Have the German’s pre-invented the pie?!
As soon as
my knife cut into the pastry shell of the so called “Königinpastete”, I knew that I
had what will go down as one of the most controversial pie reviews in Pierate
history on my hands! And I make no apologies for such a bold claim at the
outset of this pie review. For what we potentially have on our hands here is –
when the incorrect English translation of the German menu is put to one side –
a potential pre-cursor to the pie. Rather than re-inventing the pie, the
Germans could here have pre-invented the pie, giving us a potential insight
into what life was like pre-pie! (a shocking thought in itself, that there
could have even been a time pre-pie!)
“So what
could be so controversial”, I hear you cry! Well, when I ordered “two pies
filled with chopped chicken breast and mushroomsauce” from the Hofgarten in
Aachen, West Germany, I certainly didn’t get exactly what it said on the menu.
The plate below was brought out to me, which in itself doesn’t look too
controversial, albeit a bit odd. Why was there so much chicken and mushroom on
the plate itself, rather than it all being inside the pastry? Perhaps there was
just so much filling that it simply couldn’t possibly all fit inside the pastry
itself?
Then came
crunch time, as I cut my way into the soft, puff pastry casing of the first
pie, to find that it was in fact... a pie made completely of pastry! A pastry
lid, a pastry base and sides, but to the utter amazement of the Pierateer, also
puff pastry on the inside too! There was absolutely no other filling within
this pie! It was a shocker! The chicken and mushroomsauce “filling” was, as it
turns out, outside the pie! What was I supposed to make of this?! I was
naturally taken aback! (so much so, that unfortunately in the bewilderment of
this crazy pie revelation, I forgot to actually take a photo of the centre of
the pastry pie – my apologies.)
I started
eating. The puff pastry was a delight to eat, so soft and flaky and a brilliant
golden colour. The Germans are known for their efficiency, and it looked like
time well spent engineering the pastry to a perfect level to make this pie. The
filling meanwhile, while controversially outside of the pastry casing, was very
nice too, with the sauce complementing the pastry, chicken and mushroom. I
found myself being completely dumbfounded, but enjoying every mouthful! The
combination of the pastry pie alongside the chicken and mushroom on my plate
was brilliant. It just left me bamboozled as to why the filling of the pie was
not inside the pastry itself, as it was some of the best pastry and filling I
have ever tasted!
The mystery
continues...Is this what pies used to be like “back in the good old days!” Was
this the pre-cursor to the pie we all know and love today – where the filling
of the pie had not quite worked its way into the pastry yet? Or did the
restaurant even make a complete schoolboy and forget to put the filling inside
the pastry pie in the first place?! While it is difficult to sum up my
confusion at this pastry-only pie, it did in fact taste delicious and the real
sign of a good pie is that I would happily go back there and eat another one of
these pie dishes today, if I had the chance! It’s hard to specifically rate the
pastry pie on its own, without the filling taken into account, but the pastry
did taste very good and was in fact covered in the sauce and filling (as can be
seen from the photo). However even if this was not actually how it should have
been presented, what counts is that it was one of the nicest pastry and filling
combinations I have ever eaten. And it was still a pie! Sehr gut!
Score: 5.9/7
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