Just three weeks prior to Pierateer RAS's big day, getting married to his fiancee Andrea, the Pierateers RAS, SJL and TJP all set sail on the Pierate Ship to Cardiff, along with a motley crew of fellow Pierateers, for Pierateer RAS's stag do. While lots of fun was had playing mini golf, indoor curling and football, the real pie-light was the lunchtime stop off at Pieminister Cardiff, where Pierateer RAS rated the "Moolin Rouge" (after having enjoyed it a few times previously but never having quite made it to reviewing it!). All while dressed as a giant pie, of course...

For those who don't know, Bristol pie giant Pieminister started back in 2003 and opened up a shop in Birmingham city centre in mid-2017 which we've frequented a number of times already, including for a number of pie week or pie anniversary visits. In total we have rated over 20 Pieminister pies and one of our very first pie articles was about Pieminister back fifteen years ago in 2009!

Since then we've tried some of their "Pie Election" winners (when pie fans got to choose which old favourites to bring back to the menu for British Pie Week 2015) and we were even crazy enough to try their Cricket pie in 2017! Yes, that's right - it had actual whole insects in it!!

For his stag do pie, Pierateer RAS chose the "Moolin Rouge" pie, which is rated below alongside the scores of the 17 other stag do guests - including, of course, Pierateers SJL and TJP, who both did a great job of co-organising the stag do. Many thanks guys! In reality, with some delicious pies and great banter, everyone was a winner at Pieminister Cardiff that lunchtime!

Pieminister Moolin Rouge Pie Review

The Moolin Rouge is a British beef steak, dry cured bacon and red wine pie. The pie was classic Pieminister, with a delicious crisp outer pastry and a well filled and meaty filling. We've had a number of steak pies from Pieminister and they are always well filled with meat and have a good flavour with the accompanying gravy in the pie, whether it be an ale or in this case red wine. It gave a great flavour and complimented the tender beef steak well, creating yet another top pie filling!

Pieminister "Moolin Rouge" British beef steak, dry cured bacon and red wine pie
Score: 6.14/7
[Colour 6.25, Capacity 6.5, Consistency 6.5, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 5, Content 6.5]



During the two hours Pierateer Rob chatted pies with his friends, including giving info about how to rate a pie on the 7 Cs of pie rating. This led to Pierateer Rob recording the ratings of all 17 guest's pies too, the scores of which are as follows:


Deer and Beer (by Pierateer SJL) - 5.93/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 6.5, Capacity 6.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Condition 6)

Mooless Moo (by Pierateer TJP) - 6.21/7 (Colour 5.5, Consistency 6.5, Capacity 7, Chewiness 6.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6.5, Condition 6.5)

Free Ranger (by Anthony) - 6.21/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 6.5, Capacity 7, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 5, Content 7, Condition 6)

Deer and Beer (by Stu) - 5.14/7 (Colour 5, Consistency 5, Capacity 6, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 3, Content 4, Condition 6)

Moo (by James) - 5.21/7 (Colour 4, Consistency 6, Capacity 7, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Condition 3)

Deer and Beer (by Barnaby) - 4.07/7 (Colour 5, Consistency 4.5, Capacity 3, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 4, Content 2, Condition 6)

Moolin Rouge (by Xavier) - 4.86/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 4, Capacity 5, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 4, Content 4, Condition 6)

Moo and Blue (by Andy) - 5.57/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 6, Capacity 5, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 4, Content 7, Condition 6)

Moolin Rouge (by Dave) - 6/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 6, Capacity 6, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Condition 7)

Free Ranger (by Adam P) - 6.07/7 (Colour 5.5, Consistency 6, Capacity 7, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 6.5, Content 6.5, Condition 5)

Moolin Rouge (by Martyn) - 6/7 (Colour 5, Consistency 6, Capacity 7, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 7, Content 5, Condition 6)

Fungi Chicken (by Chris) - 5.43/7 (Colour 5, Consistency 5, Capacity 6, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Condition 6)

Moo (by Rob D) - 5.79/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 5.5, Capacity 6, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 6, Content 6, Condition 5.5)

Moolin Rouge (by Mark) - 6.21/7 (Colour 6.5, Consistency 6, Capacity 7, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 5.5, Content 5.75, Condition 6.5)

Moo (by Adam CW) - 6/7 (Colour 7, Consistency 5, Capacity 6, Chewiness 7, Cheapness 5.5, Content 6, Condition 6.5)

Moo and Blue (by Craig) - 6.14/7 (Colour 6, Consistency 7, Capacity 5, Chewiness 7, Cheapness 7, Content 5, Condition 6)

Maroc Star (by Adam T) - 6.29/7 (Colour 7, Consistency 7, Capacity 6, Chewiness 7, Cheapness 5, Content 6, Condition 7)


Thanks to Pieminister Cardiff for hosting our Pierateer Takeover for Pierateer Rob's Stag Do. It was a great meal and part of a great weekend of fun!

