The Ship's Cook is making her way through pie recipes from the UK's major supermarkets and this British Pie Week outing is from Aldi. Check back this weekend to see how the Ship's Cook gets on with baking her own British Pierate Pie!

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If my calculations are correct, I must have baked my way around almost half of the UK's major supermarkets by now, and there are still more to come! That's a lot of pies, but never fear readers, because I'm happy to test them out so you don't have to (although I think you should anyway because pies are delicious).

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Aldi’s Crestwood Steak Pie and Steak and Kidney Pie Reviews

We were asked recently on twitter if there were any pies under £1 that we would recommend on the Pierate Ship and while there are some boxes of fruit pies that sprung to mind, I struggled to think of any £1 meat pies I’d had that were worth a recommendation, bar the odd Scotch Pie we bought on visits to Scotland. However that doesn’t mean to say it was impossible! After all, we’re looking to find the perfect pie, and if a meat pie tasted great and cost just £1 then it should be very high up in our Pierate Pie Rankings (which now boast over 500 reviews).

The meat pies I had from Aldi on Day One of British Pie Week were just 99p… so could these be the solution to our cheap but tasty meat pie queries?

Aldi Crestwood Steak Pies Review

In a word… No! Unfortunately while there were a few positives to these pies from Crestwood, overall I did not enjoy eating them and would not consider buying them ever again. They were certainly 99p for a reason!

Aldi Crestwood Steak Pies Review

Steak pie content

The pastry, while reasonable looking on top and edible, didn’t take long to become a chore to eat. The side pastry was almost anaemic looking and not tasty. I was unsure how the side pastry could be so pale in comparison to the darker puff pastry lid. However it was the meat content that most let down these pies, with both being quite filled but having very chewy meat and large pieces of gristle. Unfortunately there was only so much of these pies I could withstand, which is not good news for their pie rating! While I know they were value pies, I struggled to find many positives to these pies, even at just 99p. Perhaps the one positive was that they were just about edible, with a nice enough gravy. Just need to improve on the pastry and meat content!

Aldi’s Crestwood Steak Pie
Aldi’s Crestwood Steak and Kidney Pie
Score: 2.21/7
[Colour 2.5, Capacity 3, Consistency 2, Condition 2.5, Chewiness 1, Cheapness 3.5, Content 1, Total: 2.21/7]
RAS

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#MakeAPicnicAPiecnic

You can find out more about the campaign by visiting our "Make a Picnic a Piecnic" article, but on Sunday 3rd August the campaign became a reality, as we held the World's first ever official Piecnic! So without further ado, here's the short video PIElights for you to enjoy and insPIEre you to have your own piecnic soon!



Of course we'd love to hear from you if you "just added pie" to your picnic and made it a piecnic! Do leave a comment below, tweet us at @pierateers (ideally using #MakeAPicnicAPiecnic) or contact us. We'll happily add photos of other piecnics happening up and down the country, so if you email us then we can give you your 5 seconds of pie fame!

Of course with any production of this nature, it takes a whole group of people to make it happen, so thanks particularly go to our pieduction man ("BH") - yes, he was paid in pies! - and all who starred in the video - particularly our first ever Honourary Pierateer Toby, who kindly took time out of growing his curly hair to be with us (and yes, he did eventually say "PIE!!!!" - Good lad, Toby!)

Thanks also to The Real Pie Company for providing some free pies, to Gill and Helen for providing homemade pies and Rach for bringing a highly sought after Bray’s Cottage Pork Pie all the way from Norfolk!

All it really remains for me to say is: When you're planning your picnics this summer, make a picnic a piecnic and just add pie!!!

Pies at the World's first ever Piecnic!

RAS

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#MakeAPicnicAPiecnic

So on Sunday 3rd August, around 40 members of City Church joined Pierateer RAS as he organised the world’s first ever Piecnic. The visitors to the park were all strongly encouraged to bring a pie or – even better – to bake a homemade pie and bring it to share! So with the rugs set out, the sun shining and pies a plenty on offer – and believe me, there were plenty of pies on offer – the scene was set for a piefect afternoon!

Pies at the World's first ever Piecnic!

Amongst the pie offerings was a Bray’s Cottage Pork Pie, very kindly brought all the way from Norfolk by Rach, which we have pie rated recently and tasted great! This was in fine company with a number of Pat Gorman pork pies from Aldi, a pie from Morrisons, pork pies from Sainsbury’s and one from Higgidy’s!

Higgidy's Chicken and Smoky Spanish Chorizo Pie

But one of the pielights was the Real Pie Company’s Steak and Mushroom pie, which I decided to try cold. With a whole selection sent for us to rate and the label mentioning they could be eaten hot or cold, I decided one of them should be tried at the world’s first ever piecnic. And what a great decision! Packed to capacity, just as it mentioned it would be on the wrapper, it was a delightful pie and I look forward to eating the others this week.

Finally, a huge thank you should be made to Gill and Helen, who both brought along homemade pies to share! In particular Gill made this delightful looking pie, made following the Hairy Biker’s reciPIE for ham, potato and apple pie!

The Hairy Biker's Ham, Potato and Apple Pie

Thanks to everyone who came along, including our first ever Honourary Pierateer Toby, and – while I may be a little pie-ased – it seemed a roaring success well worth repeating! And with a fair bit of filming done while we were at the park, here is our very own #MakeAPicnicAPiecnic promotional video!




RAS

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Aldi Specially Selected Luxury Apple (with Sultanas) Pie Review

When my old uni friend Dan suggested bringing Apple Pie, alongside Christmas Pudding, for our “277 Dawlish” Christmas meal together, my immediate thought was “forget the Christmas Pudding!” But for the good of the non-Pierateers in attendance at the meal, I thought I best not be too pie-ased with my favouritism for pie. (Apparently some people do eat other puddings now and then?!)

Aldi Apple Pie Review

Aldi Specially Selected Luxury Apple (with Sultanas) Pie
Score: 6.05/7
RAS

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