THE answer to the eternal question "who ate all the pies?" has finally been revealed.

A survey by East Lancashire family bakers, Oddie's, to celebrate its centenary, aimed to find out how local tastes have changed over the last 100 years.

And it has cooked up some surprising results.

It revealed people in Nelson are unique in East Lancashire for opting for pies and pasties over butties for their lunch. And the sweet-toothed locals even get stuck into more pastry for dessert.

The town revealed as having the most cosmopolitan tastes was Burnley, with its residents being the most willing to try anything new -- especially if it has an exotic twist.

But, despite having the youngest clientele, Accrington customers are the least adventurous midday munchers, with the survey revealing that ciabatta, focaccia and pain au chocolat are not in the favourites list -- and they don't even know what a brownie is.

Barnoldswick people are the most generous and will buy little extras to share with others.

Meanwhile, Colne is the most sweet-toothed town in East Lancashire with the most requests for its shops to start re-selling old favourites.

Lara Oddie, great-granddaughter ofthe original WH Oddie, who founded Oddie's from the basement of his home in Primet Bridge, Colne, said: "This uncovered some surprising differences across the region.

"Looking at what people buy from us for lunch is more than a bit of birthday fun. It's a way for us to spot trends and by taking note of what our customers want and giving it to them, we're confident of managing another 100 years!"

Lara struggled to explain why Nelson is such a pie-loving town, but suggests it may be because the climate's slightly colder further up North prompting folk to eat something warm, or because pasties are more traditional than sandwiches for lunch and Nelson likes to hang on to its traditions.

Despite having a sweet tooth, Colne residents tend to make healthy choices with tuna salad sandwich their favourite lunchtime snack.

But they will be pleased to hear their preferred old favourites of little trifles or wine slices may be brought back as a result of the survey.

Egg is the filling of choice in Barnoldswick, while in Nelson it's egg mayonnaise and in Burnley the exotic Mexico-inspired tuna special followed by an American muffin.

Mum-of-two Lara, who lives in Reedley, said: "Whether people in Burnley have more money and are better travelled than say people in Nelson or Barnoldswick, where tastes are very traditional, I don't know, but they have the most cosmopolitan and contemporary outlook when it comes to choosing their food."

Oddie's has 13 shops in East Lancashire and one in Todmorden, and employs 220 full and part-time staff. It supplies all its shops with its own baked cakes, savoury products, breads and other goodies, which are made at its bake house in Scotland Road, Nelson.

The shop started out selling loaves, family cakes and plate-sized pies. Now most customers buy food to eat on the go or at the office desk.

Customers were asked to take part in the survey by filling out a questionnaire in December 2004. More than 200 people completed and returned it.