Pieminister Deer and Beer Pie Review

As an added bonus, to celebrate Pierate Pie Reviews turning 15 years old on Tuesday 12th November 2024 - on what we refer to as International Pierate Day - Pierateer RAS returned to his "local" and had the "Deer and Beer" pie at Pieminister Birmingham. Here's how that pie rated:

The "Deer and Beer" is a wild venison, milk stout, mushroom and thyme pie. Once again the pie had the textbook Pieminister delicious crisp outer pastry and a well filled and meaty filling. There was quite a decent amount of meat inside and went well with the mushroom and flavourings, however despite very much enjoying the flavour of the pie, it was hard to get much of a sense of the deer or beer flavouring itself. While I would happily eat this pie again, I was expecting a bit more deer and beer flavouring from a pie of that name! But that said, I still enjoyed the pie! 

Pieminister "Deer and Beer" Wild venison, milk stout, mushroom and thyme pie
Score: 6/7
[Colour 6.25, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 6.5, Condition 6, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 5, Content 5.75]


RAS

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

Yoxford Antiques Centre - Apple Pie Review

Home made pie. Those few words will invariably bring a smile to my face and I don’t think I am alone in this. There are some people who will say that a mass produced pie cannot taste the same. Take The Pie Kitchen who we reviewed recently, they refuse to stop making their pies at home in the kitchen because they don’t think they can taste the same. I have been looking for pies to add to our list of the best pies in Suffolk. Hence I was delighted to find a chalk board advertising home made ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ at the Flying Goose Café which is part of Yoxford Antiques Centre in Suffolk. Why they called it ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ I have no idea and the sign hooked me in by promising free pie if you could guess the cultural reference in the name. Sadly my knowledge of pie didn’t help me out, I had no clue as to the answer, but I decided that pie was worth paying the £3.00 for.


Upon arrival I could tell this was a home made pie straight away. It arrived in good condition but had a slightly irregular shape. The top of the pie seemed to be supported by the apple underneath. This certainly didn’t detract from the taste. The pastry was soft, crumbly shortcrust, just what I like to see with a sweet pie. The apple was firm which gave the pie a wonderful texture. The apple tasted nice on its own but the additional cinnamon and cloves complemented it nicely, if perhaps the clove taste was boardering on too much. All in all the pie slipped down well as a before lunch snack and it was nice to sit outside amongst the random assortment of antiques, it certainly was different to the usual places I eat pies.


Once I finished the pie I went back inside and asked to take a picture of the whole pie. I then learnt that it had been made by the owner of the antique centre, Mr Goose which explained the name of the café. He was pleased to have his photo taken with the pie and explain the local ingredients he had used in it. I certainly hope he doesn’t get too busy running the centre to make the pies himself. The only feedback I would give is that the shape of this pie was somewhat unusual. While the pie certainly had a clear base and lid, the sides weren’t very well defined and it got worryingly thin towards the edge. However, on this occasion I overlooked it (as I hadn’t even realised when eating the pie). My complements go to Mr Goose who proved that you can find great pies in completely unexpected places! Keep your eyes out for pies!


Sam’s Apple Pie (Yoxford Antique Centre, Suffolk, IP17 3JW)
5.16/7

SJL

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

It is surely the case that Morrisons are the supermarket of choice for the pie lover. It is always a delight to visit the pie counter where the pies are free and unboxed. I would say a normal supermarket is like going to a pie zoo. The pies are cooped up in boxes, people say they are happy but how can you know? More often than not you can't even see the pies themselves. Whereas Morrisons is like a pie safari. The beef and onion is free to terrorises the sausage rolls. The chicken curry proudly displays its golden pastry, glowing under the artificial lights. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the king of the pie counter, the steak and ale, lording it over his fellow pastry products because he knows his line was the best selling last year, is best selling this year and will sell the best again next year. He is just an unstoppable force of nature and awe inspiring to behold.

I have recently moved house and the fact that I am now near a Morrisons is not quite the reason I moved here but it certainly adds a little extra joy to life. It is great to visit every week. Sometimes I don't even buy anything from the pie counter but just enjoy window shopping. The guy at the counter perhaps thinks I'm a bit weird as I stand salivating at the pies. My high expectations were perhaps the reason I was a bit disappointed recently. I chose a fantastic looking Steak, Mushroom & Bacon square pie which was puffed up proudly, promising a pie packed with content. However upon cutting it open, I was disappointed to find this was not the case. About half the pie seemed to be empty. This pie was a bit more expensive than most so I would expect better. However it was a fairly big pie so overall it wasn't such bad value. The filling tasted okay although the meat was a bit chewy. Thankfully the combination of short crust pastry side and puff pastry lid was to a very high standard. The shortcrust in particular held its shape well but at the same time managed to be lovely and gooey. So overall not a bad effort.


I decided to tweet about this pie to Morrisons, indicating that while it wasn't bad it was a bit disappointing. I was surprised that Morrisons took this so seriously, sending me vouchers to get another pie. It is commendable that they are listening to their customers so closely. If only all companies were so good! It was by no means a formal complaint, it just shows how seriously Morrisons take their pies.

So I tried again with a Chicken, Ham and Leek pie and two rather gourmet looking medium Pork Pies. I still had money left over from the £3 vouchers I was sent after buying these three indicating they were great value.

Firstly the Chicken, Ham and Leek pie. I almost fell off my pie reviewing stool when I got home and saw the pie had been labelled as a 'pasty'! It certainly was not a pasty having well defined sides, base and lid. They really need to be more careful with this very important distinction. It was very stressful for a moment when I thought I had bought a pasty by mistake!

Fortunately this was a pie and once I delved in this golden delight it was a return to form for Morrisons. There was a lovely thick sauce oozing out with actual proper chucks of meat. While the capacity of the pie was still big this time it was really packed with content. I felt like I was getting a great value pie experience. Again the pastry was great; Morrisons certainly know how to mix their flour and fat. This was almost the perfect pie, however it just needed a bit more of a full on flavour, a shame as it did everything else so well. However, for the price this was still one of the best value supermarket pies I have had.


The hand crimped pork pies were also rather special. These weren't like traditional pork pies. You can see from the photos that they had an ergonomic shape which meant they were rather satisfying to hold in the palm of the hand. I spent a while just admiring this pie not wanting to ruin its delicate edges. You might think that it seems like it has too much pastry given that pastry for a pork pie is often rather solid. However the pastry for this pork pie was quite soft and light and the extra pastry was a pleasure to eat. The meat was pink, unlike the grey of a melton mowbray pork pie, and it had a taste somewhat reminiscent of a sausage roll except it had a much more satisfying texture because it wasn't at all mushy. It also lacked the jelly of a traditional pork pie which made it seem much less fatty. Overall it was a lighter, flakier version of a pork pie, but because it still retained wonderful solidness it was perfect for a summer picnic.




So, after a slight disappointment Morrisons show their Northern Soul with two fantastic pies. It is great that we can still rely on the only supermarket with a pie counter. However, Morrison are not the only ones to have a pie counter. The Pierateers also have a pie 'counter' which has just ticked over 200 pies reviewed. We can count on more Morrisons pies to get us to 300.

Steak, Mushroom & Bacon (Morrisons Pie Counter)
4.12/7

Chicken, Ham & Leek (Morrisons Pie Counter)
5.76/7

Hand-Crimped Pork Pie (Morrisons Pie Counter)
5.55/7

SJL

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

Chuck Steak, Jaipur Ale and Shallot Pie Review at The Jekyll and Hyde Pub, Birmingham City Centre

There are times when it can take a good few days to think up a witty, clever or punderful play on words to include in the title of a pie review on pierate. This, of course, was not one of them! For anyone who delves into the pie reviews on the Web’s premier pie reviewing resource will know that if there’s anything we Pierateers like almost as much as our pies, it’s a good play on words. So the following paragraph just writes itself, to be honest.


Steak Pie at the Jekyll and Hyde Pub

I guess the very reason you’re reading this review is determine whether the steak pie I ate at the pub is more Jekyll or Hyde in nature. For, as we all know, there can be some strange cases of things being called pies but which are clearly not pies, or have a split personality of looking great on the menu but rather disappointing on the plate. However the attraction of a “World of π” section on the menu was very appealing and gave me strong hope for a winning formula to my pie selection. Had they found the right potion? Well there was nowhere for this pie to Hyde when it came to being reviewed by the Pierateers. I went for the Cheeky Pie – Chuck steak, Jaipur Ale and shallot.

Score: 6.45/7

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions



Mr Kipling Apple Pies at the Aston University Charity Cake and Pie Sale for Comic Relief

After all, there’s a reason why they are called the nation’s favourite apple pies (their branding and claim to fame, not mine). Packed full of crisp apple-y goodness, and surely one of your five a day, the Mr Kipling Apple Pie ticks all the boxes and ensures it is the premier portable snack sized fruit pie.




Pierateer RAS ate 3.14 Mr Kipling Apple Pies for Pi(e) Day

And to ensure we could give you the thumbs up again, Pierateer RAS celebrated National Pi(e) Day in America (14th March - i.e. 3.14 if you write the date American-style) by eating 3.14 Mr Kipling Apple Pies! They sure tasted good! After all, they are exceedingly good pies!

Score: 6.42/7

Add Your Opinion 3 Opinions

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

Pierateer RAS was not going to let his commitments at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, for the Yonex All England Badminton Championships 2013, hinder his pie eating progress so far! For having the day off work (the first of three days of annual leave as part of his #piepledge to encourage pie consumption and reviewing), RAS was able to consume three new pies in a day and also promote pie eating to a number of his friend's children (more on that in a blog article soon!)

So let's start at the beginning, with a cheeky couple of Morrisons Apple and Blackcurrant pies to start the day off with. I informed Morrisons of this on twitter - still awaiting a reply - and had a rather disappointed look on my face this morning when I pulled out the following condition of pies:


Needless to say, they won't be scoring that highly on the "condition" criteria, which as we all know is one of the seven Cs.

Fortunately the Morrisons Apple Pies I shared at the City Church Mums & Tots group I helped at this morning were in a far better condition, actually having their lids firmly on their pies this time!!! Both types of pies will be reviewed shortly.

Later in the day, as part of my volunteering at the Badminton I was delighted to share dinner with a nice guy called Tony and a pretty nice pie called Apple. The full article will be added shortly.

I rounded off the day (and tried to get over the disappointment of so many early British exits in the Badminton) by having a second Morrisons Apple Pie, which again fortunately had its lid firmly in the right place!

RAS Pie Count Day Three: 5
RAS BPW Total: 8

After eating a fair few pies for Day 2 of British Pie Week SJL decided to have a bit of a tactical fallow day. It was not however completely pie free. SJL saved the mash, cabbage and gravy from the Canteen pie the day before and had it with an ASDA Chicken and Vegetable individual pie. This were in that slightly oval shape that the cheap supermarket pies always seem to be, such as the Tesco Everyday Value beef and onion pie reviewed recently. I find this shape of pie quite suspicious, they are very shallow and sometimes remind me of that other pastry product the 'slice'.

But how did it taste? Compared to the value range this is a step up. The Tesco Everyday Value pies had around 10% meat where as this standard ASDA pie had a massive 18% meat (although I am not sure if this includes the standard horse meat they include nowadays). It seemed nice enough, the gravy was thick, it certainly taste bad but to be honest I just didn't really even notice eating it. Alongside the mash and gravy there just wasn't enough filling to really discern the flavours and I certainly don't remember eating any bits of chicken. These things really must score against it. However, at just 50p each I'd say these were just about respectable additions to the fridge or freezer.

Asda - Chicken & Vegetable - 3.10/7

SJL Pie Count Day Three: 1
SJL BPW Total: 13

Wednesday lunchtime saw Pierateer TJP head to Pieminister in Farringdon, London for a 'Pietanic' fish pie. Quite often my heart sinks like the Titanic when I see a fish pie encased in potato rather than gravy, but my hopes stayed afloat when I saw that this fish pie was indeed totally encased in pastry. Full review coming soon, but it was delicious.


TJP Pie Count Day Three: 1
TJP BPW Total: 4



Day Three Total: 7
British Pie Week Total: 25

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

Pie & Mash night (though the picture is a bit misleading as it's just a top crust!)

