Two North Ayrshire bakeries are up for a prestigious global award for their Scotch pies.

Beth Browning’s Bakery of Kilwinning and Irvines Bakery of Beith are both up for the title of Scotch pie ‘world champion’ at the 2023 World Championship Scotch Pie Awards.

The pies made the cut from the almost 500 in the longlist that were tested by 60 professionals and judged based on their taste, touch, appearance, and smell earlier this month.

Beth Browning’s Bakery said: “We’re absolutely over the moon – especially because we’re the only bakery in Kilwinning that’s got through to the championships this year.

“It’s an exciting time for the bakery and it’s something to look forward to in the new year.”

Irvines Bakery said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be nominated.

“We’ve been quite successful over the years in that competition being the first Ayrshire winner of the top prize in the championship in 2011 and we’ve been fortunate enough to have good success in over quite a few categories.

“It’s great for the morale of the workforce and of course because we’re in a small town its better for the customer as well – at the end of the day the better we get at our job the better it is for the customers.”

The winner will be revealed at an awards lunch hosted by TV-personality Carol Smillie on January 24, 2023 at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld.

Run by organisation Scottish Bakers, the championship was established in 1998 to “shine a light on the craft skills pie makers demonstrate day in and day out.”

Chief Executive of Scottish Bakers Alasdair Smith said, “Announcing the shortlist is always a great moment as it’s the first time our entrants get an inkling that their pies have been judged as amongst the best in the land.

“It’s always great to be recognising products which have been lovingly made from scratch from locally sourced ingredients, freshly made daily by skilled craftspeople.”