Blairmains Farm Shop Pie Reviews

A walking trip in the Ochils near to Stirling was a great excuse for a bit of a treat. Nearby Blairmains Farm Shop was the ideal location. We headed into the cafe which had the wonderfully Scottish name 'Coffee Bothy' an advertised a Sweet Pie of the Day. The farm shop also had a good range of meat pies so how could I resist? I grabbed an Apple pie and a Steak & Ale Pie, both timeless classics.

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Mr Kipling Apple, Apple and Blackcurrant and Cherry Pies

Whether it be a British Pie Week “eat as many pies as you can Pieathon”, a roadtrip or a casual Pierateer get together, there always seems to be a reason to pick up a box of 6 handheld Mr Kipling pies to help us on our way. They have become synonymous with Pierate gatherings – the consistent little pie hole filler that allows us to have pie for breakfast, lunch, pudding or supper (and it has been known dinner too, when Pierateer Rob ate just apple pies for the day in 2013!)

And one of the leading pie manufacturers in the small handheld pie market are the legendary cake and pie makers Mr Kipling. They claim on their boxes to be the nation’s favourite apple pies and to be honest, for years now we have relied on the consistent goodness to keep us filled with pie on many a roadtrip and outing or simply as an easy breakfast or dessert pie option.

But it has come to our attention that these reviews are quite old now, being over 7 years since they were pie rated, so they are in need of a review. With so many other pies having been eaten since these initial reviews (some of the first on the blog) are they still that good? Add to the mix that we’ve never actually reviewed the Cherry pie yet and we thought that better change!

Mr Kipling Fruit Pies (l-r: Apple and Blackcurrant, Cherry, Apple)

The question the box poses to us when pie rating is whether the Mr Kipling’s range really is exceedingly good pie? I can assure you – they are!

After all, there’s a reason why they are called the nation’s favourite apple pies (their branding and claim to fame, not mine). And there’s got to be a reason we keep going back to them time and time again! Packed with crisp apple-y goodness, the Mr Kipling Apple Pie ticks all the boxes and ensures it is the premier portable snack sized fruit pie. The apple and blackcurrant pies have a nice sweet mix of apple flavouring balanced with small pieces of blackcurrant (though the seeds can get in your teeth at times!) and the cherry pie is also nice and sweet, though again no fruit pieces to get your teeth into.

Sadly none of these pies have a particularly strong natural fruit content with pieces of fruit in your pie, relying more on a fruity jam like consistency. The capacity of these pies is also quite low – though if you eat one you’d probably agree you don’t want much more sweet filling if you’re going to finish said pie! But then this has been the case in nearly all of the small, portable fruit pies you get from supermarkets and similar companies. However if you want pies with actual pieces of fruit in, it’s best to go for pies from bakeries or farmers markets, which tend to be sold in larger sizes to cram the fruit in!

In summary, whether on a roadtrip, at a cake and pie sale, having just played sport, or at a friend’s leaving meal... the possibilities for cracking out a top tasting Mr Kipling Pie are almost endless! In terms of the small fruit pie market they are one of the best out there, consistently available across many supermarkets and corner shops up and down the country. And there has certainly been no lack of consumption of these pies in the past 10 years or so (easily pre-dating the creation of the Pierate Blog!) I would make a relatively safe guess that between the Pierateers there have been well over 200 Mr Kipling Apple Pies eaten alone (often all 6 in a pack eaten in one group sitting), which make these surely the most eaten pies in Pierate history!

Mr Kipling Apple Pie
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]

Mr Kipling Apple and Blackcurrant Pie
Score: 5.61/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5/7; Capacity 5.25/7]

Mr Kipling Cherry Pie
Score: 5.61/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5/7; Capacity 5.25/7]

RAS

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With a swathe of their pies in our top 20 pies (out of over 600 we have rated) you won’t be surprised to hear we eagerly await any new offering from the number one modern pie shop in London - Piebury Corner. With such a high bar set by their meat and veggie pies, the more recent addition of fruit pies to their selection (albeit not that recently!) was something we were intrigued by. Could Piebury – famed for their football-related pies and puns – still push for the title with their fruit pies? Or was it a case of second season blues – like Leicester City struggling to maintain the form they showed in their previous outing?

Piebury Corner Fruit Pie Review

Well the good news is that these fruit pies are far off mid-table mediocrity! In fact, as fruit pies go, these are some of the better individual fruit pies we’ve pie rated. Gone are the Arsenal-related footballer names (such as the “Thierry Henry” or “Viera-getarian”) and instead you get pies that do exactly what they say on the tin (or in this case, cardboard box) – Apple, Apple and Blackcurrant, Blueberry and Cherry.