With Aston University’s main cafe – known as CafeTierra for the uninitiated – hosting a regular themed night on Tuesdays during term time, it will come as no surprise that the Pierateers were eagerly hoping that British Pie Week had caught the attention of the powers at be at Aston Uni. And following email correspondence with the CafeTierra manager, it was great to hear that they were all over British Pie Week, hosting a “pie and mash” night on Tuesday of British Pie Week. Naturally I was there at 5pm prompt, as soon as the working day had finished, ensuring I got my hands on a pie. There were three to choose from, but having had a beef and onion before, I went for the Chicken and Mushroom Pie this time. So, was I going to get an education in pie making or would they need to study harder before they put on another pie night? Would I be awarding a 2:2, 2:1 or even a first? There was only one way to find out!

CafeTierra in Aston University, host to "Pie and Mash Night"



Chicken & Mushroom Pie @Aston University

Score: 5.7/7

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

SJL decided as his pie pledge for British Pie Week to go a whole day eating only savoury pies. No food would be eaten that wasn't encased in pie pastry, which meant no veg or mash with the pies either!

The day began with a pack of 4 Asda Mini Pork and Apple Pies which were consumed on the train into London. The train was quite packed and there was standing room only. Other people looked concerned by SJL's choice of breakfast. However, the pies were noted to be a great choice for breakfast, the sweetness of the apple stopped the pork being too overpowering. There wasn't much fat or gristle detected. The pastry was also not too solid, as it can be for hot water crust pastry. At £1.28 for the pack the price was fairly competitive with the Tesco pork pies reviewed recently.
4 pies eaten @ 50g and 184kcal each

Asda Mini Pork Pie Selection

Upon getting to the office SJL made the error of picking up some free fruit on the way in. Realising this mistake the offending banana was carefully put aside for tomorrow.
Lunchtime came and SJL had a plan. To counteract the heavy pork pies, he headed to The Little Greek Pie Company shop on Tottenham Street where the pies come in filo pastry. Upon arrival SJL was sad to find the shop had closed down, although the pies can still be brought in some other shops. Now desperate for a new pie to review SJL headed to EAT on Tottenham Court Road. What attracted SJL was that EAT proudly advertise that they serve pies, with this fact written about 7 times on the outside of the shop. A Steak & Ale Pie was ordered at £4.15, although SJL was careful to not get the accompanying mash. The pie was satisfying, with the inclusion of some vegetables which was a pleasant surprise. The meat was tender however SJL felt it tastest slightly like it came out of a tin. The pastry was firm enough to eat with your hands but still quite gooey on the inside. However did it do enough to justify the much higher price tag than a standard Pukka pie from a fish and chip shop? Two colleagues also got into the spirit of BPW by grabbing EAT pies along with SJL.
1 pie eaten @ 250g and 670kcal - Total 5 pies eaten @ 1406 kcal

EAT Steak & Ale Pie

The afternoon saw SJL open another two packs of Asda mini pies. Two Asda Snack Cheese & Pickle Lattice Pork Pies were eaten and 1 Asda Mini Pork & Stuffing Pie devoured. One pie was taken along to a meeting as 'brain food'. Both types of pie offered similar pastry to the ones eaten in the morning. However the pork and stuffing was found to be more fatty. All we considered by SJL to be good variations of the standard pork pie. Without the additional flavours this many pork pies would have been sickly. There were excess pies which were offered to colleagues although only one colleague took up the offer. At this point SJL found the taste of pie beginning to seriously repeat on him. Lots of coffee was drunk to try and suppress this.
1 pie eaten @ 50g and 199kcal
2 pies eaten @ 60g and 219kcal - Total 8 pies eaten @ 2043 kcal

The Cheese & Pickle Pork Pie

After leaving the office SJL had a sudden urge for a pie a bit more special than the others consumed so far. The others had been solid performers but there were certainly no gourmet pies. Hence SJL headed to Canteen on Baker Street which had been reviewed before and he knew they served some top London pies. However this is a restaurant so SJL was pleased when they agreed to do a take away pie for him. Unfortunately he didn't realise he was ordering a whole pie meal in a box! This unfortunately came at the standard restaurant price as well. However, this didn't stop the Canteen Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek Pie from being a fantastic pie. The Canteen pies always seem to achieve such a fantastic Colour and Condition. The pastry was gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside. The flavour was unusual but worked well. The crunchy celeriac and the soft mushroom provided good counterpoints to each other. The only downside is that the meal seems quite small for the price, especially when not eating the veg and mash!
1 pie eaten @ ~ 250g and 600kcal - Total 9 pies eaten @ 2643 kcal

Canteen Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek Pie

Arriving home the family had already been tucking into an Asda Chicken & Gravy Pie and Asda Steak & Winter Vegetable Pie so SJL grabbed a couple of slices of the action. At this stage perhaps SJL had just eaten too many pies but these failed to impress. Allegedly the chicken pie had puff pastry but this wasn't noticable as both had quite dry pastry. They were also quite thin so not a lot of Capacity. The chicken pie tasted particularly mass produced. The steak and winter vegetables at least gained some points for doing something a bit different. However there are nicer pies at this price.
1 pie eaten @ 138g and 337 kcal
1 pie eaten @ 138g and 382 kcal - Total 11 pies eaten @ 3362 kcal

The two Asda family sized pies

There were some near misses, at one point SJL accidentally ate some cabbage but this was safely spat out. One noticeable effect was a constant thirst due to the salty pies. But in the end a whole day was covered with only pies eaten and a record number of pies consumed in one day on the Pierate Ship. A learning experience, this showed that other food really isn't necessary. Why isn't everything encased in golden pie pastry?

Asda - Mini Pork & Apple Pies - 4.35/7
EAT - Steak & Ale - 4.25/7
Asda - Mini Pork & Stuffing Pies - 4.30/7
Asda - Snack Cheese & Pickle Lattice Pies - 4.35/7
Canteen - Celeriac, Mushroom & Leek Pie - 5.85/7
Asda - Chicken & Gravy Pie - 3.35/7
Asda - Steak & Winter Vegetable - 3.85/7

SJL Pie Count Day Two: 11
SJL BPW Total: 12


Pierateer RAS feels quite small and insignificant sitting next to SJL’s quite incredible #onlypiesallowed challenge today, but that didn’t stop him attending the Aston University Pie Night put on by Catering@Aston and having a very nice Chicken and Mushroom Pie (see separate review) and also providing Mr Kipling Apple Pies to another three colleagues at work. A number of colleagues had a look at the pie blog and planned to suggest good pies they’d eaten.

RAS Pie Count Day Two: 1
RAS BPW Total: 3


After the enormity of SJLs efforts on Day 2 of BPW, Pierateer TJP feels that the single medium-sized Pork Farm pork pie purchased from Sainsbury's delivered little to the Pierateers accumulated pie total. It was a decent enough pie, however, and the full review will be coming soon.


TJP Pie Count Day Two: 1
TJP BPW Total: 3

Day Two Total: 13
British Pie Week Total: 18

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

The Bree Louise

SJL found the urge for a British Pie Week pie overwhelming in the morning and went into a couple of establishments but sadly it is hard to get a hot pie before lunchtime. For some reason breakfast pies aren't as available as they should be. However, this was rectified at lunch by a trip to The Bree Louise pub in Euston, London. They have a great selection of pies and the pie of the day with chips and veg is only £6, which scores high on the cheapness, especially for London. SJL opted for the Chicken and Mushroom pie of the day. The chicken was great quality and the gravy was tasty despite not being very thick. However this was sadly just a top crust pie with a puff pastry lid. Therefore this pie, despite being nice, didn't really satisfy the pie urge and whether it is a proper pie is in question. SJL was unsure what the proper etiquette for eating these puff pastry top crust pies is. Do you take the lid off? Do you crumble it up and push it into the pie? We went for the later.  

The Bree Louise - Chicken & Mushroom - 4.3/7

SJL Pie Count Day One: 1


The morning commute saw an opportunity for Pierateer RAS to notch up his first pie of British Pie Week with a cheeky Mr Kipling Apple Pie on the go (highlighting how convenient and portal pies really are!) Never had a commute to work tasted so good! Of course it is worth noting that Mr Kipling Apple Pies are the UK's favourite Apple Pie according to pie sales in 2012. Mr Ks were also given out to two colleagues at work to share the joy of British Pie Week at work!

And after a day at work, what better plan than to chill out in a pub with a pie. And this was no ordinary pub - it was the Shakespeare (a Nicholson's Free House) in Birmingham City Centre. Before you ask, no, I wasn't bard! In fact the staff there were very accommodating and the Lamb Shank Pie I had was very nice, though rather expensive, for a top crust. A full review will follow later in the week!

