Express & Star

Kidderminster Harriers' posh match pies in a league of their own

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They may be lingering at the lower tier of the football pyramid, but when it comes to pies Kidderminster Harriers are in a league of their own.

At £4.50 a pop, the club officially serves the most expensive grub on the nation's terraces. And it fell to yours truly to investigate - it's a tough job but someone's got to do it.

"Feast your eyes on that," says Brian Murdoch as he proudly lofts up a whopping cottage pie.

What I am confronted with is a piping hot meat and vegetable mountain topped with a generous layer of crisp and creamy mash potato.

It weighs a staggering one-and-a-half pounds, with nearly a pound of that in meat alone.

Just holding it is a task in itself.

My mouth was not so much salivating but slobbering in anticipation.

Brian gets stuck in

As I burrow deeply into the finely crafted cuisine and lift a stacked spoon to my gob, I can imagine the unsavoury chants of my colleague's ringing around the office.

As my waistline can attest, I've had my fair share of pies in the past.

And I have no shame in saying, I ate it all. Every glorious mouthful.

Brian, aged 75, has been catering the Harriers for more than 50 years and each pie is handmade in the kitchen of his restaurant in Lion Street, Kidderminster.

He buys his beef from the local butchers, and gets his potatoes and vegetables from Kidderminster market.

Come match day, he and up to 15 staff members man the kiosks to feed the hungry supporters.

As well as cottage pie, he also serves the legendary Aggborough Soup which he invented 'almost by accident' and has gone on to achieve cult status with fans up and down the country. A fanzine in the 80s was even called The Soup. It's a delicious mix of meat and potato - clearly a winning combination.

The £4.50 price is the dearest in the country. Elsewhere in the Midlands, Wolves, Baggies and Walsall fans can expect to pay £3 for their balti pies, while at Villa supporters have to cough up £3.30.

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But Mr Murdoch, who is originally from Penn in Wolverhampton, says the price is worth it.

"We are all about quality. Everything is bought locally and is all handmade in my kitchen.

"We have never had a complaint. The travelling fans cannot believe the variety of food we do or the size of the portions. I've had lecturers from Oxford University write to me to say how good the food was.

"I am proud of my team who are the best in the country."

He started making his own pies after being unimpressed by the quality of other suppliers.

"Prior to '94 when we played West Ham in the fifth round of the cup, pie manufacturers were approaching me to sell their pies.

"At that time we had come up with Aggborough Soup while other teams were selling mix packed soup.

"These pies consisted of pastry, a little bit of gravy, and air. There was no meat. I was not having that. It was not good enough. At one stage I was buying pies, taking off the tops, putting extra filling in, before putting the lid back on.

"That really was the last straw, I didn't have the capability to do all the pastry with just a rolling pin so I tried cottage pie and the supporters loved it.

"We have been doing it ever since - it is our signature dish."

At 75, Mr Murdoch has no plans to retire. "I love it and every day is a challenge," he says.

"People say to me I couldn't do the same at Wolves or Albion, but I'd love to have a crack."

As for me, I'll be back for a second helping in April when my Bristol Rovers boys are in town - celebrating promotion, of course.