Here’s our overall impression of the fruit pie range, followed by some individual comments. Please note that all these pies were heated for 20 minutes in the oven but then eaten as they were – without custard or cream or other additions – to ensure we were rating the pie accurately.



Overall Im-pie-ression:

Piebury Corner Fruit Pie Review

These pies are noticeably quite shallow and wide, but this is the Piebury way! Similar in shape to their meaty teammates, the fruit pies also have a lovely golden pastry shell which particularly crisps up well on top. The main difference: that fine sprinkling of sugar on top of the pastry, which does add that extra sweet taste to an already sweet fruit pie! A couple of the pies we cooked caught slightly and were a bit more golden in some places than others, but overall I’d say this is a nice golden colour.

At £3.50 per pie to take away cold, these certainly aren’t the cheapest fruit pies on the market. But then these aren’t your typical pies on the market either – with a much bigger capacity than most fruit pie boxes you’d buy in the shops and a strong pie capacity as opposed to some of the “fruit” air pies you can get your hands on! I also mention fruit because you can actually see and taste the fruit in these pies, rather than the fruity mush that a lot of fruit pies contain.

Overall, I would say these are a tad expensive for the size, but they are some of the best fruit pies we’ve had on Pierate. The pastry (specifically the lid) is delicious as part of the pie or even eaten on its own. While the content of all the pies is nice and fruity – sweet but generally not too much! They fill the hole and – while I’d suggest you probably wouldn’t want two in one sitting – leave you wanting to try another!

Piebury Corner Apple Pie Review

Apple

The classic fruit pie flavour and done well. Some decent sized pies of fruit – though could perhaps have been a few more large pieces that had a bit more of a bite to them. They were rather soft, so not much to bite onto! The flavour worked well with the crisp sweet pastry. Would definitely want again.

Piebury Corner Apple and Blackcurrant Pie Review

Apple and Blackcurrant

Another classic fruit flavour – the apple was nice but again could have perhaps given a bit more bite to the pie if they were a bit less soft. The blackcurrants were also very noticeable, particularly because the seeds got rather caught in my teeth during the eating of this pie, which spoilt my enjoyment of it a bit. However a good balance to the flavour and in combination with the pastry.

Piebury Corner Blueberry Pie Review

Blueberry

We don’t seem to see many blueberry pies out there on the market, so Pierateer Sam was particularly keen to try this one. While quite sweet, the flavour was very nice and again complimented the crisp pastry well. Well worth getting hold of.

Piebury Corner Cherry Pie Review

Cherry

While perhaps not as famous as the apple pie, the cherry pie is still another regular flavour and the pieces of fruit were very obvious upon slicing through. Quite sweet again, but not overpowering. I’d happily eat another of these.





Overall, while these pies are not going to compete against the Piebury Corner meat pies for our affection, they are very good individual fruit pies that I’d happily enjoy for dessert as part of a “Double Pie” main and pudding option. I’m Gunner have to go back to Piebury Corner and get some more soon!

Piebury Corner Apple Pie
Score: 5.89/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.75, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6.25]

Piebury Corner Apple and Blackcurrant Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.5, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.25, Cheapness 5, Content 5.75]

Piebury Corner Blueberry Pie
Score: 5.89/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.75, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5, Content 6.25]

Piebury Corner Cherry Pie
Score: 5.82/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.5, Condition 6, Chewiness 5.25, Cheapness 5, Content 6.25]

RAS

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Start spreading the news… I’m reviewing New York pies today…

Following on from the apple and blueberry pie reviews of the last few days from my e-pie-c adventure to the land of the free and home of the sweet pie, the U-S-of-A, here’s the third and final part of my whistle-stop tour of the American pies I ate. The final pie is the only proper apple pie I had – following the crumb topping of the Billy’s Bakery Pie – and was the best of the lot!



Pies n Thighs Apple Pie Review

The other side of the Williamsburg Bridge from downtown Manhattan, I first spotted Brookyln’s “Pies n Thighs” store on a stroll round the area on the first night we were in New York but we visited slightly later in my trip. Specialising in chicken and pies, it’s a pretty apt name really! They have a decent range of pies available, including a fully encased apple pie for $4.50 a slice (£3.65 in English money). With a quaint little store in a funky part of town, it is a bit out of the way compared to downtown Manhattan but well worth the trip over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The golden pastry was lovely and buttery, crisp and held together really well. The apple too was the right blend of crunch and mushy sweet filling. Certainly the best pastry I had over in America and better than many sweet pastries I’ve had on these shores, the cost of the pie at $4.50 is also a bit more reasonable for a slice of pie, with the option of adding ice cream for a few dollars more.

