Pork pie with a twist marks Wakefield's 130th anniversary of city status

Nigel Hofmann and his daughter Emily have made a WFD PIE to celebrate Wakefield BIDs WFD 130 campaign marking the citys 130th anniversary of city status. Pictured in Wakefield Cathedral with the Dean of Wakefield Very Revd Simon Cowling and Elizabeth Murphy, manager of Wakefield BID.

The new WFD PIE, created and championed by Hofmann’s of Wakefield, is based on the family butchers' traditional secret recipe, but features the added twist of a rhubarb topping - a vegetable famously from the city.

It was created as part of the WFD 130 campaign, which aims to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Wakefield being granted city status.

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Three of the smaller rhubarb-topped WFD PIEs in Wakefield Cathedral

"We’ve won the Great Yorkshire Pork Pie competition 8 times over last three decades, which we think is the biggest pie competition around, so working with Wakefield BID to create the WFD PIE made perfect sense.

“The pork is sourced fresh from across Yorkshire and it’s then hand-blended with a secret family recipe of herbs and spices that has been passed through the generations, tweaking as we go, to adapt to modern changes in taste.

"Jelly is important as it keeps the meat moist and is added directly after the pie is baked while it’s still warm so the flavour of the jelly soaks into the pie. And the pastry needs to be crisp – the magic is in the way it is mixed and getting the right thickness.”

Emily Hofmann holds her new WFD PIE aloft in Wakefield Cathedral as part of Wakefield BIDS WFD 130 campaign to celebrate 130th anniversary of Wakeys city status

Elizabeth Murphy, Manager of Wakefield BID, said: “Wakefield city centre is famous for pies, for rhubarb and for our cathedral so we’ve combined these ingredients to create something fun and special. A taste of Wakefield – literally.

“Wakefield doesn’t want to be and isn’t trying to be somewhere else.

"People are proud to be from Wakefield, but we want to play our part in reinvigorating that passion through pride and partnership to shout about our city, our amazing – and often surprising to people who haven’t visited for a while – shops, cafes, restaurants, attractions.

"It’s a journey and it will take time, but our plan is to build on that element of surprise and do things that will make people stop, listen and then hopefully visit.”

The limited edition pies are available now at Hofmann's stores in the city centre, and will remain available until Christmas. A second wave of pies is expected to go on sale in February, as part of the city's Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb.