Nice Pie Lamb, Beef and Chicken Pie Reviews

As we said last year when we last sampled some of the "Nice Pie" range, one of the challenges for a Pierateer in British Pie Week is how to fit in all the pies you want to eat and rate - and then having time to write up all the reviews after! That's my poor excuse for why it has taken a while to write up our reviews of the three brilliant Nice Pie flavours we enjoyed in Leeds on Day Six of British Pie Week 2017, but here they are!


Nice Pie Beef Pie

Long term fans of Pierate will know Nice Pie have produced countless Pierate Highly Recommended and Pierate Recommended pies - including, but not limited to, their kangaroo, zebra, wild squirrel and crocodile exotic pies - in fact, see the table of past Nice Pies here! The pies we had this time were some more from the traditional menu - the Slow Cooked Lamb and Mint pie, Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom pie and Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone pie.

All three were new to us, but had all had a strong showing at the recent British Pie Awards. The Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone pie won the "Beef and any flavour" Class and the Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom pie won the "Chicken and other meat" class, while the lamb pie had got a gold award (90%+). These are award winning pies!!!

As we've mentioned in a number of Nice Pie reviews before, it was the filling that really stood out in these pies, absolutely bursting with meaty chunks that were so tender and flavoursome. It really amazes me how they can pack so much meat into these pies, as the capacity is always so full to the brim! The only slight downside is that with so much meat in there it can mean the pastry struggles to hold all the filling in, especially if you try to eat it by hand as I did. This is however a very small criticism as the main thing is to have a packed, flavoursome pie filling and this pie certainly provides that, especially complimenting the crisp butter shortcrust pastry that Nice Pie are renowned for!

Nice Pie Lamb Pie

Out of the three pies, I personally preferred the Lamb and Mint Pie and thought that stood out amongst other lamb pies I've had. Unlike many lamb and mint pies which are absolutely smothered in mint and lacking in meat, this was a perfectly balanced flavour and full of tender meat. The lamb easily shredded when the knife cut through it due to it being slow cooked, so while the pieces of meat were quite large it did not feel too big. I could have happily kept eating this pie all night!

Nice Pie Beef Pie Review

The Beef pie was also very nice, with thick rich gravy complementing the tender chunks of meat and bit of veg. I personally think the gravy wasn't quite my cup of tea compared to some of the red wine or ale gravy's I have had in other Nice Pie's or other pies lately - perhaps a result of the bone marrow - but at the same time I still enjoyed the pie and it does add a slightly different taste to the content. It balanced well with the crisp, golden pastry and I'd still happily eat another (there are just so many good Steak/Beef Nice Pies to choose from!!!)

Nice Pie Chicken Pie Review

The chicken pie was again packed with meat and although the pastry was a little flaky it still managed to hold in all the content well! The sauce was very nice and complimented the meat flavour well, and once again we struggled to fault much as it was a very good filling! A traditional flavour done well!


Once again Nice Pie have done us proud, producing two more Pierate Recommended pies AND a Pierate Highly Recommended pie! It's an absolute credit to Katharine and all who work at this small pie company that they are able to churn out top rated pie after top rated pie, and it's been great to hear about the success of their on-site Pie Shop and Cafe too! We hope to visit it one day soon!


Nice Pie Slow Cooked Lamb and Mint Pie
Score: 6.18/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 6.25/7; Cheapness 5.75/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6.75/7; Capacity 6.75/7]

Nice Pie Beef in Red Wine and Roasted Marrow Bone Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 5.75/7; Cheapness 5.5/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.25/7]

Nice Pie Chicken, Gammon and Mushroom Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.75/7; Consistency 5.75/7; Cheapness 5.5/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.25/7]

RAS

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Lewis Pies “Wilfreds Pie Range” Reviews

One of the delights of British Pie Week is getting a whole host of pie deliveries throughout the course of the week, and I was eagerly looking forward to the delivery of the new premium range of Lewis Pies, known as the “Wilfreds Pie Range”. Based in Swansea, Lewis Pies are one of the largest pie manufacturers in the UK with over 100 full time staff and have been trading for 80 years now. They have found the Fiery Chicken (Cajun Chicken and Collier’s Welsh Cheese) and Saucy Cow (Steak and Gower Ale) are their best sellers but how would they all rate on the 7 Cs of pie rating?



