This is the man who spent two years touring the UK in a quest to find the perfect pie. Author Martin Tarbuck, from Wigan, Lancashire, had his fingers in a total of 314 pastries on his search for the best the country has to offer. The 41-year-old judged each pie on a number of  important criteria - purveyor, premises, purchase, place, pastry, presentation, package, palate, price, and portion - as part of his research for a book on British pies. Scroll down for video . Martin Tarbuck ate 314 pies over the course of 700 days to find Britain's best pastry . A humble meat and potato pie from a bakers in Cumbria topped the chart, with Martin describing it as 'softer than an angel crying on your tongue'. The pie-mad author said: 'Sometimes I go looking for the pie, sometimes the pie finds me. Sometimes it's a shop recommendation, sometimes I just hit a particular town or city and see what it has got to offer. 'People, towns, cities and counties are proud of their pies and love to make and eat their own regional variations of them. 'It was my staple diet for 700 days, although I was prepared to mix it up a bit in the interests of research. There were also pasties, chunky steak pies, breakfast items, and chicken and mushroom pies.' The crowning winner set him back £1.15 from Greens Bakery and Confectioners in Barrow, Cumbria, and was awarded a heartwarming 61 points. Martin Tarbuck's book Life of Pies . Reviewing it, the father-of-one said: This is what I've been searching for! 'Externally it doesn't look at all spectacular but once I open it up I'm left in awe as to how they pack it all in. 'Layer after layer of thick spud slice expanding like a concertina. It looks like one of those penny drops at the fairground where the chutes zig zag. 'Absolute pastry perfection. I'm in love.' The 41-year-old's love of pies originates from his hometown - arguably the pie capital of the UK. 'It is the duty of a Wigan man to sample as many pies as is humanly possible from around the world,' he said. 'For many decades large swathes of professional and amateur commentators alike have laughed at the town of Wigan and mocked its inhabitants for being pie eating simpletons. 'Nevertheless what I discovered during my research is that pies are not necessarily a Wigan thing. They are a national treasure where each area has its individual intricacies and delicacies. 'You know the way Hugh Hefner parades around his Beverley Hills mansion in his dressing gown surrounded by a bevy of poolside beauties? 'Well that's how I feel when you put pies in front of me through my eyes, there's no ugly ones and each and every one of them deserves to be loved equally.' The Wigan native crowned a humble meat and potato pie from a bakers in Cumbria as Britain's best . And after years of practice in eating them, he has firm rules as to how they should be consumed. Martin said: 'A pie has to be completely encased for a start - otherwise there's no chance of eating it with your hands, and the top crust should be the decorative invitation to the party that lies within. 'Oh and if that pastry falls apart, then so do I. With rage.' Martin has penned a book on finding the perfect pie - with in depth reviews of each and every one he has sunk his teeth into. Martin addeed: 'I feel duly obliged to say that pies, brilliant though they are, should only be consumed in moderation.'
Author Martin Tarbuck ate 314 pies whilst conducting research for book . Britain's best pie is from Greens Bakery and Confectioners in Cumbria . Pastries on presentation, price, package, portion and presentation .