The store was quirky and atmosphere was good, with a good selection of pies and I’d certainly recommend visiting it. Pierate Highly Recommended!

Apple Pie from Pies n Thighs
Score: 6.04/7
[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 5/7; Chewiness 5.75/7; Condition 6.25/7; Content 6.5/7; Capacity 6.25/7]
RAS




Pies n Thighs Pie Menu

Lower Manhattan - Surely there's some pie in there somewhere?!

Summer and Fall of 2016 was American Pie Season at Pierate! Just like London buses you wait a long time for a Pierateer to head stateside and then we go over twice within a couple of months! In August work took Pierateer Sam over the Pond and you can take a look at our Chicago Pie Tour to see where Sam went.

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Start spreading the news… I’m reviewing New York pies today…

Admittedly I haven’t made much of a song and dance of it for a while – it has been a good few months since my e-pie-c adventure to the land of the free and home of the sweet pie, the U-S-of-A! But with holiday season comes an op-pie-tunity to catch up on a few reviews I should have written up from my notes a long while ago! So in the next few days, I’ll give you a whistle-stop tour of the American pies I ate. And being The Big Apple, it would be rude not to start with an apple pie…



Billy's Bakery Apple Pie Review

It was late at night when we picked up this slice of pie – post checking out some comedy at the aptly named “New York Comedy Club”. With a little sweet hole to fill, I searched the pie selection for pastry encased pies on their counter. Unfortunately there was only the one option when it came to fully encased pastry – and even that was slightly debatable due to the “crumb” topping. But hey, we’re in America! They drive on the right, they call rubbish “trash” and the American pie-deal is certainly something far different to us Brits! (Have you seen a pumpkin “pie”?!)

Still, I wasn’t going to turn down a good looking pastry pie – and one is better than none!!!

The Apple Crumb Pie was $5.50 (that’s £4.50 in English money) and a decent slice for that. It seemed pretty much the going rate for a slice of pie from a pie shop round these parts – though I did manage to get a slice for $4.50 at a shop in Brooklyn (more about that later in the week!) Not too bad for a slice of pie, considering the central New York location and it equating to a posh slice of cake in a London deli, but compared to a lot of pies it’s still quite pricey!

Still, it’s hard to argue when you hear an opening line on their website like this: “It all began in 2003 with two friends from business school who shared a sweet tooth and a dream of baking.” Tucking into their pie, I can see why they got involved in a business that sells and makes quality pies! The fresh ingredients and rich buttery taste make for a wonderful pie.

The Apple Crumb Pie was amongst a range of more typical American dessert pies.

The chunky, crisp apple pies are held together by a tasty, buttery bottom crust and then a crumbly, oaty topping is layered on top. It reminds me of a number of “crumble pies” I’ve had before in the UK, which combine a pastry base with a crumble like lid. Sure, if I’m being strict it’s not quite a proper pie by our high standards, as it is more a layer than a lid, but it was at least fully encased. It was also darn tasty!

While the topping did slightly crumble off in transit back to our hotel (as it was almost closing time in the shop by the time we’d got there) it was captured in the lovely pie box I was given to transport it in. And the crisp pastry base held together perfectly and gave a delicious crunch to the pie. All in all, the condition was decent apart from the crumbling, while the colour was quite golden and the capacity was strong, with plenty of apple chunks. A bit chewy at times but a good slice of pie!

Co-founders Marc and Wayne have done a great job in providing that 1940s “grandma’s kitchen” feel to the store and it appears New Yorkers have fallen in love with their wares too, with three stores across Manhattan. With a Pierate Recommended pie, I can see why. Great work Team Billy!

Apple Crumb Pie from Billy’s Bakery
Score: 5.18/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 5.75/7; Cheapness 2.5/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 5/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6/7]
RAS

Lower Manhattan - Surely there's some pie in there somewhere?!

Summer and Fall of 2016 was American Pie Season at Pierate! Just like London buses you wait a long time for a Pierateer to head stateside and then we go over twice within a couple of months! In August work took Pierateer Sam over the Pond and you can take a look at our Chicago Pie Tour to see where Sam went.

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First Slice - Apple Pie and Balsamic Raspberry Pie Reviews

To end my Chicago Pie Tour reviews I come at last to First Slice, a pie based charity, who use their profits in order to provide meals to the homeless and needy. This sees them serve close to 4,000 meals a month. In return their customers are provided with tasty food. This arrangement seemed like a great idea to me, a warm pie and hopefully a warm feeling of doing something good! I had never come across anything like it before in all my years of pie reviewing so I felt I had to pay a visit.

