The Cork pie guys earning a crust from pastry!

JAMIE Kelly and Tim O’Kennedy are two guys who make really, really, delicious pies. Together, they are The Pie Guys.

What started out as a Covid lockdown project has morphed into a food business that’s fast gaining something akin to legendary status among the peckish and curious of Cork.

The Pie Guys’ first location opened in early 2022 at The Black Market, and from the get-go they were pulling in hungry punters from all corners of the county.

That location is still operating, co-located with their production kitchen, and last July, they opened their second location in The English Market.

“The English Market is a legendary spot,” says Tim. “You feel that all the serious food people in Cork are either in here or visiting. It’s a hub of food greatness.”

“The market is such a beacon of good taste and good food; it’s a centre of gravity, really,” agrees Jamie.

The Pie Guys have arrived and set up at a time when the market is entering a new phase in its long history.

A few long-standing stalls closed there in recent years, signalling a transition between adjusting to the loss of market stalwarts, but equally presenting an opportunity for a new generation of traders and their customers.

“The market seems to be moving in the direction of some of the great European food markets, like La Boqueria [Barcelona] where there’s great fresh produce but also interesting places where you can get prepared foods as well,” says Tim.

In a way, no food bridges the gap between the traditional and modern quite as well as an honest to goodness pie. The Pie Guys are taking a very traditional food form and giving it a contemporary twist.

“During lockdown, I bought a cookbook called The Pie Room by Calum Franklin, and realised I had forgotten what a majestic thing a pie is when it’s done right,” says Tim.

“I had allowed myself to be dumbed down to the point where the thing you find in the filling station or low-end grocery store defines your experience of pie.

“But that’s not representative of what a pie is at all.”

Jamie had spent several years working in Ballinspittle, at Diva Café then the bakery when the café closed. Meanwhile, Tim co-founded Leafling Mercantile also in the village. The pair’s friendship grew from a shared passion for food.

“I’d been trying to get to work with Jamie for a while, then one day, I’m walking through the village and bump into Jamie,” says Tim.

“I showed him a photo of a Lobster Mac n Cheese Pie I’d made.”

Jamie professed a love for a good pie and “suddenly a lightbulb went off,” says Tim.

Eventually, the duo found their way to The Black Market in Ballintemple.

Initially, Jamie was hand-making every pie, which they both admit was not a sustainable method.

They mechanised the shaping and filling of their pies so they could concentrate on developing taste bud-captivating fillings, and making sure every sheet of Jamie’s gloriously crisp and flaky puff pastry was consistently delicious.

Tim admits he and Jamie are “sympatico” when it comes to their vision and commitment to The Pie Guys.

Jamie’s cheffing background means the kitchen is largely his domain, but together they experiment with ideas and flavours for their pies.

“Some of the ideas for fillings come from things I’ve cooked at home; recipes I’ve distilled into a pie filling but would have started life as something quite different,” explains Jamie.

“The Beef and Beamish is a take on Beef and Guinness and something I’ve been doing for years and years.

“Making the pie with Beamish was so much better, so that kinda stuck.”

Tim says there’s a core range of pies because of its deeply traditional form; there will always be a beef and a chicken pie, for example, but after that it’s playtime as far as the flavours and fillings are concerned.

“Once you have the bases covered, you go into this space where almost everything in the world is made better by being put inside pastry.

“If you start there, and that’s the working theory, you’re not going to go too wrong,” Tim says.

Tim and Jamie work closely with suppliers to ensure as many of the ingredients used in their pies is Irish and also as locally sourced as possible.

Their chicken is from East Ferry Farm, Dexter beef is from a farm in North Cork, and their pork from Caherbeg in Rosscarbery, West Cork.

So, how have The Pie Guys fared, being the new kids on the block in the iconic English Market?

“The reception from the other traders has been phenomenal. The English Market is the friendliest place on earth,” says Jamie; a sentiment shared by Tim, too.

“We really have been made to feel so welcome,” adds Tim.

“People have been really friendly, wishing us well, leaving cards and little gifts on the stand when we started. They have been so supportive.

“As far as customers are concerned, we knew the love affair for pies is huge. By opening here in The English Market, our business more than doubled in size overnight.”

The Pie Guys’ stall is open six days a week with their range of daily fresh-made hot pies to takeaway, complete with spuds and slaw on the side, or freezer pies to take away home and reheat in the oven.

“We do say that once they’re done, they’re done,” says Tim.

“It’s a bit like a French bakery in that what we’ve got when you show up is what we have.

“If you want to be pretty sure of a decent selection of pies, be here by 2pm.”

In barely a year, The Pie Guys went from a nugget of an idea to a fully-fledged business with two bustling locations in the city’s most exciting hubs for foodies; and it seems, summer or winter, Corkonians cannot get enough of these deeply comforting pies.

“Things are definitely ramping up now the colder months are settling in, but by no means did business collapse in the summer,” says Jamie.

“It tipped along, and opening in The English Market during midsummer meant we were able to tap into the tourist market.

“We saw loads of English, Kiwis and Australians and did great trade with them - they loved the pies!”

Between both locations, The Pie Guys are employing four people full time, plus themselves.

Did they ever wonder, one year in, that this would be where their lockdown business idea would be?

“No, we didn’t think that it was going to be like this,” says Jamie.

“It has happened very quickly and suddenly, and overall it’s been really positive and amazing.”

“We’re both of the view that we’re done expanding for a little bit now,” explains Tim.

“We have absolutely no intention of growing to a point where we can’t keep the standards to where we want them to be; that’s the horse we rode in on.”

But something tells me that if the time feels right, and the perfect opportunity arose for another leap of faith into the unknown, The Pies Guys would be ready to step up and bring their gospel of Good Pies For All to further corners of the county - and country (maybe)…

Next week in the series, Kate Ryan talks to the people behind The Rooftop Farm, which recently set up a stall at The English Market.