Wilfreds Pie Review

Firstly an overall impression of the pies. Upon opening the box I was delighted to see a nice range of flavours and local welsh ingredients being used in the pies, including welsh cheese and Gower ale. They’re made with hot water crust pastry, which makes them stand out from the typical shortcrust and puff pastry used in a lot of pies. It was in general a nice pastry to eat, a little thick in places for the size of pie but holding together well and easily hand held. There was naturally some crumbling when cut through but this is to be expected from a crisper pastry casing.

It’s also worth noting that while the pies retail individually at between £2 and £2.50 at the various butchers and cafes they are sold at, you can get the box of 6 pies for just £7.50, which means an incredible £1.25 per pie! Bargain!

It was noticeable from all the pies that they weren’t as big and packed with filling as I’d hoped, which meant there wasn’t the perfect filling:pastry ratio I’d love to have. However considering the price of these pies I couldn’t expect much more filling in them to still be financially viable as a business! For a premium range I would personally prefer to pay a bit more for the pies and get them a bit better filled, like the majority of our highest rated pies on Pierate. But for the price they are retailing at, they are a very good option.

There are six new pies in the Wilfreds pie range, which I’ll be splitting over a couple of reviews. The first few I tried were the lamb, steak and potato and chicken and vegetable pies:



Wilfreds Lamb Pie Review

The Lamb of my Fathers
(Welsh Lamb and vegetables with mint, faggots and a dash of local laverbread)

The filling in this pie was nice, with a good tender lamb filling and complimentary gravy, lightly minted rather than being particularly strong, however I was surprised at the lack of any noticeable vegetable. While the veg in the chicken pie was clear and apparent, it wasn’t so much in the lamb pie. With most lamb pies being quite strongly flavoured with mint (some over-minted to their detriment!) they have perhaps been a little too cautious with their flavouring to the point of it not being quite noticeable enough, particularly with one of the two lamb pies I had not being very minty at all. A bit more lamb and boost of flavour from the other ingredients would promote this pie even more but I’d still recommend it.

Score: 5.82/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5.75/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5.75/7; Capacity 5.25/7]



Wilfreds Meat and Potato Pie Review

The Steak and Tatws
(Tender pieces of Welsh Beef Steak in a rich gravy with chunks of British Potatoes)

The meat in the steak and potato pie was very nice and tender, complimenting the delicious potato and gravy content and working well with the crisp hot water crust pastry. The potato couldn’t have been more spot on – neither mushy and indiscernible or too hard and chunky. It was just right! The main downside was a slight lack of meat and potato filling, which would have made the filling:pastry ratio ideal. My favourite of the three and would certainly enjoy again.

Score: 5.89/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5.75/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6.25/7; Capacity 5.25/7]



Wilfreds Chicken and Vegetable Pie Review

The Clucking Valleys
(Succulent British chicken and vegetables in gravy)

The chicken was lovely and tender in this pie and the vegetables – peas and carrots – added a nice texture and flavour to the mix. While I quite enjoyed the gravy it was slightly over seasoned, dominating the flavour somewhat but providing a nice moist pie filling. Once again the pie could have done with a bit more filling to balance out the crisp hot water pastry casing but in all another pie I’d recommend.

Score: 5.82/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5.75/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5.75/7; Capacity 5.25/7]


Overall, while at the time I was eating them I admit I was slightly disappointed with the lack of content (especially compared to some of the other pies I’d had recently that were packed to the lid) to subsequently find out these pies can be bought for just £1.25 each in a box of six has made me more sympathetic to their slight lack of filling. As said earlier, I’d personally rather pay nearer £3 for a premium pie and get it packed with filling but overall and for the price they are sold at this is a very impressive new range from Lewis Pies, with 3 more reviews to come. Thanks for sending them!

RAS

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The Botanist Birmingham Steak and Stout and Lamb Hotpot Pie Reviews

Living in the UK’s second city, I sometimes take for granted how many great pies I have on my doorstep in Birmingham. Sure, it’s never going to match London for the number of pie shops – especially with a lack of Traditional London Pie and Mash shops! - but there are certainly more than a fair share of pie pubs in Birmingham! And one new pie provider on the market in Birmingham is The Botanist.

