A family-run Midhurst pie business – which supplies shops in Fernhurst and Milford – has won a supermarket contract with Aldi for its champion-winning chip shop chicken curry pie.

Christian Barrington, chief pie maker at Mud Foods, showcased the product as part of the Channel 4 series Aldi’s Next Big Thing, hosted by Anita Rani and Chris Bavin. Each episode sees hopeful suppliers compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves, before Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, picks the winner.

Wowing with its twist on a traditional classic, Mud Foods’ chip shop chicken curry pie – which has been awarded gold four times at the British Pie Awards and won class champion in 2021 – beat five other hopefuls.

Christian, who is married to Toni and father to daughters Emelia and Liberty, set up Mud Foods in 2009.

He said: “To say I’m shocked, overwhelmed and overjoyed would be an understatement.

“We wanted to deliver the taste of a classic chip shop curry sauce in a pie that’s amazing from the outside in.

“Our website went ballistic when the programme aired – we had as many orders in 30 minutes as we usually get in a month. I had text messages offering congratulations, and 200 emails from well-wishers across the country.

“We sell all our pies on our website, and we also supply Crossways in Fernhurst, Fernhurst Post Office and Secretts Farm Shop in Milford. We also do all the regular favourite British pies.”

Visit https://mudfoods.com/ for more information.