Men bond over pies at culinary social club

A new pie-based social club is offering company and culinary tips for men.

Pompey Pies held its first session in a Portsmouth church, where 12 men were taught to make pies ranging from corned beef hash to cheese and beans.

The council-run club was inspired by a BBC feature on The One Show, where TV chef Si King of The Hairy Bikers visited a men's pie club in north-east England.

Jayne Gentle, from Portsmouth City Council, said: "A group where people just come and talk doesn't always spark interest - but add pie into the mix and people want to get involved. After all, everyone loves a pie."

Gentle works for the council's independence and well-being team, which tackles loneliness.

She said: "I heard about a pie club up north - it was featured on The One Show... and I thought, why can't we do this in Portsmouth?

"One of the great things about pie club is that you don't need a full kitchen. As long as there's somewhere to wash hands and do the washing-up, all you need is plug sockets [and] pie-makers."

Ken, who attended the first session at North End Baptist Church, said: "I'll eat any pie really, but steak and stilton is my favourite.

"I'm looking forward to making pies. It'll keep me busy during certain parts of the day and it gets you chatting and meeting different people."

The council hopes the group will run itself in a few months' time and could spark other pie clubs to launch across the city.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.