An east of Scotland football club has become the first in the world to sell official Buckfast-flavoured pies at their home matches.
Camelon Juniors FC currently sit top of the East of Scotland League First Division – and their success coincides with the sale of award-winning “Steak and Bucky” pies at their match day food stall.
Crowds have been enjoying the £3.50 treat, which contains gravy cooked with the tonic wine.
Around 37 groundhoppers turned up at one recent midweek fixture after hearing about them — making up over ten per cent of the crowd.
YouTubers and influencers have also attended matches to review the pie, with one rating it 9.5 out of ten and urging “tonic wine lovers” among his 51,000 TikTok followers to visit the club’s Moore Equipment Hire Stadium.
Club bosses introduced the Steak and Bucky pie to their match day menu after signing a deal with Stirling-based Rendalls Online Butchers, which has an exclusive licensing deal to make Buckfast-flavoured products.
The pies have the distinctive Buckfast flavour and sweetness of the wine, but the alcohol is burned off in the cooking process.
Camelon’s director of football Steven Allison, 45, said it could be one of the club’s best ever signings.
He said: “The steak and Buckfast pie has proven to be a massive success. We’ve had YouTubers and influencers from as far as England coming to our matches after hearing about them.
“The exposure they’ve given us has been invaluable. We played Arniston Rangers on a Thursday night recently and there were 37 groundhoppers there who’d come to see the park and the team but mainly to try a pie.
“You could say the pies have been one of our top signings. They’re a ten out of ten every week.”
Camelon lost their opening fixture of the season, but currently sit top of their division after going on a run of ten games unbeaten.
Average attendances are around 350, with sales of pies at around 150 on a matchday – around a third of which are the Buckfast pies.
Mr Allison said: “Our gates are up around 15 per cent this season. The team is winning so there’s a feelgood factor which obviously attracts people through the gates but some have definitely attended just to sample a half time Buckfast pie.
“A few weeks ago an away fan came up after the game and said he’d enjoyed his pie so much he wanted another six uncooked to take home to his family.”
It’s not just fans and influencers who have sampled a Buckfast pie – hospitality guests have their choice of pies at half time and players from both teams can also tuck into one after the match.
Jason Rendall, 42, owner of award-winning butcher Rendalls, said: “It started as our variation of the steak and ale pie — instead of ale we put in Buckfast and our customers couldn’t get enough of them. Even people who don’t drink Buckfast love the rich, sweet tasting gravy.
“We’re really proud to supply Camelon Juniors. They are the only club selling steak and Buckfast pies, and we’re delighted that everybody is talking about them.
“The team is flying at the top of the league now so it must be the Bucky pies that’s doing it.”
Jason added: “We’ve already won awards for our steak and Buckfast pies but now that we’re supplying a football ground for the first time, we’re planning to enter them in the annual football pie competition.”
Lifelong Camelon Juniors FC fan Ellis Coutts, 27, said: “I’ve been coming to games since I was a wee boy and these new Bucky pies are the best I’ve tasted. The team’s winning and the pies are great – what’s not to love?”
Fellow fan Natasha White, 36, added: “I don’t drink Buckfast but the Bucky pies are amazing. It’s the only one I choose when I’m at the game – it’s just the flavour.”