RAS Pie Count Day One: 2

Pierateer TJP had prepared early and purchased an emergency 6 pack stash of Mr Kipling Bramley Apple & Custard pies just in case there wasn't an opportunity for pie during one of the days of British Pie Week. However, he didn't quite forsee himself having to crack open the pack on the first day - but a fairly hectic day meant he had to delve into his emergency supply early. TJPs pie count for the day is 2 Mr Kipling Bramley Apple & Custard pies.

TJP Pie Count Day One: 2

Day One Total: 5
British Pie Week Total: 5

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

So shortly after the Mini Pork Pie Bites of last week, I thought I’d treat myself to a slight upgrade on the pork pies with a slightly more expensive Tesco Mini Melton Mowbray Pork Pie. I was disappointed. I’m afraid these were nothing spectacular at all, with the pastry being quite soft and soggy. The colour wasn’t that great and the meat in the pie wasn’t very good quality either. The capacity was again letting the side down, with clear pockets of air in the pork pie that you wouldn’t expect. They also weren’t cheap, costing far more per pie that the Mini Pork Pie Bites. I’m certainly glad I’m going to the home of pork pies in April for the British Pie Awards. Surely I’ll get a good Melton Mowbray there!

Score: 3.25/7

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

With a Winter BBQ & Six Nations Rugby at my friends the Bentalls to go to, the invite had “bring pies” written all over it. So, with Tesco Mini Pork Pie Bites in my bag, I headed off for some sausages and ribs (and very nice they were too!) But let’s be honest – you’re only here to read about the pies. So let’s get straight to business.

Obviously being little pie bites, I wasn’t expecting them to fill the hole. But I have to admit I was expecting a bit better than I got – after all, these aren’t Tesco Everyday Pies. While the pastry was nice and firm, and not dry at all (as can be the case for some pork pies), the content was slightly grisly and chewy, so the consistency of the meat throughout the pie suffered from this. The capacity was reasonable, but with pork pies you normally expect a pretty much full pie to be served. Instead, there was certainly some air involved in mine. While they were a lovely golden colour and came in good condition, I’m not sure they are worth the cost (particularly if you don’t get the promotion of 30 pies for £5).




Too much air for my liking

Let’s face it, they were quite nice to eat, but I won’t be biting anyone’s hand off to have another one. There’s plenty more pork pies out there. A nice basic pork pie but not great content.

Score: 3.75/7

Add Your Opinion 6 Opinions



McDonald's Sweet Berry Pie... or so they call it!

For in place of their regular Apple “Pie” and shortly after the release of their festive Christmas Orange Flavour Chocolate “Pie”, McDonald’s have this time come up with a Sweet Berry and Custard “Pie”. Yeah, that’s right. I think the quotation marks tell you everything.

Add Your Opinion 1 Opinion

Tesco Apple and Blackberry Pie Review

Oh...how did all those other pie boxes "happen" to get in the background?!

Well, once again the Tesco sweet pie really does contain tasty chunks of Bramley apple and juicy blackberries in a delicious sweet sauce. There’s certainly no missing them, as they are slightly chewy due to their crisp nature, but the content is good and capacity next to bursting! The flavours complimented each other well and the golden coloured sweet butter enriched pastry. The short crust pastry was lovely and crunchy – perhaps almost a little too much bite to it but generally of a very high standard. The lid and base had no signs of sogginess, coming out in very good condition, and the filling was particularly fruity and full of flavour. While not blown away, it was a very reasonable pie (reasonably cheap at £2.60 for 8 slices) and I would certainly commend it. The taste was certainly consistently good throughout the pie. It seems like Tesco have finally got something right!



Score: 5.15/7

Add Your Opinion 7 Opinions

Now here at Pierate we hold unswervingly to the premise that if it isn't about pies, it isn't going on Pierate. No questions asked. Even our delve into Politics and our celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic Games were all soaked in pie-related goodness.

But I guess with every rule, there has to be some sort of get-out clause. And for us here at Pierate, if there is one thing we’re willing to discuss on this blog that isn’t directly related to the humble pie itself, it’s having a bit of pun with words. For what would a good pie review be without a play on the name, the ingredients or where we ate pie?!

So thank you BBC for your 1,200 words spent debating the pros, the cons, the rise and fall of this humble art form:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21011778

I particularly commend the following from Sally Davies:

“The efflorescence of punnery on social networking sites...suggests that puns have become acceptable as part of the online conversation.”

