Mince Pie Project chefs raise £39k for charity

By Emma Eversham

16-Dec-2013 - Last updated on 16-Dec-2013 at 10:38 GMT

Neil Rankin's bacon mince pies attracted the most interest raising £2,512 for charity

Chefs from across the industry who baked mince pies for the Mince Pie Project have raised more than £39k for charities Food Cycle and Kids Company.

The event, now in its third year, saw 100 chefs, including Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux Jr and Alyn Williams take part by making two boxes of mince pies - one of which was auctioned off and another given away through a raffle where entrants paid £2 for a ticket.

Neil Rankin, chef at The Smokehouse in London topped the leaderboard, raising £2,512 for the charities with his bacon mince pies while Pont Street's Sophie Michell came second with a total of £2,274 raised.

Project founder Peter Butler thanked chefs for 'creating some really unique and special mince pies.

"We’re really proud to have raised so much money for two great charities. Bring on 2014," he said.