Pork pie aristocratic visitors carry lumps of pie with them on horseback". The main distinctive feature of a Melton pie is that it is made with a hand-formed crust. The uncured meat of a Melton pie is grey in colour when cooked; the meat is chopped, rather than minced. As the pies are baked free-standing, the sides bow outwards, rather than being vertical as with mould-baked pies. In light of the premium price of the Melton Mowbray pie, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association applied for protection under European Protected designation of origin laws as a result of the increasing production of
Bottesford, Leicestershire grounds and the only remaining thatched building in the village. There are also many other listed buildings within the conservation area. Bottesford is in the Melton borough of Leicestershire and in the Rutland and Melton constituency. The current Member of Parliament is the Conservative Alan Duncan. The civil parish includes the villages of Bottesford, Easthorpe (now effectively a suburb of Bottesford), Muston and Normanton. The parish council has nine members. The village is served by Bottesford railway station on the Nottingham, Grantham and Skegness line. There are also No. 24 and 26 buses, which run to Melton Mowbray at least