A MAN says he has not been put off from having more pork pies after completing an unusual month-long eating challenge.

Max Kopasz took on ‘Pie January’ where he and his workmates ate a pork pie from different butchers or shops in the Bradford district for lunch on every weekday last month.

The 42-year-old from Steeton says he could not do Dry January, when people give-up booze, as he does not drink alcohol, so instead he wanted to take on a quirky challenge featuring the meaty baked treat during the opening month of the year.

He visited a number of sites across the district to sample their pork pies including Ellison’s Butchers in Cullingworth, Binns in Saltaire, and kicking off with Robertshaw’s Farm Shop in Thornton.

He says he consumed a total of 10,000 calories in taking on the snack-based test.

Mr Kopasz scored each pie out of a total of 40 with marks out of 10 for first visual look, pastry/crust, jelly and meat.

He also posted a Facebook review, with the score and a picture of the delicacy in a Bradford district location for each of the pies he tried.

A pork pie from Richard Arundel Butchers in Wilsden was crowned the winner, with a total score of 37 out of 40.

He posted: “The fact it comes with a hot jelly warning pretty much says it all, but on top of that a tasty thick pastry and a proper serving of quality pork makes it near perfect. So till next year, it’s time to burn them 10,000 calories off.”

Mr Kopasz, who works for the countryside services team at Bradford Council, says he enjoyed tackling the eating test.

He said: “One of my workmates suggested it and I thought it was a bit of a joke.

“I have enjoyed every minute of it.

“It has not put me off pork pies but I might come down to having one or two rather than the five I was having a week in January.

“The challenge has had great feedback from people. A lot of people have enjoyed it.

“I just thought people need to see something lighthearted.

“My workmates have munched all the way through them with me.

“We had some arguments over which one was the best. A pork pie has to have jelly in it, in my opinion.

“We might revisit the pie challenge next January.”