The Ark Steak and Black Cat Ale and Meat and Potato Pie Reviews

Having already rated a pie from “The Ark” catering company in Burnley during British Pie Week, owner Jonny sent a couple more pies for us to rate recently. Having already reviewed the Steak and Ale pie (using Guinness) sent over previously, they had now started producing a steak and ale pie in conjunction with the local Moorhouse’s brewery, using their Black Cat Ale.

The Ark Steak and Ale (left) and Meat and Potato (right) Pies

It was great to see that, despite still being relatively new to pie catering, Jonny had been seeking ways to improve his Steak and Ale pie recipe with this alteration and the latest pie was delicious. The pie was made with baked Suet pastry, which was a lovely golden colour and crisp to eat, while the steak is locally reared from a farm butcher and was lovely and tender.



The Ark Steak and Ale Pie Review

With this Steak and Ale pie being sold on the market at £2.30 this is a good value pie for a quite filling, strong capacity pie. The flavours were very good and I certainly enjoyed this pie and the pastry very much.

Once again, the pastry held together well (you could pick up this pie and eat in your fingers) and the meat was very good. I would have liked a bit more gravy, as while the content was not dry it did lack a little in level and consistency of gravy, but in general this was an improvement on the previous Steak and Ale pie but also cheaper!

The Ark Steak and Black Cat Ale Pie
Score: 5.96/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 6, Consistency 6, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.75, Cheapness 6, Content 6.5, Total: 5.96/7]

The Ark Meat and Potato Pie Review

Being sold at just £2.00, the Meat & Potato pie is even cheaper to buy and consists of mincemeat, sourced from the same butcher, and potato in a short crust pastry. It is mixed with a homemade gravy which has a little bit of English Mustard in it. Simple, but effective!

It is hard for a mincemeat pie to compete with a steak pie, just because the chunky pieces of steak will generally always be more appealing, but this pie does still hold its own. Again the pie did lack a bit on the gravy front, which did limit the flavour rather too much, though the filling was quite moist. The short crust pastry used did seem to suffer as well, being rather too dry and therefore quite crumbly. This is evidenced in the photo of the two pies side by side after cooking.

The combination of dry, crumbly pastry and a lack of gravy meant this pie did not appeal to me as strongly, which made me wonder whether this pie would be better suited to also being served in the same suet pastry as the Steak and Ale pie. However the capacity was still good and once the pastry is worked on a bit more, I would certainly eat this pie again.

The Ark Meat and Potato Pie
Score: 4.5/7
[Colour 4, Capacity 4.5, Consistency 5.5, Condition 3.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 4.5, Content 4, Total: 4.5/7]


It is encouraging to see that Jonny at The Ark Caterers has taken feedback from us and others on his pies and is now producing an even better Steak and Ale pie, which pushes him ever closer to Pierate Recommended status! He can be assured that he is safely sailing the Seven Cs of pie rating with a top quality pie and with a bit more work I am sure his short crust pastry will match it!

RAS

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The Ark Steak and Ale Pie Review

As mentioned on Day Five of British Pie Week, the day started well with a pie package supplied by “The Ark” catering company in Burnley. The owner Jonny has taken over a sandwich shop and is looking to diversiPIE… well, who wouldn’t want to add pie to the menu?! Selling at markets and doing outside catering events, the pies are a new venture but would they sink or swim when rated on the Pierate Ship?

The Ark Steak and Ale Pie

Well the Steak and Ale was – you’ll be pleased to know – fully encased in pastry. The pastry held together well (you could pick up this pie and eat in your fingers) and the meat was very good. It was a very good effort for someone relatively new to pie catering! He’s certainly pushed the boat out… or should I say ark?!... and it’s paying dividends!

The meat was lovely and tender. The pie had reasonably strong capacity and you could tell the meat is sourced from a local butcher and cooked well to be so nice and tender. The meat combines well with the ale gravy which was very tasty. To reach pie-fection I would have preferred a slightly bigger pie, as I feel it was a little shallow and could have been packed out with a bit more meat. But I certainly wouldn’t be put off buying this pie as it is, as the content was very good and the pastry:filling ratio wasn’t far off being ideal.

The Ark Steak and Ale Pie

The pastry itself was quite nice and crisp, holding together well and balancing the flavour well with the steak and ale. The top crust colour was a bit varied and tasted a little dry for me, in particular the edges of the pie lid, but overall the pastry was good and had a good bite to it. A slightly smoother, more buttery pastry lid would probably have improved it slightly and might have evened out the colour. But again, these are small changes needed to take this pie from Pierate Recommended to Pierate Highly Recommended status.

Being sold at £2.75 from local producers markets, these are quite reasonably priced pies. I would say I’ve eaten slightly bigger, more meat packed pies for the £3-4 mark, but this still a good meaty pie for that price so doesn’t score badly on cheapness.

I’m sure I could write a flood more pie puns but that might be too (by too) much at this point. Wood-n’t want you getting me to walk the plank for bad punnery! But to summarise, it’s not plain sailing on the pie making front, but Jonny at The Ark Caterers can safely sail the seven Cs of pie rating with a top quality pie which, with a few minor tweaks, could see him even beat his Pierate Recommended status!

The Ark Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 5.5, Consistency 6, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.75, Cheapness 5, Content 6.5, Total: 5.75/7]
RAS

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British Pie Week is a celebration of British Pies, which we on the Pierate Ship absolutely love! In our quest to eat and rate as many pies as we can get our hands on, we’re making a Pieary (Pie Diary) of all the pies we eat this British Pie Week. Some of these are included as part of our #PiePledge commitments, promoting and encouraging pie consumption.

Pierateer RAS

With Pierateer RAS back to work on Friday (yes, sadly eating and rating pies is not a full time profession just yet!) there was light at the end of the tunnel – a package awaited him upon turning up at his desk on Friday morning. If only every workday started with a pie package!!!

The pie package contents were a pie and a “pie”, both supplied by “The Ark” catering company in Burnley. The owner Jonny has taken over a sandwich shop and is looking to diversiPIE… well, who wouldn’t want to add pie to the menu?! The “pie” in question was chilli with a cornbread crust. Quite a spicy chilli, the meat certainly tasted good and the cornbread and cheese on top was a real treat. Categorically not a pie and you certainly need a plate if you don’t want to eat it out of the foil tray, but a very nice meal.

However what you really want to know is how did the pie rate? Well the Steak and Ale was – you’ll be pleased to know – fully encased in pastry. The pastry held together well (you could pick up this pie and eat in your fingers) and the meat was very good. You’ll have to read the full review to see how it rates but it was a very good effort for someone relatively new to pie catering! He’s certainly pushed the boat out… or should I say ark?!... and it’s paying dividends!

However the other highlight of the day was coming home to find another package awaiting me – though this time not a pie but a Pieminister pie voucher instead and a Pieminister bandana! No excuse not to look like a Pierateer now! You can buy the Bandanas/Neckerchiefs online on the Pieminister shop whilst you order their pies.

We’ve reviewed plenty of Pieminister pies and you can read their reviews on the Pieminister Pie Reviews page.

Pierateer SJL

 

Pierateer TJP

- Keen to prove that you really can put anything in a pie (see the earlier attempt with the python pie), Pierateer TJP got the pastry out again and knocked up this pie:



If you're more used to putting ice cream on the outside of your pie, why not switch things round and put it inside your pie. This totally delicious ice cream pie will be the talking point of any dinner party, I can assure you.

Pierateer ARL

Pierateer ARL fulfilled her #PiePledge on Day Five by finding a tuna pie in a Eurospar in Spain. See the full review on Pierate upon her return to the UK.

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