First Slice have a few cafes in Chicago, unfortunately for me, all were somewhat outside the city centre. I decided to cycle up the Lake front to the Andersonville branch which was a bit of a trek but the journey was nice. After some of the run-down areas I had visited, Andersonville seemed posh. The main high street was bustling with people going to cafes, bars and restaurants. First Slice was down a side street and a little bit more 'shabby chic'. I instantly like it. There was a neon sign advertising 'Coffee & Pie' which is not the way pies are advertised back home (but they should be). Jolly signs outside made clear that this was an establishment which took their pies, and also their charity work, seriously. There was even a giant papier-mache model of a slice of pie.




Venturing inside, the guy serving was friendly and keen to chat about Pierate. There were lots of pies on offer although many of them didn't meet our criteria of being fully encased in pastry. This was the sort of thing I had expected from American pies. But yet again there were some fully encased pies. I opted for a classic Apple pie and also a slightly more 'left field' choice in the Balsamic Raspberry & Pear. I was pretty sure that we had never reviewed a Balsamic Raspberry & Pear pie before but it is hard to remember now we are nearly at 600 pie reviews!


Both pies were highly enjoyable but were slightly tainted by the fact that I was really, really thirsty after my cycle on what was a hot day in August. I asked a few times for an iced tea and was told it would be brought over to me. It started to get a bit awkward to keep asking for it and eventually I gave up! It was almost like the guy knew I was really thirsty and was doing it on purpose to test my ability to eat a pie while really thirsty! It was surprisingly challenging, I was so keen to drink rather than eat, but nothing gets in the way of me eating pie. Each slice was $3.80, around £3, so I thought this was a decent price for eating in at the cafe (and with the pound being weak against the dollar).

The apple pie was absolutely packed with fruit. So much so that it exploded out of the pastry, meaning the presentation wasn't particularly great. It also meant it was a bit short of pastry and actually I was left wanting a bit more to go with my pile of apple slices. But it tasted great with a lovely cinnamon hit and a flavour which was not too sweet. It wasn't all that dissimilar to apple pies back home, with perhaps a bit more cinnamon.

Apple Pie (First Slice [Chicago])
5.33/7

Onto the Balsamic Raspberry & Pear. Apparently, it is as the name suggest, a fruit pie with the addition of balsamic vinegar. At first I didn't really notice the vinegar taste but after a few bites I was definitely picking up a bit of vinegar tang. In some ways this worked well, it seemed to complement the sourness of the raspberries. I can't say I noticed the pear, I only realised it had pear when I got back home and looked at my photos! This pie was much nicer in appearance, holding together into an almost perfect slice. Overall, a pie that could have seemed very wrong actually seemed quite right.


Balsamic Raspberry and Pear Pie (First Slice [Chicago])
5.26/7

On leaving the guy at the desk insisted on giving me a slice of Pecan pie to take away as this was the best taste of America in his opinion. I felt a bit uncomfortable taking a freebie from a charity, but it was one of those situations where it was difficult to say no. It was very nice of him. Whilst very tasty, the pecan pie will not be reviewed on these pages because it wasn't fully encased in pastry.

I loved my trip to First Slice, what they are doing makes so much sense, I would be much happier going to a not-for-profit cafe back at home if they could serve up good quality food like this and at a price that didn't even cost any more than the other places I visited. It is also a shame that a pie cafe as a concept doesn't exist back home. I guess we normally opt for cake or biscuits to go with our drinks in a cafe in the UK. But it is as I expected, whilst Americans might not share our love of savoury pies, they put us to shame when it comes to sweet pies.

SJL

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The pies at Hooiser Mama are mainly large pies. These are sold by the slice to customers who are eating in (although presumably you could try and eat the whole pie there and then, although you would need quite a group as the pies are very large). The Chicken Pot Pie looked great on the shelf with a slice yet to be taken from it. The pastry looked flaky and golden. The arrival of the slice of pie was preceded by a beautiful waft of a buttery, chicken aroma. Sadly, the pie hadn't held together all that well on slicing, which detracted from the appearance somewhat. It is difficult to get a slice of a hot, meat pie to come out looking pretty. Taking a bite, I found that the pie really made up for this in the flavour department! It was full of flavours which were different to your typical British pie. The emphasis here was on a buttery taste to both the filling and the pastry. It was well seasoned and contained peas, carrot and potato as well as the chicken. The chicken seemed like real pieces of chicken, not the processed cubes of breast meat which are found in lesser chicken pies. I enjoyed the firmness of the vegetables which added variety to the texture (although the potato was a bit too firm if anything). The pie was so well filled it was almost lacking in pastry (given that it was slice of pie). Fortunately there was a thick roll of pastry at the back. Often this large crust can be a bad thing, but in this case it was not at all dry and helped give the pie the right balance of filling to pastry. For $6.25 this seemed like a decent sized slice of pie. It was enough to prevent me eating another slice of pie straight away at least! I think the rich, buttery flavour would have also put me off from eating a lot of this pie, a slice was a good amount. Overall a very tasty and stand-out pie, the main thing stopping it getting a higher score was a lack of cohesion causing it to fall apart on serving, not quite what I would be looking for in the ultimate pie.