The Botanist Steak and Stout Pie Review

Opened in March 2015, The Botanist has already become a top spot for the trendy young professionals of Britain’s Second City. Following a £1.2million refit of Cheltenham House on Temple Street in the City Centre, the Botanist boasts a wide range of “home comforts” – which of course makes it no surprise that they have a range of pies on the menu. Four, in fact, when I visited this weekend just gone.

Having already tried the Lamb Hotpot pie a few months back when The Botanist had only recently opened, a mash-topped pie review I will get to shortly, I returned again on Sunday and had a much more enjoyable ex-pie-rience in the form of a fully encased Steak and Stout pie.

It is worth noting that The Botanist is one of the most beautifully decorated restaurant venues I have ever eaten in, especially in Birmingham. It’s really clear how much thought and time has been put into the small details here, all keeping brilliantly to the flowery theme. Drinks served in watering cans and flower pots, plus starters served in trowels, give an indication of the quirky attention to detail put into the décor and the live music is another of the many things going right for the place. They've clearly planted a great idea and it’s now blooming.

The Botanist Kitchen - Where the magic happens!

The Botanist Steak and Stout Pie Review

I must however confess therefore that while I did enjoy the Steak and Stout pie at The Botanist, it did struggle to live up to the high standard set by the décor and friendly staff. The pie came out on a flowery plate and was well presented, but it was rather pale and the pastry crumbled quite easily upon cutting. Opening the pie up, the capacity was quite limited – approximately half filled – and by the end of the meal there was definitely a poor filling:pastry ratio, with a reasonable amount of left over pastry.

It was a shame really, because the filling itself was quite nice. The meat was lovely and flavoursome – even if I have preferred some other steak and ale pies to this stout filling – and I was therefore longing for a more meatilicious content to the pie! It was quite consistent throughout, with very little padding out. I would therefore happily eat this pie again, but would want a meatier filling for piefection. At £10.95 for the pie meal of pie, chips, mushy peas and gravy this was quite a reasonable price for the meal in lovely city centre locale but I have had better value restaurant pies for the price.

The Botanist Birmingham Steak and Stout Pie
Score: 4.5/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 4, Consistency 5, Condition 5, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 4, Content 4, Total: 4.5/7]

The Botanist Lamb Hotpot Pie Review

The Lamb Hotpot Pie was eaten a few months ago with pie friends Caroline and Justin. However there was an unfortunate mix up with the waiter, because even though I had checked with him all the pies were fully encased (having had a hunch this lamb hotpot pie might have a more potato bias) I was assured they were and yet was still presented with a mash-topped Lamb Hotpot pie! Lesson learnt: Always trust your pie instinct!!!

It cannot however take away from the fact it was a very nice meal, even if I again thought the pie was a bit lacking in meaty content. The lamb however was very nice and the flavours of the pie worked well together. It cannot however compare in capacity and condition to a fully encased pie offering, meaning although this was a nice meal, it was not really a proper pie. There was also too much potato in this meal, with the very nice chips adding to the potato topping the pie to be a bit of a carb overload. There was also a lack of gravy in the pie, so while it was moist it could have been a little more gravy focused. Once again I would eat this meal a second time, but would not call it a pie!

The Botanist Birmingham Lamb Hotpot Pie
Score: 3.71/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 3, Consistency 4, Condition 3, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 3, Content 3.5, Total: 3.71/7]


All in all, I have to say that The Botanist is a lovely place to visit and eat in – somewhere I hope to visit many more times in the future. It does sell some decent pies, though they perhaps aren’t the pie-light of the menu and staff perhaps need to do a bit more digging around if they are going to plant an award-winning pie we would highly recommend! Just goes to show how hard it can be trying to reach piefection!

RAS

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Pieminister Minty Lamb Pie Review

You may well have read that on Day Three of British Pie Week we got a pie delivery from Pieminister pies. The Bristol based pie firm had done a Pie Election in the lead up to British Pie Week 2015 in a bid to let pie fans nationwide decide which Pieminister pie they would like to see back on sale at the Pieminister pie stalls and selected Pieminister selling restaurants across the UK.

Pieminister Pie Delivery!

Many votes were cast and the top three pies were:

1) Minty Lamb
2) Thai Chook
3) Arriba Banditos

These are available in many Pieminister-selling pubs and restaurants and market stalls for British Pie Week only, so get on down and reminisce about the good old times with these pies! We're going to be rating all three, starting with your number 1 choice - Minty Lamb!

The pie looked in great condition and at £3.50 for a cold pie from their website it is reasonably priced for a quality British pie made using British meat and quality ingredients. Golden in colour, the pie pastry was nice and crispy on top, really nice and melt in your mouth upon eating. It certainly added a good crunch to the pie experience, and the side and base pastry were lovely and crisp too.

Pieminister Minty Lamb Pie Review

The content of the pie was just as good. The pie had a very good viscosity of gravy, not leaking about all over the plate but noticeably there. It complimented the crisp, but flaky pastry. There was quite a bit of veg in there but I was surprised to find there was only 26% lamb in there, as it was certainly a meaty pie and I was not left bemoaning a drastic lack of lamb! A little more meat would have made this pie ideal but it was very good and gave you some of your 5-a-day veg to boot!

The minty flavour was a little strong at times for me, but it does do exactly what it says on the box so I can hardly criticise them for that! I'd certainly love to have another one of these Minty Lamb pies and delighted they brought them back. It's Pierate Highly Recommended!

All in all, it was great to have another Pieminister pie and a real shame that this pie was only going to be available in the short term. They are a fine example of a local pie chain going global and set a benchmark for many of the smaller pie firms we have rated to as-pie-re to!

Pieminister Minty Lamb Pie
Score: 6.2/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 6.4, Condition 6.5, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 5.75, Content 6.25, Total: 6.2/7]
RAS

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Piebury Corner - Steak and Ale and Chicken Balti Pie Reviews

There is a corner of Highbury and Islington devoted to pies, one that you may have heard of before because they are loved by our very own Pierateer RAS, who has reviewed a number of their pies, putting a couple of them right near the top of our pie rankings. I was delighted to finally get my hands on some of these pies which come so highly regarded, so of course I had to get a few!

I got a Lamb and Veg ("Ian Wright") because this had been reviewed highly by Mr RAS. I also got a couple of pies not yet in our pie rankings, a Steak and Ale ("Tony Adams") and a Chicken Balti ("Lee Dixon"). After refusing gravy on my pie (as I wanted to experience it in the purest form) they kindly gave me a separate pot of gravy. Sadly this backfired as I suffered a gravy explosion all over my take away pies and the bag, a bit of a nightmare, but my fault for taking the pies away on my bike. That aside, Piebury Corner seemed like a lovely little place and I was very impressed by the large array of pies on offer.


These pies were all the same shape and had the same pastry so I have some general comments which apply to them all. I can see why RAS likes them so much, the pastry in particular was the kind of pastry that exemplifies what I look for in pie pastry. It was crisp on the outside but soft and gooey in the middle. It also held together really well because it was fairly thick which meant it could be eaten with your hands if desired. The pastry also tasted very nice on its own. They were all well presented with some decorative pastry features and a nice colour. The pies were completely packed with filling but with only a small amount of boil out. I think this was achieved because there wasn’t much sauce in general. However, for me there was a downside, these pies were just too shallow for my liking. They didn’t look like what I imagine the perfect pie to look like. They were quite shallow and this combined with the thick pastry meant I thought they were a bit ‘pastry heavy’ and missed the ideal pastry to filling ratio. They were also a little bit small and I could have quite easily eaten more than one in one meal (but I do really love pies). But don’t let this put you off trying these pies, they are great, I would much rather have a pie which has a smaller capacity which is packed with content than one with an airgap. It is also nice to have a smaller pie of better quality, more isn’t always more fulfilling as I have found before… They were £3.50 cold or £4.80 hot, although the prices do vary with some of the other pies. The addition of roasties for a couple of quid more was welcome.

Lamb and Veg - The "Ian Wright"

There was a great lamb flavour from this pie and plenty of pieces of meat. The veg seemed to mainly just be carrot but it was very nice and it wasn’t overcooked, which is difficult in a pie. Overall this really was delicious. See the full review by RAS.

Steak and Ale - The "Tony Adams"

Condition – 5.8 out of 7 – Nicely presented although some boil out.

Colour – 6.5 out of 7 – A pretty darn good golden brown.

Cheapness – 4.5 out of 7 – The price was comparable to other gourmet pie companies in London such as Battersea Pie Station and Square Pie. I couldn’t help feeling though that these pies were a little small.

Capacity – 4.5 out of 7 – Quite a small capacity but it was well filled.

Chewiness – 6.9 out of 7 – A fabulous texture throughout the pie.

Content – 6.7 out of 7 – It didn’t do anything special with the flavours but it did capture the Steak and Ale taste perfectly. There were nice meaty chunks to sink my teeth into. Some great seasoning.

Consistency – 6.5 out of 7 – This pie was very, very easy to eat (although it was all gone too soon, I forgot to take a photo until I had nearly eaten it all). A little more gravy would have been nice but it was still lovely and moist.

Piebury Corner Steak and Ale "Tony Adams" Pie
Score: 5.91/7

Chicken Balti - The "Lee Dixon"

Condition – 6.0 out of 7 – Nicely presented.

Colour – 6.5 out of 7 – A pretty darn good golden brown.

Cheapness – 4.5 out of 7 – Same as Steak & Guinness

Capacity – 4.5 out of 7 – Quite a small capacity but it was well filled.

Chewiness – 5.8 out of 7 – A fabulous texture throughout the pie. The chicken was chunky and fibrous.

Content – 3.5 out of 7 – On my first bite I thought this was going to be really nice, the flavours were proper curry spices, not generic curry sauce as many curry pies have. However, after eating a bit more I found the whole thing very bland, there wasn’t enough spice for me, it wasn’t hot at all. I am not sure whether my pie was just lacking any sauce as it was almost entirely taken up by pieces of chicken. This may have been where the problem was.

Consistency – 3.5 out of 7 – This pie was again very easy to eat but didn’t really quite work holistically, there needed to be a bit of sauce to give it the consistency I would expect from a Balti pie which normally have plenty of sauce, like a Balti curry does.

Piebury Corner Chicken Balti "Lee Dixon" Pie
Score: 4.90/7


SJL 

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Well there we have it. British Pie week has come and gone, a LOT of pies have been eaten and almost as many #PiePledges have been fulfilled. As you might remember from my last post, my #PiePledge was to attempt hot water crust pastry for the first time – something I was a bit nervous about. Luckily I managed to overcome my pastry fears and bake a truly ginormous hot water crust pie, and it wasn’t as tricky as I’d expected!

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Pies reviewed from Molesworths of Henleaze live on BCfm Radio

Recorded on 26th February with British Pie Week just days away, it was no surprise that BCfm were champing at the bit to get a Piefessional on the air waves! Or more precisely, chomping on the pies! For with Pierateer RAS signed up to feature for an hour on the award winning local radio station in Bristol, presenters Catherine and Alex had lined up local Butcher Peter Molseworth to bring in some of his pies for a live pie rating!




Peter of Molesworth of Henleaze informed us that pie is at the heart of their business – and quite literally the heart of their Butcher’s shop logo! – with a pie surrounded by wild animals. One wonders why those animals aren’t in the pie too but there certainly was plenty of animal in the pies we rated! One of the advantages of eating a butcher’s pies is that the meat comes straight from the animal, into the pastry and into your hands!

We sampled 4 pies in the BCfm studio and started with the Lamb and Leek pie. This was an individual pie for just £1.40. While slightly small for an individual like myself, I thought this was an excellent price for the size of pie. This pie therefore scores very well on cheapness, as the pie contents was some very tender lamb meat. It could have been slightly more full, but let’s not forget lamb isn’t the cheapest meat and you get quality meat in this pie. The leek flavoured the pie but certainly didn’t leave you feeling lacking in meat content. The gravy was nice, a little runny but flavoursome, and the pie was a good golden colour. The pastry was good – not too thick but held together well. If being picky it could have been a bit crisper but all together a very enjoyable pie.

