The Lids take their homemade pies to events across the UK
Stephen Bygrave (left) and Daniel Furlong (right) from The Lids
Stephen Bygrave (left) and Daniel Furlong (right) from The Lids
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Two friends selling homemade pies from a food truck named 'Lidia' are celebrating their first year in business by announcing their latest venture. Danny Furlong, 38, from Huyton and Stephen Bygrave, 42, from Norris Green run The Lids & Co catering, selling their homemade, gourmet pies from their "old darling" Citroën HY van, Lidia.
The catering company has spent their first year at festivals and events across the UK. Now, the friends have taken over a unit so they can go into wholesales "because the demand has been that big".
Danny told the ECHO: "The first year, we're absolutely over the moon with how it's gone. We can't thank everybody enough, the local support we've had.
"Our products speak for themselves. We make everything with pride. We're putting our name out there to compete with the big boys. We want to be known for quality over quantity."
He added: "We started off doing small pop-ups. We just had a little idea, myself and Stephen, trying to do something different on the festival scene. We've done a bit of outside catering, obviously are both chefs with two over decades of experience.
Stephen Bygrave and Danny Furlong launched The Lids & Co catering out of a tiny food van
Stephen Bygrave and Danny Furlong launched The Lids & Co catering out of a tiny food van
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"We thought there's no homely food at festivals, everything is fried. So we came up with The Lids, which are homemade, gourmet pies. And that's what we're doing.
"We've travelled the UK, we've been as far as Newquay for Boardmasters, which was a massive festival. We've done Leeds festival and the queues were phenomenal. We went to Suffolk for the Latitude festival. That was the busiest we've ever been, we had a queue for 10 hours straight over the two, three days.
"It was unbelievable, we couldn't have asked for anything better. It was that good we had to get somebody to run pies to us from Liverpool, all the way to Suffolk. We sold out."
The friends have taken on a unit in Knowsley Industrial Estate so they can go into wholesalers and sell boxes of pies. They are hoping their homemade pies will be sold in bakeries, delicatessen, cafes, pubs and more.
The Lids' catering van 'Lidia' outside the Hill Dickinson Stadium
The Lids' catering van 'Lidia' outside the Hill Dickinson Stadium
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The Lids have also confirmed that they will be found outside Hill Dickinson Stadium after a successful run at the Rugby League Ashes on Saturday, November 1. Their green truck will be located at Terry's Timbers during Everton FC match days, where they will sell their pies - including 'The Big Dunc'.
Danny added: "It's a pie and a pint. It's a match made in heaven. You can grab a quick something to eat. It was our first time being there and we couldn't have asked for more.
"We've got 'The Big Dunc,' we've made a signature pie for Everton. That's our braised beef, and Guinness pie. It's like a steak and ale, but instead of lager or stout, we've gone with Guinness. The Bramley Social is sponsored by Guinness. So we've tried to stay in brand with them as well."
He added: "There's a saying, aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor. We're aiming for the stars."
More information can be found on The Lids Catering website.