Chicken Pot Pie (Hoosier Mama Pie Company [Chicago])
6.24/7


I also had to try a sweet pie so I picked up a piece of their apple pie to take-away. They were good enough to give me a bit extra too which I contemplated bringing back to the UK for the other Pierateers to try. However, it had already become so smashed to pieces by the time I got back to my hotel that I realised this wouldn't be worthwhile!

A slice of apple pie costs $5.50 which initially seemed like quite a bit for a slice of fruit pie (a bit over £4). However the slice was really big, bigger than many individual pies and had a premium appearance which you would expect to pay more for. It is better value to buy the whole pie but here I was paying more for the individual slice and the option to eat it on the premise with coffee. When it came to the eating I think it lived up to the price tag. They advertise it as 'not too sweet, with more apple than goo, in a delicious buttery crust' and I think this is a better description of this pie than I could ever have come up with. There was a lot of apple chunks which were soft but retained some bite. The pastry lid and crimp was crispy and had a lovely sugar glaze, this was a sweet treat which I would have been happy to eat on it's own. The rest of the pie was surprisingly moist. There was plenty of gooey syrup which had soaked into the bottom crust, leaving it a bit too soggy in my opinion but tasty nevertheless. (This may have been because I had pursued the take-away option causing the syrup to leak out, I am not sure.) There was plenty of flavour to this pie, it was more spiced than I usually find back in Britain and I really liked the cinnamon hit. For my taste it was quite sweet (as opposed to other apple pies back home with slightly sour hint). This was not over the top but enough that I only wanted to eat one slice at a time as more might have become sickly (perhaps it would have gone well with ice cream). Overall I really enjoyed this apple pie, it was certainly the best apple pie I had during my trip to Chicago and the crunchy part of the pastry was probably the best I have ever had with any sweet pie ever! It was close to beating the Morecambe Apple pie (British Pie Awards Supreme Champion 2014) as my favourite ever apple pie (if cost was not a factor).



Apple Pie (Hoosier Mama Pie Company [Chicago])
6.01/7

Both pies deservedly receive 'Pierate Highly Recommended' Awards. I can see why Hooiser Mama have become arguably the biggest name in the Chicago pie scene. The pastry is like no other and it shows that the pies are carefully made on a small scale. Craig explained that were they to produce more pies it would be difficult to maintain oversight of the quality. The small size of the operation was something that I really liked about HMPC and I think the pies would loose something if they were to be produced on a larger scale. Thanks to Paula and Craig for presenting me with my very own Hoosier Mama branded pie slice! Ever time I use it I will remember this true slice of America and I wish them much success in the future.

SJL

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One of the things we really enjoy on the Pierate Ship is meeting the guys and girls up and down the land who make the pies that we really enjoy eating. As such we’ve created a “Meet the Pie-ducer” series of interviews, where we lift the lid on those who are looking to piefect their trade…

“Baked today, sold today” is just one of the mottos Stephen recounts to me as we both tuck into a World Scotch Pie Champion winning pie on a sunny Thursday afternoon in British Pie Week 2016. And it’s the dedication of Stephen, his wife Rona and his wonderful 83-strong team of bakers, shop assistants and other employees that is clearly evident as we chat. Stephen has been the owner of The Kandy Bar Bakery since 1991 and despite it being just the past few years that they have really shone in the limelight with their 3 big wins at the Scotch Pie Club Awards (overall winners in 2014 and 2016, plus best football pie in 2015), he is adamant the team of workers have been doing a great job for years.

And who can deny him that, with numerous gold, silver and bronze awards over the years before their big triumphs the past few years! I asked what the title win at the Scotch Pie Club Awards, for the second time in three years, meant to him. He quickly corrected me as to what it meant for “Team Kandy Bar” – each and every one of their employees a key asset to their continued success – by responding “It’s a fantastic feeling for the whole team.”

And without wanting to exaggerate, I think it’s safe to say the double win at the Scotch Pie Club Awards has firmly put Saltcoats on the map! Traditionally a small coastal town 40 minutes away from Glasgow popular with tourists, the pie wins have led to a whole host of visitors to the town, particularly wanting to visit and try their winning scotch pie. Pies continue to be a large part of the community there.