Molesworths of Henleaze Lamb and Leak Pie
Score: 6.11/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 5.5, Consistency 6, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 6.75, Content 6.25, Total: 6.11/7]

Molesworths of Henleaze Lamb and Leak Pie

The Steak and Gravy pie was even more packed full of meat than the lamb pie! Again great quality meat and a lovely gravy, this was my favourite of them all. £1.40 is a bargain for this pie – I’d definitely buy two for my dinner and still only be paying £2.80! Amazing! The steak was lovely and tender and the gravy was good too. Surrounded in a light pastry, this was another very good pie and just meatilicious content to sink your teeth into.

Molesworths of Henleaze Steak and Gravy Pie
Score: 6.29/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 6.25, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 6.75, Content 6.5, Total: 6.29/7]

The Celtic Mowbray Pork Pie (made in the style of a Melton Mowbray pork pie but not able to be called this due to not being produced in the right geographical area) was a very nice pork pie. There was plenty of good quality pork meat in the pie, which was well flavoured with sage, salt and pepper. There was quite a bit of jelly present, to keep the filling of the pie moist. This did mean the crust wasn’t quite as firm as I may have liked and it did crumble slightly, but the meat in the middle was very good quality. At £2.99 for a decent sized pork pie, this is quite comparable to supermarket prices but all handmade on site by the Butchers.

Molesworths of Henleaze Celtic Mowbray Pork Pie
Score: 5.89/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6, Consistency 6, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 6, Content 6.25, Total: 5.89/7]

Finally, the Game Pie was a cold, picnic pie very similar to a pork pie in nature but containing an incredible array of animals! The highlights are the Partridge and Pheasant, shot and prepared by the Butchers themselves. However this pie also contains pork, chicken, ham, red wine to marinade it, juniper berries, cranberries and Bristol Five Spice. This pie really does have a great array of flavours within the pie and while there is a mix of meat, sweet and spice with the berries and five spice, it is a very good flavour.

Molesworths of Henleaze Game Pie

I guess the challenge of a pie like this is that there is so much going on flavour-wise that it can be a bit harder to sample and enjoy all the meat flavours, but the pie is well layered, with quite a bit of jelly to keep it moist. It does crumble a bit when cutting and with quite a light, fluid jelly layer (compared to some pork pies that have a more solid jelly layer) the cut up pieces don’t always hold together perfectly (but that’s an issue with using jelly, not the butchers!) At £5.99 for a decent sized pie with game in, I think this is quite reasonable. I would probably see it particularly as a special occasion pie to enjoy.

Molesworths of Henleaze Game Pie
Score: 5.64/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6, Consistency 5.5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Total: 5.64/7]

All in all, great meat and top pies from Molesworths of Henleaze, Bristol. Two Pierate Recommended and two Pierate Highly Recommended pies! Great work!

RAS

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Chicken, Gammon and Leek and Thyme crust pie and Lamb, Rosemary and Garlic Potato and Honey pie from Lovett Pies

It has to be said we can get a bit passionate about our pies – even if we do sometimes struggle to match Keegan at his best! And it’s great to find local pie producers who are passionate about their pies too. Lovett Pies in Bath are a fine example of top artisan pie making and you can read more a more detailed introduction to them in our initial review of their pies. And with strong recommendations following the Lovett pies Pierateer SJL had already rated, and a couple of them frozen and saved for a joint review between Pierateers SJL and RAS, it was time to give the final two flavours a rating.

The pies of choice were the Chicken, Gammon and Leek and Thyme crust and the Lamb, Rosemary and Garlic Potato and Honey. It must be noted that having been frozen this did seem to adversely affect the flavour slightly, with the content being a bit drier compared to the other pies that Pierateer SJL ate both hot and cold. However with that considered in the scoring, these pies were still very much appreciated. You could tell the handcrafted nature of these pies and that a lot of thought had been put into the flavouring and quality of ingredients.

Chicken, Gammon and Leek and Thyme crust

The Lovett pies follow a fine tradition of being filled with plenty of meat and this chicken, gammon and leek pie was no exception. It was very meaty and there was a good mix. The content was reasonably moist and the stuffing had an interesting flavour to it which complimented the meat filling. The more unusual addition of a thyme crust added additional flavouring to compliment the pastry, with the thyme layer sitting just below the top pastry lid.

The pastry was quite crisp and held together well, flaking nicely but keeping the shape of the pie. While not the biggest pie for £3.50, it was certainly full of meat and the Thyme certainly added to the flavouring. Well worth having again.