However despite all the debate and the suggestion of a bright online future for the pun, for us here at Pierate there is no doubt. Like you can’t have a filling without a full casing of pastry surrounding it, you can’t have a good pie review without some pun and games. Fact! 

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions

There is nothing that quite warms the heart,
Like that particular pastry work of art,
It's that special pie geometry,
That adds an extra appeal for me,
A Pierateer must be precise,
You can't make the mistake of getting a slice,
Don't even try because I'll never agree,
To consider ranking a Cornish pasty,

The only problem is that I can't stop,
Eating pie and mash with gravy on top,
I always say 'I'll have some more',
Even when I've eaten three or four,
For a pie addict it's not a bad suggestion,
To have something on hand for indigestion,
I've had so much of sailing the seven C's,
That I'm in danger or cardiovascular disease,

At my growing waist I can only watch,
As I have to open my belt another notch,
I look around and see it in their eyes,
They think 'it was you who ate all the pies!'
Trust me don't jump to volunteer,
To live the life of a Pierateer,
But at the end of the day it's all worthwhile,
As a meal pie is extremely versatile,
So I'll never give up, I find it fulfilling,
To live a life of pastry, gravy and filling

www.pierate.co.uk

SJL

Add Your Opinion 1 Opinion

The Pierateers live a simple life. We sail around until we find pie, then we eat pie, talk about pie, dream about pie, drink pints of gravy and occasionally make people walk the plank for eating a slice instead of a pie. Normally we don't have to take an interest in politics. Until someone tries to whack 20% on top of the price of our staple food.

I'll just recap what the proposals mean. All food which is sold "above ambient air temperature" will become subject to VAT, whilst those products that are served "at or below ambient air temperature" will not be. On the face of it, when a fish and chip shop has to charge VAT on a pie it sells it does seem unfair that the bakery around the corner can sell it without VAT. However, as the chief executive of Greggs bakery explains to the Guardian the proposals as they currently stand do not work. Greggs cook their pastry products and then sell them as they cool down. They are not heated up again when purchased. I can attest that I have often been into Greggs and had pastry products which have been dried out and stone cold (it's strange how that now works in their favour). Would they have to check the temperature for every product? What happens on a hot day? Will we end up with two queues in Greggs, one for hot and one for cold food? Any of these options are ridiculous and unworkable.

It will also hit some companies very hard. They have been working for years on a particular business model and now a £2.50 pie will cost £3.00 which will reduce sales and some business will struggle to cope. But the main reason to oppose such a tax is that it is almost entirely regressive. The less well off are the ones most often buying these products and are going to be hardest hit by the Pie Tax. This comes at a time when many are already struggling to get by.

Cold Hearted: Osbourne to tax hot pies

There are many petitions going around calling on the government to scrap the plans. One at Greggs stores has allegedly collected over 200,000 signatures. There has been talk of protests in bakeries up and down the country. It has been viewed as highlighting the North-South divided as well as the class divide. The government has been called out of touch and Cameron's claims to have last had a pasty at the West Cornwall Pasty company in Leeds station were cast into doubt by the fact it closed down in 2007.

But the real issue here is why are people calling it the 'pasty tax'? Pies are equally affected by the tax and the beef pie is the number one selling pastry product (ahead of the sausage roll). It is really the 'Pie Tax'. Labour are looking to challenge the Pie Tax and other aspects of the Coalition budget. Parliament has to approve the Budget before George Osborne's changes can be enacted. We will keep you up to date here at pierate.co.uk. Remember, if the worst case scenario does happen it will be a great excuse to eat as many pies as we can before the VAT kicks in.

SJL

Add Your Opinion 1 Opinion

Here at Pierate we had an inkling that the Australians might be a little crazy about pies, simply because there is an Australian shop called Jumbucks (review 1,2,3) in Shepherds Bush, London, devoted entirely to selling pies. So, in the recent spirit of foreign pie sampling, we really we had to visit Australia to confirm this phenomenon, and the results came as no surprise...
What's this? It's Pieface! This photo is of just one of many Pieface shops in Sydney. This chain of shops seems to be substantial indeed, as the Pierateers sometimes spotted multiple Piefaces on some high streets in Sydney (rather akin to the urban coffee shop chain culture in the UK). It seems that Pieface's unique selling point is drawing weird faces on their pies. The faces don't look particularly happy to me (perhaps that's because they know they are destined to be eaten), but the pies certainly taste fantastic. I had a minced beef and tomato chutney pie.

Add Your Opinion 0 Opinions