PRIZE-WINNING pie maker Andrew Voakes and his brother have come up with a champion idea.

The winner of the Great Yorkshire Pie competition in 1993 and 1997 - when he was also national gold medallist - has set up a pie-making business on the family farm.

Andrew trained as a butcher after leaving school and ran his own successful butcher's shop in Harrogate.

He experimented for some time to perfect the pastry and the secret recipes for his pies, taking some valuable advice from his grandmother, the late Lily Voakes.

While he was building an enviable reputation for his products, winning many titles, his brother James was working on the family farm with his parents, David and Ann.

They farm just over 100 acres of cereals and sugar beet at Whixley Grange, Whixley, which lies just off the A59 on the Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge road. They also run a 400-sow unit of ACMC stock. The pigs are taken through to bacon weight; some are sold as stores and others go as cutter weight. They are sold to the ScotLean Group.

"Andrew decided to stop butchering in Harrogate and rent the shop out," said James, "Since then he has been working on the farm and it was then that we had the idea to diversify.

"Pig prices were pretty bad at the time - although they are a sight better now - and we were looking to earn some extra income from the farm."

They came up with the idea of establishing their own premium quality pie-making business on the farm, using pork from their own pigs, and applied to Defra for a 50pc Rural Enterprise Scheme grant to help fund a purpose-built bakehouse, the baking equipment, an office and preparation room close to the farmhouse.

The application was successful and Harrogate council dealt quickly with the planning application. Building work started in December and the first pies were baked four weeks ago.

Apart from individual and family-size pork pies, they also produce savoury specials, meat pies, sausage rolls, pasties and sausages.

All are produced from their own pigs, using only the best cuts of pork and carefully selected ingredients. This means they also have complete traceability and assurance.

The products are all being marketed through delicatessens and farm and butchers' shops. The brothers also hope to attend farmers' markets, including Thirsk, North-allerton, Leyburn and Masham.

They attended the recent Leyburn Festival of Food and Drink, where they sold up to 800 pies a day, and will be present at similar events and agricultural shows.

They are members of deliciouslyyorkshire, the regional food group.

The products are also available at Whixley village shop, which itself received a Defra RES grant to help villagers save the shop and run it themselves.

James Hodgson, a Defra Rural Development Service adviser for Yorkshire and Humber, based in Northallerton, was full of praise for the brothers. "It is an excellent example of diversification," he said. "The Voakes brothers have looked at their skills and assets and put the two together to produce a sound business proposition.

"The project is also a very good example of how new ventures like this can help to reduce food miles. The pigs are raised locally, slaughtered in a local abattoir and processed locally. We are particularly pleased that many of the pies will be sold locally through the community shop in Whixley, which has also benefited from RES funding."

The pie business has already created one job and is expected to provide more in the coming months.

Any potential outlet or customers wishing to contact Voakes Pies can visit the web site at www.voakespies.co.uk or telephone 01423 339 988.

* The Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES) runs until 2006 and is open to applications until 2006. It has proved extremely popular.

More information is available from any Defra Rural Development Service office or the Defra web site at www.defra.gov.uk.