The pies available at Kandy Bar Bakery include - alongside the Award winning Scotch pie - the Scotch Onion pie (you guessed it - a scotch pie featuring more onion than the standard version), a haggis pie, macaroni pie and apple pie. We focused on the fully encased pies on offer, rating the Scotch pie, Scotch Onion Pie and Apple pies all as Pierate Highly Recommended (above 6 out of 7), which is a great achievement and sign of true quality across their range. Do check out the review for more details of why they were so good!

On my visit I was delighted to be given a short tour of the bakery facilities, before the all-important taste test! The shells of the scotch pies are something Stephen is particularly proud of, informing me that they are a bit softer than the average scotch pie available which makes them ideal for re-heating at home to whatever crispiness the customer wants. As we all know, the customer is always right! And the Kandy Bar Bakery are able to provide a pie that is firm but soft enough pre-heating to cater for a range of pie crispiness levels, where as other naturally firmer scotch pies cannot provide a softer, less crispy finish to the pastry like the Kandy Bar ones. This is to cater specifically for the Kandy Bar customers, who prefer to take their pie home to cook and eat it, and due to a secret recipe Stephen wasn’t going to share with me, of course, but he said it is the same recipe his father used in the 1960s, which had been passed down to him.

In fact, the history of pies in Stephen’s family goes back much further than the 1960s, with his grandfather having set up a bakery in 1929, before his father decided to set up a sweet shop but one selling scotch pies! The name Kandy Bar – which does admittedly seem a slightly odd name for a bakery! – comes from the sweet shop Stephen’s father used to run and the name stuck despite Stephen reverting back to a more typical bakery offering of bread, patisseries and – most importantly – pies!



Stephen and The Kandy Bar Bakery

And boy does Team Kandy Bar make pies! Around 1,200 a day are made early in the week, with a surge to around 1,600 on a Saturday, though shortly after winning the Scotch Pie World Champion title again in 2016 there was a natural surge of customers from far afield! This is on top of the rugby clubs (Stephen is a keen rugby fan and past player), football clubs, schools and other local facilities Kandy Bar Bakery supplies to, and Stephen even recalled past deliveries to local Church Sunday School classes when he was younger!

It was certainly a long way to go but was great to have visited and met Stephen, his wife Rona and the fabulous “Team Kandy Bar”. I certainly hope to visit again sometime and wish the team all the best in their attempt later this year at the World Scotch Pie Champion hat-trick!

RAS

Rank	Pie Producer	Pie Flavour	Score	By
1	Kandy Bar Bakery	Scotch Pie	6.21	R/S
2	Kandy Bar Bakery	Scotch Onion Pie	6.21	SJL
3	Kandy Bar Bakery	Apple Pie	6.07	R/S

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The Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie, Scotch Onion Pie and Apple Pie Reviews

Stephen and The Kandy Bar Bakery

There are very few pies that have had the accolades that a certain minced beef offering on the West Coast of Scotland has had. Not only did it win the World Scotch Pie Championship in 2014 but they repeated the feat again in 2016 – while the pie still won “Best Scottish Football Pie” in 2015 when they kindly let someone else have the honour of World Scotch Pie Champ! We are of course talking about the Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie, sold in the family run Kandy Bar Bakery based in Saltcoats on the Scottish west coast.

Shortly after it won the World Scotch Pie Championships in 2014 – which Pierateer Sam was a judge at but in the steak pie category – the Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch pie was added to our “Pierate Pie Hit List” as one we wanted to get our hands on, though being based in southern England it had proved a logistical challenge. However upon hearing they had bagged the top title at the Scotch Pie Club Awards 2016, thus re-affirming their status as the top scotch pie producer for the second time in three years, we knew it was a pie we needed to get rating! Therefore as part of Pierateer Rob’s Pie Pledge for British Pie Week, he made the mammoth 300+ mile journey to the west coast of Scotland to find out what all the fuss was about and get a tour of the bakery by owner Stephen.



The World Scotch Pie Awards Winners Trophy

Having had a look around the bakery – which you’ll find out more about in our “Meet the Pie-ducer” article coming soon – I sat down with Stephen to talk pie and, of course, eat one! I ate one of the award winning Scotch Pies in the shop, with another eaten on the plane journey back to Birmingham – part of my “Pie in the Sky” pie pledge! I then ate another with Pierateer Sam back in Birmingham, alongside the apple pie, while Sam also tried the Scotch Onion Pie a day later. Here’s how the pies rated:

Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie



Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie

We have to kick off with the World Champion Scotch Pie, which was the best Scotch pie Rob had tasted and one of the best Sam had tried. Sam has purveyed a number of Scotch Pie outlets when in Scotland for the Scotch Pie Club Awards a few years back and on holiday in Scotland last year, creating our “What is a Scotch Pie?” article and leader board. He particularly noticed the softer crisp outer shell, which Stephen had already told me in my visit is intentionally softer than most other scotch pie providers. The pastry certainly wasn’t too soft though, with a noticeable crunch through the pastry rim and holding together well as we ate it by hand.

