Pie fans ahoy! With over 600 pie reviews, Pierate is surely the web's premier pie resource. We've been eating and rating pies according to the 'Seven Cs' since 2009. Follow us on @pierateers. pierateship@yahoo.co.uk
Showing posts with label piglets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piglets. Show all posts
Monday, 30 January 2017
Football Pie: Tottenham Hotpies
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club/Piglets Pantry - Steak & Ale Pie Review
It is still difficult to find the words to talk about Wycombe's 4-3 loss at White Hart Lane. Really proud that our fan owned team were so close to causing an upset. The atmosphere was great amongst the Wycombe fans who were determined to enjoy the occasion. The Tottenham fans even applauded us at the end which was a nice moment. The match will live long in my memory.... but then so will the pies.
My brief research indicated the pies would be mass produced and probably not all that good. However, entering the concourse of the imaginatively named Upper South Stand, I got a sense that the pies might actually be a bit special. Pies seemed to be the main attraction at the food kiosks with an attractive 'N17 Pie Club' branding which was even printed on the pies themselves. They looked a bit more gourmet than pies at your typical football ground and had a slightly handcrafted appearance. These were certainly not Pukka pies... They also looked a bit bigger than average. My Dad and I both opted for the classic Steak & Ale which was useful as it allowed me to get a second opinion on what turned out to be a very good pie.
What I had missed in my research was the big summer signing at Tottenham, the gourmet pie company known as Piglet's Pantry! I knew these boutique pies from the South Coast started at Brighton and could also be bought at MK Dons because Pierateer Rob had previously reviewed them very highly (putting them 3rd in our Football Pie League). But I hadn't realised that Piglet's Pantry had started to supply a burgeoning number of football grounds including Reading, Swansea, Leicester and most excitingly, Tottenham. This was disguised by the fact that Piglet's Pantry didn't use their logo at all at Tottenham, so I only realised later.
As pie standards at football grounds continue to improve, it is an exciting time for us. We will continue to tour different grounds and let you know where the best can be found!
Steak & Ale (Tottenham Hotspur/Piglet's Pantry)
5.58/7
SJL
It is still difficult to find the words to talk about Wycombe's 4-3 loss at White Hart Lane. Really proud that our fan owned team were so close to causing an upset. The atmosphere was great amongst the Wycombe fans who were determined to enjoy the occasion. The Tottenham fans even applauded us at the end which was a nice moment. The match will live long in my memory.... but then so will the pies.
My brief research indicated the pies would be mass produced and probably not all that good. However, entering the concourse of the imaginatively named Upper South Stand, I got a sense that the pies might actually be a bit special. Pies seemed to be the main attraction at the food kiosks with an attractive 'N17 Pie Club' branding which was even printed on the pies themselves. They looked a bit more gourmet than pies at your typical football ground and had a slightly handcrafted appearance. These were certainly not Pukka pies... They also looked a bit bigger than average. My Dad and I both opted for the classic Steak & Ale which was useful as it allowed me to get a second opinion on what turned out to be a very good pie.
What I had missed in my research was the big summer signing at Tottenham, the gourmet pie company known as Piglet's Pantry! I knew these boutique pies from the South Coast started at Brighton and could also be bought at MK Dons because Pierateer Rob had previously reviewed them very highly (putting them 3rd in our Football Pie League). But I hadn't realised that Piglet's Pantry had started to supply a burgeoning number of football grounds including Reading, Swansea, Leicester and most excitingly, Tottenham. This was disguised by the fact that Piglet's Pantry didn't use their logo at all at Tottenham, so I only realised later.
The Piglet's Pantry pie was nearly perfect for a football match. The thick pastry held it together nicely so that it could actually be picked up and eaten by hand. It had been cooked really well compared to a lot of football pies. The pastry was satisfyingly solid. Often football pies can have soft pastry, either because they are not cooked for long enough, or the dreaded convection microwave shortcut is used. If anything the pastry was a little too thick and almost a bit chewy. But the addition of herbs to the pastry crust made it taste great so this didn't really bother me. I could have eaten the pastry by itself which is always a good sign.
