Willy's Pies steps up to plate as Fratton Park's new caterer after Piglet's Pantry goes bust
Pies are on the menu at Fratton Park as a new food provider steps up to the plate after its previous supplier went into insolvency.
London-based Willy’s Pies, which was launched by Josh Hill and Will Lewis in lockdown on the back of a pushbike, has taken over as Fratton Park’s new food supplier mid-season following a debacle whereby the previous provider, Piglet’s Pantry, failed to pay its staff.
The catering company, which was part of the Fratton Park family for several years, informed staff they were unable to pay outstanding wages after the Portsmouth FC match against Ipswich,on February 3 was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. The business previously said it was relying on revenue from the match to pay its employees.
Co-owner, Will, said Willy’s Pies was approached on social media by someone with close connections to the football club, proposing they took a shot at the new position.
Within a few weeks, the artisan pie business, which also serves Arsenal FC, stepped up to the plate - and has so far gone down a treat with football fans.
The 33-year-old, who has a background in the culinary industry and previously worked in a Michelin star restaurant prior to being furloughed, said: “We’ve come in at really short notice after the previous supplier was struggling - before we knew it we were speaking to the club and within no time we were supplying them.
“It is amazing. It’s just great to be part of it and we are hoping to become part of the furniture for years to come but we are just so proud to be here.
“We really wanted to create a premium product and offer something you can’t normally get at a football match so it’s really exciting to be part of Portsmouth FC. Portsmouth in general is quite fascinating because it has that real ‘we are from here and we’re proud’ vibe. If you’re from Portsmouth you scream and shout about it and when you have a football club with fans like that, it creates something really magical because it’s unique and special, so although we don’t have a personal connection we have a fascination.”
The pair have created a range of pies specifically for football fans featuring the popular beef mince and Westcombe cheddar, roast chicken, sage and onion, and curried potato, pea and mango chutney.
Will continued: “It’s had a really positive response. It is one of the clubs that we really wanted to be involved in because of the connection they have with the fans and we want to be part of that. I think it’s really important being involved with the community, we’ve done that with Arsenal and other clubs we work with, so we want to do that here.”