Aldi Scotland has named its first ever Pie Tester, with a high school teacher from Falkirk taking the top spot after a nationwide search that saw over 100 entries.
Stuart McNeill (35), a woodwork teacher, football fan, and self-confessed pie enthusiast, wowed the judges with his passionate and creative entry, which included a hand-drawn concept for a ‘SpecialPie’.
Complete with its very own middle aisle, the SpecialPie would feature a pastry dividing wall to offer a unique pie combo-flavour.
The competition, launched in March during National Pie Week, was designed to celebrate Aldi Scotland’s new range of 11 limited-edition pies.
The search was launched to find one lucky Scot to taste and review the new range, judging everything from the bake of the crust to the boldness of the flavour.
Speaking about his win, Stuart said: “As soon as the competition was announced, I had six different friends send me the link encouraging me to apply. Even the kids at school were telling me to go for it. They thought the idea of their teacher becoming a professional pie tester was brilliant.”
Born and raised in Falkirk, Stuart credits his love of pies to years of following his beloved Falkirk Football Club.
He said: “The WhatsApp group with my mates is meant to be about football, but nine times out of ten, we’re discussing who had the best pie at the match!”
Stuart was presented with his official Pie Tester trophy and a generous delivery of Aldi’s new pie range to sample with his friends ahead of Falkirk’s final home game of the season on Friday 2 May. His five-month-old son Ben even joined the pre-game pie party, crowned ‘Assistant Pie Tester’ for the day.
Stuart said: “If being crowned Aldi’s first ever Pie Tester wasn’t enough, Falkirk beat Hamilton and secured promotion to the Premiership League - it really was one for the books! Now I’m just excited to get stuck in and start reviewing all the different flavours. It’s truly an honour to help represent Scotland’s proud pie tradition.”
As Aldi’s Pie Tester, Stuart will now critique all the pies based on crust quality, filling consistency, and flavour balance.
His reviews will go on to help guide fellow customers when choosing from the range and shape Aldi Scotland’s future pie offerings.
Graham Nicolson, group buying director, Aldi Scotland, said: “From flaky pastry to flavourful fillings, our range of 11 limited-edition pies was made to celebrate Scotland’s love of pies, and we’re thrilled to have found someone who takes the nation’s favourite dish as seriously as we do.
“We were blown away by the standard of entries but Stuart’s passion and tasting insights, including his ‘SpecialPie’ concept, proved he has the perfect mix of creativity and crust credentials for the task at hand. We can’t wait to share his verdicts with our customers.”
Aldi Scotland’s pie range is available across all 109 Scottish stores, while stocks last.