The pie was well filled with plenty of meat and a thick gravy. The thick gravy was very much appreciated as it prevented the pie from becoming too much of a mess. The filling was a delight due to a great balance of flavours from both the meat and the ale. The ale gave a pleasant, hoppy and sour taste without being over powering. The flavour wasn't wildly different to that you would expect from a mass produced steak & ale pie but it did enough to stand out.
The meat in the pie could have been a bit softer, it was bordering on overly chewy (although it was nice to have something to get my teeth into). There were also some soggy fat pieces which I didn't enjoy so much. But overall the pie was very satisfying, it felt like I had got more for my money that I normally do with a football pie and I am delighted to see these good quality pies becoming more common at football grounds. What impresses me with Piglet's Pantry is that they are still maintaining high standards despite increasing production, which must be a challenge. They are also keeping things interesting by providing bespoke pies to different football clubs which prevents the boring homogenisation experienced by the growth of companies like Pukka.
However, it is worth noting that I had forked out a #PieHighPrice of £4 for this pie which has affected the score. Yes, it was a premium product but these premium pies can be purchased for less at other grounds and £4 is a lot for one pie. Having said that, I would rather pay £4 for this pie than £3.50 for a dehydrated Pukka pie! Good luck to Piglet's Pantry as they continue to raise standards!
It was great to be able to go to a game at White Hart Lane before Tottenham move out at the end of this season for it to be rebuilt. One corner of the ground had already been knocked down and work on part of the new stadium is already well underway. I hope Tottenham continue to use Piglet's Pantry in the new White Hart Lane although I am not sure if they will have much control while they temporarily relocate to Wembley.
The pie was well filled with plenty of meat and a thick gravy. The thick gravy was very much appreciated as it prevented the pie from becoming too much of a mess. The filling was a delight due to a great balance of flavours from both the meat and the ale. The ale gave a pleasant, hoppy and sour taste without being over powering. The flavour wasn't wildly different to that you would expect from a mass produced steak & ale pie but it did enough to stand out.
The meat in the pie could have been a bit softer, it was bordering on overly chewy (although it was nice to have something to get my teeth into). There were also some soggy fat pieces which I didn't enjoy so much. But overall the pie was very satisfying, it felt like I had got more for my money that I normally do with a football pie and I am delighted to see these good quality pies becoming more common at football grounds. What impresses me with Piglet's Pantry is that they are still maintaining high standards despite increasing production, which must be a challenge. They are also keeping things interesting by providing bespoke pies to different football clubs which prevents the boring homogenisation experienced by the growth of companies like Pukka.
However, it is worth noting that I had forked out a #PieHighPrice of £4 for this pie which has affected the score. Yes, it was a premium product but these premium pies can be purchased for less at other grounds and £4 is a lot for one pie. Having said that, I would rather pay £4 for this pie than £3.50 for a dehydrated Pukka pie! Good luck to Piglet's Pantry as they continue to raise standards!
 |
| Find out where this pie ranks in our Football Pie League |
Steak & Ale (Tottenham Hotspur/Piglet's Pantry)
5.58/7
SJL
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Top Football Pies from Piglets Pantry at MK Dons
Piglets Pantry Steak, Chicken and Vegetarian Pie Reviews
 |
| Piglets Pantry Football Pie Reviews |
With an ever expanding list of football pies being reviewed in our PIEremiership, there was one noticeable football pie manufacturer missing. Having won multiple awards at the British Pie Awards over the past few years, both in the football pie category and beyond, we still hadn’t yet been to a ground selling Piglets Pantry pies. That all changed with an invite by MK Dons to rate their pies before their Championship tie with Blackburn recently.
For me, this is one of the distinct advantages of having a small, personable pie business supplying the pies in a football ground, as opposed to the more homogenised mass producers sold within many UK stadiums. You get pies that the local fan base can connect with, support and recommend. Indeed, the Steak and Concrete Cow Ale Pie had been developed with a group of MK Dons supporters and using a local ale, a personal touch that seemed to be going down well with the fans there!
