Panackelty pies and more proving a hit as PROPA looks forward to first summer at Sheepfolds Stables

As the team marks its first quarter in business, we went along to the shop in Sheepfolds Stables, to chat about the provenance of their pies and how they’re going down on Wearside.

He is well-known for his TV work, but PROPA is Si King’s first shop venture - and he chose to invest in Sunderland after being impressed with Building Design Northern’s (BDN’s) sympathetic restoration of the once dilapidated Victorian stables in Sheepfolds.

Although Si, who lives in his native North East, is a regular at PROPA, it’s his team of chefs who press the pies daily.

At the helm is Rory Welch, Josef Blythe and Tom Cuthbert, who all previously worked at the highly-regarded Träkol restaurant in Gateshead, as well as working in the kitchens of some of the region’s best restaurants such as Riley’s Fish Shop in Tynemouth and The Broad Chare in Newcastle.

“We’ve all gone from working in restaurants to a classic British take away,” said Rory. “And we’re really enjoying it, we get to change things up all the time.”

The menu changes regularly with options over the past few months including a Mackem take on poutine (chips, corned beef, cheese and gravy), brisket pie, smocked haddock, mussel and leek pie, spring lamb broth and much more.

They’ve also been satisfying sweet tooths with classics like pink slices, bread & butter pudding, crumble and sticky toffee pudding.

The response has been strong. The new Local Heroes food and drink market at Sheepfolds, which takes place on the second Sunday of each month, has proved their biggest day of trading with around 600 meals sold.

On an average match day they’ll also sell 500-600 pies and around 200-300 mid week.

It’s a real passion project for Si who is on the phone daily to head chef Rory, with he and the team delivering the Hairy Biker’s vision.

“The people of Sunderland have really received what we’re trying to do well, which is to bring hearty, comforting food to Sunderland,” said Rory who’s noticed a broad range of customers tucking into their pies.

“The pies change with whatever’s in season, we rely heavily on the seasons,” explained the chef “It also depends a lot on the price on ingredients. Steak and ale is always a favourite, but our game supplier this week had 35 rabbits, so we put a rabbit pie on - which is a North East classic.”

The team work closely with local suppliers, trying to use ingredients within a 50 mile radius where possible from farms in County Durham and Northumberland, as well as using British-grown pulses from Hodmedod’s and Wildfarmed flour, which uses no pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.

The shop has the full Hairy Biker’s back catalogue and the team often use them for reference as well as doing research on historical recipes, whether it’s taking inspiration on all the variations of Mackem panackelty or putting a Homity pie on the menu using a wartime recipe.

“Everyone knows us for our pies, but we’re not just a pie shop, we’re about comfort classics,” said Rory.

Pies have still been selling well in the warmer weather, but the team will be looking to diversify with some lighter dishes as Sheepfolds Stables has its first full summer in the city.

This summer is set to be a real boost for the leisure venue with the new bridge opening to connect it, within minutes, to Keel Square.

No exact date has been announced for the new Wear crossing but it will be open in time for the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup which takes place on August 22, with a fan parade taking place along the bridge.

*PROPA, Sheepfolds Stables, is open Thursday to Sunday from 11am to 6pm.