The colour of a scotch pie is generally a lot paler than traditional shortcrust or puff pastry pies, which does naturally bring the colour score down a bit when considering the whole spectrum of pies available but was still very good for a scotch pie. Likewise the content of the pie was very good for a scotch pie, though a minced beef filling - however well-seasoned - will struggle a bit with more illustrious steak fillings! Overall though, these were small criticisms of scotch pies in general, and this was a premium example of Scotch Pies done well!

Having got through the initial pastry layer, it was then that we were confronted with a lovely, juicy and packed flling. A bit of juice oozed out of the pies as we bit into them, which kinda comes with the territory with a scotch pie! To be fair it would be far too dry and taste worse without the bit of fat you get oozing out of a scotch pie! The beef mince was nicely flavoured and not at all bland, leaving a little kick in the mouth as you tucked in. What I hadn’t realised until talking to Stephen is that Scotch pies tend to be far more seasoned on the West coast of Scotland than the East coast, which does explain the range of seasoning found in many of Sam’s range of pie reviews!



Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie cross-section

The filling was very good and capacity was pretty much spot on! Once aware of the juicy filling, which meant the plate I was eating off came in very handy, I thoroughly enjoyed the pie and the minced beef was very good quality. At 86p cold or £1.03 hot (due to the UK VAT laws on hot food) it’s almost rude not to take a box home with you! I was certainly glad to!

The Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Pie
Score: 6.21/7
[Colour 5.5/7; Consistency 6.25/7; Cheapness 7/7; Chewiness 6.25/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.5/7]

Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Onion Pie

Sam also tucked into the Scotch Onion pie. Often shortened to the Onion Pie – as a distinction to the more famed Scotch pie but not to be confused as being just a pie filled with Onion! – the Scotch Onion Pie was naturally very similar to Scotch pie in terms of the pastry quality, crispness and filling capacity, but with the added flavour of the onion. Sam had expected more of a strong onion flavour, it wasn't as oniony as the Simpson's one he had tried, in fact it was pretty similar to the Scotch pie with perhaps a little more flavour. There were some small pieces of onion that could be found. Many people would be pleased that that the onion wasn't overpowering. It was hard to separate the two, so we've given the Scotch pie and Scotch Onion pie the same score and will let you decide which one you'd prefer!



Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Onion Pie

The Kandy Bar Bakery Scotch Onion Pie
Score: 6.21/7
[Colour 5.5/7; Consistency 6.25/7; Cheapness 7/7; Chewiness 6.25/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6.5/7]

Kandy Bar Bakery Apple Pie

Kandy Bar Bakery Apple Pie

Finally, Rob had taken home a family apple pie from the bakery, which did very well to survive the flight and journey home with not even the slightest crumbling! Upon tasting it, from the first bite Rob commented this was one of the best apple pies he’d eaten and we were immediately likening it to the Pierate Highly Recommended Apple Pie we had enjoyed from Graham Aimson at Morecambe Football Club, which was not only highly rated by us but also won Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards 2014! Sam noted that it was sweet but not too sweet with a great crunch to the pastry. The chunks of apple were tender but retained some bite.

The pie was a fair bit shallower than the apple pie at Morecambe, containing less apple filling, which divided opinion slightly with the Pierateers. Rob preferred the slightly higher ratio of sweet pastry to apple filling, while Sam would have preferred a bit more apple in the pie. But at £1.75 for the family apple pie, which would easily have catered for 4 people, we both agreed this was a great apple pie at a very reasonable price. I was certainly pleased to have picked one up on the way out of the shop! Despite being a bit hesitant as to whether it would last the flight intact, it certainly proved me wrong and was delicious! I’d love to try the rest of the fruit pie range on my next visit!

The Kandy Bar Bakery Apple Pie
Score: 6.07/7
[Colour 5.5/7; Consistency 6.25/7; Cheapness 6.25/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6.25/7; Content 6.25/7; Capacity 6/7]


All that really is left to say is that – while I totally understand Stephen’s reasons for not supplying his produce outside of the family bakery he runs – I sure wish there was a Kandy Bar bakery outlet nearer to where I live! The quality ingredients and craftsmanship of all three of these Pierate Highly Recommended pies is obvious and yet the prices provide such good value. You’d be foolish if in the Glasgow area not to take a detour down to Saltcoats for a World Champion Scotch pie – or any other of the Kandy Bar Bakery’s top produce! Thanks once again to Stephen for his time with me and who knows – maybe he will be a hat-trick hero when it comes to the World Scotch Pie 2017 title? With the passion Team Kandy Bar show for quality pies, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised!