Chicken, Gammon and Leek and Thyme crust pie
Score: 5.43/7

Lamb, Rosemary and Garlic Potato and Honey

Once again what immediately struck Pierateer RAS – rating Lovett pies for the first time – was the great capacity for a small pie. This meant that what it lacked in size it certainly made up for in filling, with a very strong capacity to the pie. The lamb was really lovely, very light and tender and delightful to eat. However while the capacity was strong, there was a fair bit of potato present and it felt like this was padding the pie out slightly.

We Pierateers do like our meat pies to be really meaty, so whilst the potato, rosemary and honey added to the pie and made it taste a bit more unique, these ingredients would need to make a bigger impact in terms of being more flavoursome to really warrant their place in this pie. The pastry was nice and flaky, but with not much gravy in the pie it also felt a bit dry in places. A good pie but could be tweaked slightly to make it even more highly rated.

Lamb, Rosemary and Garlic Potato and Honey pie
Score: 5.36/7

So with two more Lovett pies earning the “Pierate Recommended” status, we can certainly say that we would Lovett if we eat more of them. And we will certainly keep our eyes peeled for any new, creative flavours they produce.

RAS and SJL

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Morecambe Football Club - Pie Reviews

In this review we rate the 'Steak & Ale', 'Chicken, Ham & Leak', 'Lamb & Mint' and 'Meat & Potato' pies. We have also reviewed the Apple pie which was the Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards 2014. A second visit in October 2014 gave us the chance to review the Pork, Irn-Bru & Chilli pie which was quite a unusual flavour! Read on below for the original review

Way back in the mist of time we reviewed a Potts Pie because they were rated as the number one football pie (served at Morecambe Football Club) by the man who ate all the football pies, Tom Dickinson. This was in fact our first ever pie review on Pierate. Shortly after this review Morecambe got a new head chef, Graham Aimson, who took the brave decision to replace Potts Pies with his own homemade pies in the hospitably suite at Morecambe. These pies were so popular they soon rolled them out over the whole ground. Given that we have now reviewed over 300 pies we thought it was about time The Pierateers paid another visit to see how these new pies fared!

The decision to serve their own pies has paid off with Morecambe FC winning the Best Football Pie award at the British Pie Awards 2012 for their Steak and Ale and the Supreme Champion award at the British Pie Awards 2011 for their Chicken, Ham and Leek. They have continued to have plenty of success and publicity since then, winning further awards and appearing on a number of TV programmes such as The Hairy Bikers. The expectations were already high before even eating the pies!


Pierateers RAS and SJL were treated to a pie tasting session before the Morecambe vs. Wycombe game at The Globe Arena. This involved a selection of all four pies that they were selling that day. There were mushy peas and gravy on the side, which is the tradition at the ground, but the Pierateers went for the pure pie experience given that there were so many pies to eat! Everyone at Morecambe was really excellent in putting in the extra effort to make The Pierateers feel welcome. All the people involved were friendly and there was plenty of interest in our pie reviewing. The staff at Morecambe even carried out our first video interview, with the Pierateers in the Kit Room!

The pies arrived in fantastically perfect Condition considering that they were handmade. There was a little boil out with some of them but only enough to indicate that the inside promised to be packed with content. We were fortunate as we were so close to the kitchen these were some very fresh pies! They were all a lovely golden brown Colour. These pies were quite tall which gave them a good filling to pastry ratio and a large Capacity. Despite being tall they had a good structural rigidity which meant they held together well. The pie plus peas and gravy costs £2.80 which we thought was superb value for inside a football ground, especially given that the pies are made on the premises with quality ingredients.

The (pie) teamsheet for Morecambe FC...

For all these pies the pastry was a shortcrust. It looked like it might be hard but it in reality it was quite soft and thin. There was a bit of crunch around the rim which added to the texture of the pie. It wasn’t dry and didn’t need the optional gravy jug, it was nice enough to eat the pastry by itself. Pierateer SJL felt the pastry was nearly spot on although Pierateer RAS would have liked it just a tad lighter but still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The four different pies are now scored below in reverse order:

Meat and Potato 

This pie might be the lowest scoring but it was still a pie that The Pierateers would recommend. The filling was as you would expect with a traditional meat and potato pie, minced beef with soft pieces of potato. The softness of the filling meant chewing was not really necessary and it slipped down well. However, this by no means meant the filling was mushy, there was still some firmness to the potato. There was a nice meatiness to it, a bit of pepperiness. We would, for our ideal pie, want something a bit more to bite into which is where it lost some score. However, this still makes it the highest scoring meat and potato pie we have reviewed.

