The pie's the limit at a York caf, as Jo Haywood discovers.

YOU'VE probably heard of Lord of the Flies, but does Queen of the Pies ring any bells?

This is the lofty title that Mo Nowill enjoys every Wednesday. She earns her daily bread as catering manager at York's Spurriergate Centre, filling hungry shoppers with delicious, homemade quiches, cakes, salads, jacket potatoes, scones and potato cake (queues have been known to form for this particular delicacy). But on Wednesday, she earns a crust instead - a pie crust.

Centre manager Simon Watterson first came up with the idea of a weekly "pie day" while in the bath, where he apparently comes up with all manner of cunning plans.

"I'm just that sort of person," he said. "I come up with all sorts of bizarre ideas. Some of them work and some of them don't."

Pie day definitely works. Mo and her team now make up to 35 pies on a busy Wednesday. And they are not just your basic steak and kidney either.

"I'm not keen on kidney myself, but we do them now and again," she said. "I try to come up with different ideas, using flavours from around the world. If people want to bring in their own recipes, I'm happy to give them a try too."

On this particular pie day, the kitchen crew have made seasonal vegetable pie with stilton and a filo crust and a short crust pastry Mediterranean sausage pie. As they came out of the oven, they looked absolutely delicious. But Mo, perhaps surprisingly, wasn't tempted.

"To be honest, I'm not a pie person," she said. "I would never choose a pie from a menu. When I'm eating out I prefer Italian or Greek food."

Which probably explains the black olives in the sausage pie. But while the chef isn't particularly enamoured with her own creations, Simon is definitely a pie man. "There's something about a good pie that just hits the spot for me," he said. "I even like the kidney in steak and kidney."

At 11am on a fairly uninspiring Wednesday, the Spurriergate Centre was already filling up with mums and tots, happily taking advantage of the play area and the free coffee refills, and diners eager to sink their teeth into something authentically homemade.

The centre was opened in 1989 as a social enterprise, which basically means it is a commercial operation that ploughs back its profits into the community it serves.

So, not only does it offer weary shoppers much-needed sustenance, it also aims to nourish them spiritually by providing professional counselling services for those who are struggling with the challenges of life.

"Our counsellors see about 15 clients a week," said Simon. "They can help with all manner of difficulties such as depression or bereavement, and can act as facilitators in finding help for people with more specific problems such as alcohol and drugs."

The centre is a Christian organisation, which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as it is housed in a 13th century church, complete with stained glass windows, a bell tower and an ornate, vaulted ceiling held in place by enormous carved stone columns.

For some visitors, it is their first foray into a church, active or otherwise.

"Even when it's busy and the children in the play area are pushing the noise levels up a few decibels, people always comment on how calm and peaceful the atmosphere is," said Simon.

"We don't try and force religion on people, but I think they feel it all the same."

Christianity was what brought Mo to the Spurriergate Centre in the first place. She worked as a prison officer in Holloway for 20 years, doing a City & Guilds in catering while she was there.

She then made the move to North Yorkshire to become catering manager at Askham Grange Prison in Askham Richard, before taking over the kitchens at the Purey Cust Hospital and York Sixth Form College. "I've worked in some very stressful places," she said.

"Holloway was undoubtedly the worst because you had to deal with violence and very sick people on a daily basis. It just got to the point where I wanted to work in a Christian environment."

That is not to suggest, however, that all her working days are blissfully peaceful. The centre caters for about 2,500 customers in an average week, rising to 4,000 in high season, which demands 7am starts for the kitchen staff in order to get all their preparation done.

And, of course, there are the ever-present children.

"Being a genuinely child-friendly place can have its ups and downs," said Simon, "Let's just say we often all go home with a headache at the end of the day."

But at least they can go home knowing they have earned a decent crust in a very decent way.

Recipe

Spurriergate Sausage Pie

A delicious, wholesome pie with a hint of the Mediterranean

(makes one large pie or six individual pies)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of oil

1lb sausages

lb carrots

4oz mushrooms

4oz shallots

1 tablespoons of flour

1 tablespoon of tomato puree

pinch of cumin

1 tablespoon of mango chutney

beef stock

black olives

short crust pastry to cover your dish or dishes

Method

Slice the sausage and fry it or oven cook it. Keep it hot.

Saut the carrots, shallots and mushrooms for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the flour and add the tomato puree, cumin and chutney.

Add the stock until the mixture thickens, then stir in the sausage pieces.

Add the olives, season and spoon into the dish. Cover with the pastry and bake for 40 minutes at 180C.