British Pie Week: Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory provides unique taste and Black Country welcome to visitors

Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory in Tipton has been at the forefront of the Black Country food scene since first opening in 1987 and has become a place with an eye for creativity when it comes to its food.

Owner Pete Towler has, since taking over in 2000, worked to create a huge variety of pies at the pub and restaurant on Hurst Lane, with 14 different pies on the menu and a changing pie of the week each week.

The pies include the 4lb Desperate Dan Cow Pie, the Andy Murray Curry pie, the Tyson Fury pie made from brisket and onion gravy, the Hen Pecked Chicken and Mushroom pie and the Posh 'n' Becks Steak and Stilton pie.

Ahead of British Pie Week, which runs between March 3 and March 9, Mr Towler said that pies were a way of life for him and he enjoyed being creative with them.

He said: "Pies are in the name for us and the brand name as we do 14 different pies, 15 if you include the pie of the week, and we just try and reinvent things as much as possible.

"For example, we've been doing a Mexican Fajita pie and we try to put a different take on things, such as doing a Bolognese pie and it's all about changing up things.

"It makes it all a bit different for customers and we are all about making good food and selling it at a sensible price, which is nice as everything seems so expensive these days."

Mr Towler said that the beauty of the menu at Mad O'Rourkes was its uniqueness, with the menu featuring a lot of items like cows in quilts that other restaurants wouldn't have.

He said that British Pie Week was a great way of keeping the name of the pub and restaurant in people's minds and said he would be celebrating the week with a very special creation inspired by a social media competition.

He said: "The week is exceptionally good for keeping the name and the products in people's minds as it means that people think of us and think of pies, which are everything and so important to us.

"For Pie Week, we are doing the Onion Bhaji pie, which came from us asking people on Instagram what they would like to see and someone came up with a great suggestion of this pie, which is lamb curry and a lid made from an onion bhaji mix."

Mr Towler, who has been affectionately titled the "mad professor of pie making", said he continued to be passionate about pie making and said he looked forward to welcoming as many people as possible over British Pie Week.

He said: "I like to think that nickname is absolutely correct as we like to be different from everyone else and we don't like to be the same.

"We are an independent, family-owned company and we just enjoy every day coming up with different ideas as it's important for us.

"Anyone who is thinking of coming down next week, please book in advance as we're going to be very busy and we look forward to seeing you."