Here at Pierate, we have been fortunate enough to rate pies from countries other than the UK. In fact our pie-oneers have eaten pies from as far flung as Australia, New Zealand and Borneo. You can see our full list at the bottom of our World Cup pie blog.

However, the pie which is the focus of this review comes from slightly nearer home: France. Now, you might think that, as Pierateer SJL has travelled to gay Paris regularly for business meetings that we may have rated a French pie before. But the French, for all their world renowned food sophistication, have a distinct lack of pie on their menus. Therefore, it will come as no surprise to hear that I was over the moon this Christmas to find, not one but THREE pies in a local delicatessen in Morzine, France. The first two were individual pies, one filled with mushroom and the other veal. While very intrigued by the veal pie, instead I purchased the Christmas special “Duck and fig” pie. Though I very much wanted to buy one of each of the other pies, at €15.60 for two quarters, I had to choose between them, and I thought that the other two might still be on the menu when I hopefully return in the spring.

So other than the high cost of this pie, what was it like? Well, firstly, for such a special pie, I could hardly consume it all myself, so I had to bring it back on the plane for the other pieraters to enjoy with me. As the pie was of the traditional pork pie type (gelatinous?) it travelled better than possibly a traditional chunk-and-gravy pie. We heated it up in the oven which turned the pastry the lovely, rich golden colour that Pierateers crave. As can be seen in the photo, the capacity of this pie was chock-full. The flavours were rich and slightly sweet from the fig. Although a little fatty, which is to be expected from this type of pie, the meat wasn’t chewy. Obviously there wasn’t any gravy, but the pie kept moist and succulent.

Overall, this pie would have scored a lot higher, if it wasn’t for the outrageous price. It scores well on all other 7 Cs though, so as a luxury or occasional treat, this pie is well worth it.