Four'n Twenty facts for kids
 |
|
A Four'n Twenty Pie being eaten during an AFL match
|
|
| Owner | Patties Foods |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Introduced | 1947 |
| Markets | Australia New Zealand United States Japan |
| Previous owners | Peters Ice Cream Simplot |
| Tagline | The great Australian taste |
Four'n Twenty is a famous Australian brand that makes popular snacks like meat pies and sausage rolls. The brand is now known in many countries and is owned by a company called Patties Foods.
The classic Four'n Twenty pie has a filling of mutton and beef in a spiced gravy with carrots and onions. The meat is usually from the shoulder. The pie has a special crust made from flour and margarine. The top part of the crust is folded to make it extra flaky. Besides the classic pie, there are other fillings like chicken and vegetable, pulled pork, and grass-fed Angus beef.
Australians eat more meat pies per person than anyone else in the world. Four'n Twenty pies are considered a classic snack, especially at football games. Many people enjoy eating them with tomato sauce.
Contents
Where Did the Name Come From?
The brand's name comes from an old English nursery rhyme called Sing a Song of Sixpence. A line in the rhyme says, "Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie."
Some of the first logos for Four'n Twenty showed 24 blackbirds flying out of a pie. The logo used today is simpler and just shows the brand's name in text.
The Story of Four'n Twenty
A man named Leslie Thompson McClure created the Four'n Twenty pie in 1947 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. He first called it the "Dad & Dave Pie," which was the name of his café. An employee suggested the name from the nursery rhyme, and he changed it. In the beginning, he only made about 50 pies a day.
McClure took his pies to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show, and they were a huge hit. Because so many people wanted them, he opened a bakery at the showgrounds in 1949. By 1953, he had opened a factory in Ascot Vale, and later moved to an even bigger one in Kensington.
In 1960, McClure sold his company to Peters Ice Cream. Over the years, the brand was sold to different companies. In 2003, Patties Foods bought Four'n Twenty. Patties Foods built a new, modern factory that can make an amazing 21,000 pies every hour, all day long.
Four'n Twenty Around the World
Four'n Twenty pies are not just sold in Australia. In 2006, the company started selling them in the United States.
On April 21, 2019, the brand was launched in Japan. They even had a special "Four’n Twenty Day" celebration at the World Beer Museum in Tokyo.
The pies are so popular that they are an official food for the Australian Olympic Team, along with other famous Aussie foods like Milo, Weet-Bix, and Vegemite.
More Than Just Meat Pies
Four'n Twenty offers many different kinds of snacks.
- In 2017, for its 70th anniversary, the brand created a special pie with cheese and Vegemite.
- Later that year, they introduced the "Topper." This is a crispy, breaded snack pocket with fillings like lasagna, macaroni and cheese, or chicken cordon bleu.
- In 2020, Four'n Twenty launched a meat-free pie for people who follow a vegan diet. The company says it has the same great taste and texture as the original pie.
See also
- Australian meat pie
- Lihapiirakka