Morecambe FC Meat and Potato Pie
Score: 5.86/7
[Colour 6, Condition 6.63, Cheapness 6.75, Capacity 5.75, Consistency 5.25, Chewiness 5.5, Content 5.13, Total 5.86/7]



Morecambe FC Meat and Potato Pie

Lamb and Mint

There was plenty of lamb in the pie and it tasted of good quality, in nice big meaty chunks. The addition of some root vegetables was welcome. This really added to the texture of the pie. This lamb pie did do something unusual compared to many others we have reviewed as it contained mint sauce gravy. It tasted a bit sharp because of the vinegar and hence may not be to everyone’s liking. The sauce was also a little thinner than the others.

Morecambe FC Lamb and Mint Pie
Score: 5.91/7
[Colour 6, Condition 6.63, Cheapness 6.75, Capacity 5.75, Consistency 5, Chewiness 5.5, Content 5.75, Total 5.91/7]

Morecambe FC Lamb and Mint Pie

Chicken, Ham and Leek 

This was one The Pierateers were especially excited about because many people had said it was their favourite. The pie filling seemed really meaty with a rich chicken taste. The Pierateers noted that the ham flavour wasn’t particularly strong in this pie although this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The leek added plenty of flavour and the pie certainly tasted homemade. The chicken was fibrous and clearly of good quality. There was a good balance of flavour with the leek leaving it anything but bland but not being overpowering. One thing that stopped it being The Pierateers' favourite was the fact that the sauce was fairly thin-ish. It seems that this may have been because a lot of pies had to be cooked quickly because the game was in doubt due to the weather.

Morecambe FC Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie
Score: 6.16/7
[Colour 6, Condition 6.63, Cheapness 6.75, Capacity 5.88, Consistency 6, Chewiness 5.38, Content 6.5, Total 6.16/7]



Morecambe FC Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

Steak and Ale

Here it is, the Supreme Champion of the Morecambe Pierate Awards 2014, the Morecambe FC Steak and Ale! Both SJL and RAS were in agreement that this was their favourite pie. This was not just a Steak and Ale with a deep meaty taste. It had more flavours to it than that. The Pierateers suspected that it had tomato in it and chef Graham confirmed this to be true. There seemed to be other additions too which meant it really did stand out as different to other Steak and Ale pies. There were nice big chunks of Steak with plenty of sauce which was thicker than that with the Chicken, Ham and Leek. A pie which left you wanting more but not through lack of size.

Morecambe FC Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 6.34/7
[Colour 6, Condition 6.63, Cheapness 6.75, Capacity 5.88, Consistency 6.5, Chewiness 6, Content 6.63, Total 6.34/7]



Morecambe FC Steak and Ale Pie

Overall, a real set of winners for Morecambe even if they couldn't get the win on the pitch, coming from behind to draw with Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 in a game which suffered from the muddy pitch. These scores see the Lamb and Mint and the Meat and Potato gain Pierate 'Recommended' status, while the Chicken, Ham and Leek and Steak and Ale gain the highly sort after Pierate 'Highly Recommended' status.

At half time the Pierateers were delighted to find there was even a separate Apple pie waiting for them!

It stands out that Graham is a high class restaurant chef. He is not just making pies by numbers, they are well thought out pies which are anything but average. There is no question that these are the best pies we have ever eaten at a football ground, just have a look at our football pie league. It isn't much of a suprise in some ways, we have been to very few grounds where they make the pies within the stadium kitchen itself. As usual, quality ingredients, an eye for detail and a labour intensive process mean that these pies are head and shoulders above the reheated, mass produced pies normally sold at football matches. We all know pies and football are a match made in heaven, but with pies that taste this homemade The Globe Arena should be the football ground where even the away fans feel at home.

Thanks again to Mike, Head Chef Graham and everyone at Morecambe Football Club for such a great day.

SJL and RAS

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