The not-so-glorious return of the shapeshifting steak pie

You may recall that in May 2013 (blimey, was it that long ago?!), I reviewed a microwaveable Kershaws Luxury Steak Pie. Needless to say, the pie didn't score well on our criteria. In my opinion, not only did the top-crust pie look terrible but it also failed to live up to its "luxury" status in any sense of the word. I finished the pie, and thought that would be the end of it.

But the Kershaws steak pie has reared its head again, for I spotted this item in the freezer section of a small superstore. The ready meal pie is back, and with a vengeance.

It's back, in a new form. And 9p more expensive.

I know what you're thinking. It's a steak pie and chips, with carrots and peas - same as before - so what's the difference? Well, this pie is billed as a classic steak pie, in contrast to the luxury pie I reviewed before. Other than that small difference, though, the pie looks virtually identical.

But my Pierate colleagues (thanks guys) assured me that I really needed to try this pie, just to be certain there was no difference. Unsurprisingly, this filled me with fear. If the luxury pie lurks down near the bottom of the pie rankings, what on earth is this classic pie going to score?

 Opening up the cardboard packaging, the pie looks much the same in its plastic ready meal packaging.

:(

Once blasted for 11 minutes (11 minutes!) in the microwave, the pie is ready on the plate. And wow, what a sorry sight. Even for £1.59 (note: 9p dearer than the luxury offering), in my opinion this is a depressing plate of food. I just don't know how you can call that a pie. And why does the rectangular slab of "lid" have weird machined dimples in it?


Yep, I'd recognise those scary cubes of meat from a mile off. This has got to be the same pie as the luxury one I ate last year. Even the chips and veg are the same.

So what's happened? Has Kershaws possibly, potentially, just perhaps, maybe taken our comments on board, and changed the name? It's unlikely, but we can dream.

I won't give it a new rating, as I'm really rather sure that it is the same pie as before (although you can never be 100% certain). But I will say I still think this pie is just as bad as when I first tried it - with a rating of 1.2/7.

TJP