Pierateer Rob is particularly excited at the moment as today marks not only two weeks until his sister Carly gets married to Alex, but he managed to persuade them to have pork pies at the wedding buffet in the evening! The main catch was that he'd have to pay for them himself... but that's alright for a once in a lifetime op-pie-tunity! He's therefore delighted to say he has commissioned two "wedding pies" - yep, they're a thing! - to be made by Bray's Cottage for the big day on Saturday 4th June!



The individual Bray's Cottage Pork Pie we rated previously

Rob was therefore left drooling at the slightly teasing photo below that Sarah, owner of Bray's Cottage with the quite apt www.perfectpie.co.uk web address, uploaded to twitter the other day. It was in fact a pie made for a different wedding, but it certainly made him want to lick his phone screen! (Disclaimer: Rob didn't actually lick his phone screen!)

The 14" wedding pork pie, chilled and about to be wrapped. Mediums in the background. #veryverynear #farfaraway pic.twitter.com/G0BQICwCay

— Sarah Pettegree (@Brays_Cottage) May 19, 2016

Sarah, who has appeared on TV with Heston Blumenthal on a show about pies (and only went and made the news in the "Thetford and Brandon Times" online newspaper about it!!!) and been in countless pie articles in newspapers and magazines (like the Guardian), really is passionate about making top quality pies and the pork pies we've tried of hers have been some of the best we've had. Check out the review Sam did previously, where it was really only the cost of the pie that brought the average down a bit but still it pie rated very highly! Of course, you often only get top quality food when you're willing to part with your cash and we are very excited to sample the wedding pie in two weeks time!

Until then, Rob best start finish the little speech he's writing for the wedding, which ***SPOILER ALERT*** may possibly mention the word "pie" in it...

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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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#MakeAPicnicAPiecnic

The Pierateers enjoying an ASDA apple pie at a Piecnic

Bray's Cottage Pork Pie - a great piecnic option!

So when you’re reaching into the fridge for some picnic goodies, just add a pork pie to your hamper. Or if you’d rather something sweet than containing meat, just grab a box of fruit pies to sweeten the meal. It really is that simple! So simple in fact that we’ve boiled it down to two, easy-to-follow steps:

1) Add pie to your picnic
2) You now have a piecnic

All that leaves me to say is – why wouldn’t you?! Enjoy the sunshine this summer and make your picnic a piecnic. Just add pie!

Why not rate your pie at the Piecnic?!

Here’s some pie companies that have got on board:

The Real Pie Company are encouraging you to have a fruit pie as part of your piecnic:

It's a glorious day today.. Having a picnic, so why not try some of our scrumptious Fruit Pies. Buy them for yourself or loved ones
— The Real Pie Co (@TheRealPieComp) July 26, 2014

Sarah from Bray's Cottage regularly tweets about piecnics (or "pignics" - but let's face it, we'd rather have pie in the title ;-) )

“@PaulEele: The best pork pie EVER!! :-) @Brays_Cottage” < How kind! :) x #pignic
— Sarah Pettegree (@Brays_Cottage) June 8, 2014

Here's Chunk of Devon PIEmoting their pies for your picnic!

Our Award winning Pork Pie for your perfect picnic! Look out for our Pie Van! @pierateers #MakeAPicnicAPiecnic pic.twitter.com/ts0MpyuEJF
— Chunk of Devon (@Chunk_of_Devon) July 28, 2014

RAS

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Brompton Food Market - Bray's Cottage Pork Pie Review

Food delis tend to be pretty upmarket but Brompton Food Market in affluent South Kensington is one of the most posh. We love to try a broad range of pies, some cheaper, some more expensive as you never know which are going to be the best value for money. I thought I simply had to try one of the pork pies on offer at Brompton Food Market, at £3.50 for a small pie I was expecting something good. There were a few variations on offer but I decided to go for the standard pork pie. They said they are made by a company called Bray's Cottage. See below for a breakdown of the score.


Condition – 6.5 out of 7 – Very nice indeed, a lovely zigzag pattern around the top and some odd holes which look like air vents but aren’t. There wasn’t much that could be improved in the condition. I don’t often say this for a cold pie but this pie had a lovely, spicy aroma.

Colour – 6.8 out of 7 – I really liked the glossy golden colour to this one. There was nice variation in the glazing which made it look handmade (but I don’t know if it was) and there was some evidence on the outside as to the juicy filling on the inside.

Cheapness – 3.0 out of 7 – For an individual sized pork pie this just wasn’t cheap at all but you do get what you pay for. This is good quality pork.

Capacity – 5.8 out of 7 – The pie was quite tall so the capacity was large for its size. It was completely full of content.

Chewiness – 6.4 out of 7 – There was a great texture to this pie, only one tiny chewy piece. The pastry was softer than many pork pies but still had a really satisfying crunch to the outside. The filling was granular and not at all mushy. This pie didn't seem to have any jelly but was still very moist.

Content – 5.9 out of 7 – This pie was filled with proper grey pork meat rather than cured pork, in a similar way to a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie. Although, there did also seem to be some pink bits to it which I now realise is because they mix in some smoked bacon! This is a nice touch and makes this pie stand out. The pork had some of the best flavour I have ever had in a pork pie. I was however expecting it to have a bit more spice to it. Maybe it is because they didn’t want to hide the flavour of the meat but for me, I like a bit more of a peppery taste. There was a really great flavour to the pastry. I am not sure what they used to glaze it but there was almost a sweetness to the taste which I loved.

Consistency – 6.5 out of 7 – This really worked well as a package, in many departments I would say this would be my ultimate pork pie.


Overall, a really very good pie from Brompton Food Market. However, for £3.50 it seemed a bit much, for me it is hard for any individual pork pie to justify such a price, no matter how good it is. I would expect the best I have ever tasted. In fact, it almost was the best I have ever tasted so not a bad effort. The seasoning is probably a personal preference anyway. If you can find these pies sold elsewhere, perhaps a bit cheaper, then they are well worth a try.

Pork Pie (Brompton Food Market/Bray’s Cottage)
Score: 5.84/7
SJL

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