Stargazy pie through the pastry top, appearing to gaze at the stars. The position of the fish allows the oil that is released during cooking to drain into the pie, adding a fuller flavour and ensuring the pie is moist. The celebrity chef Rick Stein suggested also poking the pilchards' tails through the pie crust to give the effect of leaping through water. In spite of the fact that the British Food Trust describes the dish as being fun as well as amusing to children, it has been listed in "Yuck! Disgusting things people eat", a lifestyle feature by the "New York
Scotch pie make a space for adding accompaniments such as mashed potatoes, baked beans, brown sauce, gravy or an egg. Scotch pies are often served hot by take-away restaurants, bakeries and at outdoor events. The hard crust of the pie enables it to be eaten by hand with no wrapping. Typically there is a round hole of about 7.5mm in the centre of the top crust. Every year, the Scotch Pie Club holds the World Scotch Pie Championship. Butchers and bakers enter their pies into this competition, and the maker of the pie judged tastiest by a panel of judges is awarded