The Mince Pie Project chefs help raise £29k for charity

17-Dec-2012 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2021 at 18:52 GMT

Hayden Groves' mince pie 'baubles' were among the mince pies put up for auction by 100 chefs to help raise money for The Mince Pie Project

Chefs have helped raise almost £30k for industry initiative Galvin's Chance and homeless charity Crisis after putting specially baked mince pies up for auction through The Mince Pie Project.

Bids for the batches of 50 mince pies prepared by 100 chefs from across the industry came flying in after the 72-hour auction opened on 11 December, with Mark Poynton of Alimentum and James Petrie, also known as Jocky, of the Fat Duck Group competing for top place in the early stages.

However, it was Dan Doherty, head chef at Duck & Waffle, who ended up winning the highest bid of £1,900 for his gingerbread mince pies with orange frosting, just beating Martin Wishart, Poynton and Petrie to top place on the leader board.

In all, the event raised £29,292 for into work programme Galvin's Chance, which gives training and work experience in the hospitality industry to 18 to 24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds and Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people.

Of the total amount, £3,138 came from raffle donations for the Bonus Box, a box of 50 mince pies made by Michel Roux Jr and six bottles of Champagne Moutard donated by Naked Wines, while £1,130 was raised through the sale of two mega boxes - 150 mince pies from Clare Smyth, Marcus Wareing and Phil Howard and Tom Aikens, Angela Hartnett and Giorgio Locatelli.

Chef support

The Mince Pie Project founder Peter Butler, who decided to bring the initiative back this year after a successful debut in 2011, thanked all 100 chefs for taking part and getting behind the project.

"29,000 is a fantastic total and will make a big difference to both of our charities," he said. "It got quite competitive at one point, but it's all for a great cause, so charity is the real winner. Plans are already afoot for next year's project, so bring on 2013."

Hayden Groves, executive development chef for BaxterStorey, who raised £256 for the initiative through the sale of his mince pie “baubles” - spherical pies enrobed in a citrus fondant, filled with classic mincemeat and a Brandy poached pear, said he had been 'honoured' to take part and help funds for such worthy causes.

"The team and I have thoroughly enjoyed letting our imaginations run wild to dream up our perfect mince pie," he said. "It was particularly enjoyable to see it go up for auction alongside creations from the UK’s most famous chefs and to watch the total raised go up by the minute."

Last year 36 chefs made 36 mince pies each and raised £10k with Ashley Palmer-Watts topping the leader board with his deep fried mince pies.

The Mince Pie Project 2012 leader board: