed the team. “Last season they’d been undefeated for nine games and they’d played great football. Then the Killie Pie won another award, and it captured all the headlines. Our assistant manager, Billy Brown, had a rant in his newspaper column, saying that the team were playing the best football anyone had seen in years, and all anybody wanted to talk about was the pies. He was none too happy about it.”