Monday 7 December 2015

Best Mince Pies in Britain?

Konditor & Cook - Mince Pie Review

I saw this attention grabbing headline outside the Goodge Street branch of Konditor and Cook in London. It was difficult to resist having a look at the mince pies which had such a claim to fame. This pastry and cake shop did look appealing, if a little expensive. The plate of mince pies on the counter looked impressive with a lovely golden colour to the pastry and a handmade appearances. The box of six pies I got were certainly beautifully presented but how would they taste?

I personally found the flavour of these mince pies about right, there was a good balance between the fruit, spice and sweetness. I find some mince pies too spicy but these were more on the tangy and fruity side. There was a good texture with decent pieces of fruit and nut a must in this price range. For me, the pastry was also very nice, it was nice and buttery, a bit crumbly but not too much. I find some mince pies have pastry almost like shortbread which is very crumbly and can be a bit dry. Pierateer RAS was also able to try these mince pies. I was able to get Pierateer Rob's opinion on this, we were generally in agreement regarding the good quality of the buttery pastry and fruity filling.

So these were nice mince pies, the taste and appearance was well above average. They were well filled with no airgap in sight. However, considering these were the larger of the two sizes of mince pies in Konditor and Cook, we noted they were really quite shallow. I really felt like I should have got a bit more considering the box of six cost me £8! It is always going to be difficult to justify paying such a high price. Regarding the 'best in Britain' claim, it is hard to verify this as I haven't tried all the mince pies in Britain. It was certainly up with the best but at the price you would expect that. I don't think it was the best mince pie I have ever had. As it is nicely presented it could make a good gift but I am not likely to buy these pies again due to their premium price, you don't get that much more than with the best supermarket versions. The 'best mince pie in Britain' claim is attributed to the Telegraph but I have not been able to verify this via a Google search, their 2015 reviews online don't even mention Konditor and Cook! I don't doubt the claim but wouldn't put too much store in it, there are lots of mince pies out there recommended by various newspapers and website. However, it does come away with a 'Pierate Recommended' award for scoring above 5, that is something you can trust!


Mince Pie (Konditor & Cook [London])
5.11/7
[Colour 6, Condition 5.5, Cheapness 2.5, Capacity 4.5, Chewiness 5.75, Content 6, Consistency 5.5]

SJL & RAS


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