Sales of Piglets Pantry pies at their local football club, Brighton and Hove Albion, seem to back this up. Since taking over the pie supplying their ground sales have rocketed from 1,500 to 10,000 pies a match, which is quite phenomenal! It certainly shows that if the quality pies are there, people will pay a bit more for a premium product. It’s therefore no surprise to see the pies being sold in more grounds, including hospitality at Chelsea and West Brom, plus recently in Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium for their Rugby World Cup fixtures.
Onto the pies and my overall thoughts are that these are premium pies being sold at a very reasonable price, especially for a football ground, at just £3.50. The pastry is shortcrust around the sides and base, with a puff pastry lid. It is noted that these pies do not contain lard or suet, giving them a paler colour but also a lighter, crisper pastry. This means the pastry is less moist and can hold the filling in thinner, crisper pastry. While this different pastry did take a little getting used to, having primarily eaten and enjoyed butter-rich pastry which is more golden and softer, I enjoyed the firmer crunch this pastry had and it did feel a lot lighter and less stodgy as a result. The main downside was the outer rim of overhang pastry which was a bit too dry, but the rest of the pastry when eaten with the filling was well balanced.
All the pies held together brilliantly when eaten by hand, with generally a great consistency to the fillings, which is ideal for a football pie. The capacity was very strong in all of them, with the meat pies particularly standing out against most other football pies in terms of the strong meaty content and packed filling.
 |
| Piglets Pantry Chicken, Gammon and Leak Pie Review |
Chicken, Gammon and Leak
First up to rate was the Chicken, Gammon and Leak which is a regular on the menu at MK Dons. The pie was packed with a nice blend of chicken and gammon in a light béchamel sauce, spread well throughout the pie filling. The chicken was lovely and tender, the gammon not too chewy and the leak complemented the flavour well with the white sauce. The consistency of the filling was good for a hand held pie and balanced the crisp pastry well. Overall a top quality filling and while the rim, side and base pastry was a little too dry and crisp for my liking, I’m sure many would love this pastry and it well deserving of Pierate Highly Recommended status.
Piglets Pantry Chicken, Gammon and Leek Pie
Score: 6.11/7
[Colour 5.75, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 6, Condition 6.5, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 5.75, Content 6.5]
There’s no denying we love a good steak pie on the Pierate Ship, so it has to be a top, top flavour to challenge for the top spots in our pie rankings. We very much appreciated the lengths Piglets Pantry had gone to in order to create this pie with a local ale to the MK Dons, creating this pie exclusively for the team after meeting with local fans on a taster day. The meat was good quality and the gravy had a good viscosity to it for a football pie. Another good pie but we felt it didn’t quite match the Chicken pie in terms of the mix of flavours. No doubt it would however still be very popular amongst the steak pie fans at the game!
Piglets Pantry Steak and Concrete Cow Ale Pie
Score: 5.96/7
[Colour 5.75, Capacity 6, Consistency 6, Condition 6.5, Chewiness 5.75, Cheapness 5.75, Content 6]
It’s worth saying from the start that this was one of the best vegetarian pies I’ve had! I’m never normally one to go for the vegetarian option if there is a meat alternative (especially if they are sold at the same price), but this Spinach, Mushroom and Ricotta pie had such a rich flavour, with a delicious light runny cheese sauce and complementary spinach and mushroom content that I didn’t really miss the meat! In fact my friend Martyn was tempted to convert to veggie pies after eating this one! The filling was nicely balanced and while the consistency of the sauce was a little too runny to easily eat with your hands, it complemented the pastry well. This pie was second in the Vegetarian pie category of the British Pie Awards 2015 and you could easily see why!
Piglets Pantry Spinach, Mushroom and Ricotta Pie
Score: 6.04/7
[Colour 5.75, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.75, Condition 6.5, Chewiness 6.25, Cheapness 5.5, Content 6.25]
Overall then a great selection of football pies at MK Dons, with one of the best vegetarian pies we’ve rated to boot! It means Piglets Pantry have achieved what only two other clubs have – a Pierate Highly Recommended football pie – and puts them comfortably into third place in the PIEremiership. My thanks once again to Stephen and Jo for their hos-pie-tality at the game and, of course, the very good pies. We look forward to trying some more of the Piglets Pantry range soon!
RAS
Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)