RAS and SJL

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Currently on sale at £2.79, these pies are certainly not at the cheap end of the spectrum. It's certainly larger than your average Mr Kipling apple pie, but at £1.40 per pie, you'd expect a sizeable pie for your money. I'm not quite sure the size of this pie matches up with its price tag - so I'm hoping this pie makes up it for when I taste it.

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Oh my apple pie! The Great British Bake Off is back on our TV!!!

What better sight than a row of freshly baked pies?

Oops... perhaps got a little carried away there! But anyway, unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks, you'll have no doubt heard that the Great British Bake Off kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday 5th August and we can't wait to get the party started! We of course have fond memories of the last two series (when we properly started getting into it). No doubt you can all remember Frances Quinn's amazing baking designs and fabulous picnic pie in the 2013 final (see link below if not or if you just want a reminder!) And of course last year we had the wonderful Kate Henry being awarded star baker in Pie Week - and we hope to try her pies in the coming months ahead!

But one thing many of you may remember from last year, away from the main Wednesday night show, was how we aboard the Pierate Ship got involved in the Bake Off - and Pie Week in particular! Not only did we have a steak pie-off between Paul and Mary that has had a whopping 1,600 views already but we also then got invited to star on Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice! Yes - those two odd people who cooked an exotic pie for Michel Roux Jnr to rate (we cooked a genuine crocodile pie, for goodness sake!!!) were in fact none other than Pierateer Rob (who has since been on BBC One's Rip Off Britain as a pie expert) and the Ship's Cook - who is about to reveal to the world how Mary and Paul's pies rate in her latest GBBO pie-off to see who will be crowned Star Baker in 2015! Bring on the pies!!!

Excellent news for all you cake, bread, biscuit, pastry and especially pie fans - The Great British Bake Off is back! The adverts have been counting down the days and I just couldn't resist any longer... I had to get into the kitchen and bake some pies.

You might remember that last year I pitted Paul Hollywood against Mary Berry by rating their steak pie recipes. Well it's time for a rematch and this time I've been testing their apple pie recipes.

The Recipes:

Mary Berry's Proper Apple Pie is a classic recipe - just apples, sugar and shortcrust pastry (you can find it here). Paul Hollywood, however, takes a more regional approach with a mix of apples and the surprising addition of cheese in his Yorkshire Apple and Wensleydale Pie (which you can find here).

So, which of the Bake Off judges did I crown Star Baker? Read on to find out!


The Seven Cs:

Colour:
Both pies were a beautiful golden brown and looked really appetising, although Paul's pies had some extra crispy patches from where the cheese had leaked out which I think just gives him the edge in this category.

Consistency:
Mary's pie was my favourite in this category, with a lovely jammy apple sauce alongside the chunks of apple. Paul's pies had a nice creamy texture from the cheese and certainly weren't dry, but they didn't have the same sauce-like quality as Mary's.

Capacity:
Both scored pretty highly in this category with plenty of filling, although if you make Paul's pies be sure to pack the slices of apple really firmly into the crust, otherwise when they cook down you get a bit of an air gap under the lid.

Chewiness:
Paul and Mary have slightly different ways of cooking the apple in their pies, but in both versions you end up with soft, mushy apple with just a little bit of bite left. The cheese in Paul's pies was soft and melted which added a nice creamy texture alongside the apple.

Cheapness:
These are both really cheap pies - some cooking apples and sugar won't cost you very much. Technically Mary wins in this category because you don't have to buy any Wensleydale, but the cheese isn't exactly going to cost a fortune!

Content:
Both pie fillings are delicious. Apples and sugar, great. Apples and cheese, also great. Paul just sneaks ahead with the novelty value of added cheese though.

Condition:
I made mini pies rather than large ones because even I can't eat two giant pies in one sitting, and they looked lovely - golden brown, the perfect round pie shape and the filling stayed put when I cut them in half. I think it's safe to assume that the full sized versions would work just as well.

And the winner is...

So here's the thing - Paul's apple and cheese pies are seriously delicious. I could not stop eating them. They're sweet and salty and melty and just really really good. However...if I'm having apple pie for pudding I want to put ice cream or custard on it, or even ice cream AND custard. I cannot do that if you've put cheese in my pie (well, I could, but it would be terrible). So if this was just a pie Bake Off then Paul would win hands down, because cheese and pastry makes the best combination. But unfortunately for Paul this is an apple pie Bake Off, so Mary's lovely traditional pies are going to be smothered in custard and she will be pronounced Star Baker!

The Ship's Cook

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