With Pie Week almost upon us eateries across London will be looking to encase the best recipes they can find in pastry to satisfy their hungry customers.
The week-long festival gets under way on 2nd March with restaurants across London participating. My own personal favourite, the Windmill in Mayfair, will be serving up 5 new pies to try and you can expect similar offerings from the capital’s best pie spots.
But how do you judge the perfect pie?
According ‘Pierateer’ Rob it’s all about ‘The Seven C’s’: “We look for a pie that has golden colour, great consistency, a strong capacity, isn’t too chewy, is good value for money (cheapness), has high quality content and is in perfect condition. These criteria make up the Seven Cs – which we rate pies on”.
“British Pie Week is the ideal time for people to get together and celebrate the delicious comfort food that is a great British pie! While we certainly don’t limit ourselves to just eating pie in pie week, it acts as a particular focus point for the great British public to eat and rate pie together”.
British Pie Week is also a great time to take on a #PiePledge to show your commitment to the tasty pastry treats. The Pierateers have been a great advocate of this in previous years, taking on a number of pie ‘stunts’ and challenges. While plans for the Pierate #PiePledge are still being finalised Rob has assured us that “We will be attempting to go one step further this year after last year’s python pie and pork pie challenges’.
Here’s the top 10 pies in London as rated by Pierate:
1 Piebury Corner: Venison and Red Wine or Lamb and Veg
2 Pieminister: Chicken, Ham, Leek and Cheddar
3 Mother Mash: Chicken and Mushroom or Steak and Ale or Chicken, Leek and Ham
4 Punch Tavern: Chicken, Tarragon, White Wine and Wild Mushroo
5 Battersea Pie Station: Steak and Kidney
6 Newman Arms Pie Room: Chicken and Broccoli in Pepper Sauce
7 L. Manze: Traditional Minced Beef
8 Canteen: Celeriac, Mushroom and Leek
9 Bob Bob Ricard: Chicken, Mushroom and Champagne
10 Porters English Restaurant: Minced Beef, Pea & Red Wine
