Company profile - To pie for
It might have had a slightly stodgy image in the past, but the great British pie is certainly getting a makeover at the hands of chef Tristan Hogg. David Marks reports.
If there's one pub menu staple with a bit of a tarnished past, it must be the pie, but a new Bristol company is set to raise the profile of this national favourite. Chef Tristan Hogg and his brother-inlaw, Jonathan Simon, launched Pieminister in December 2003 and they are already selling 2,000 pies per week to the public and trade. Their Bristol premises, housed in a former printers' site close to the city's main shopping area, consists of an enormous pie factory with a shop/café attached. It took just 14 months from the original plan to the opening of Pieminister, and the success of the business has far exceeded the owners' expectations.
The Pieminister range currently consists of eight varieties, including the Humble Pie (free-range British beef steak, kidneys, fresh herbs and real ale), the Chicken of Aragon (free-range British chicken, smoky bacon, roast garlic, vermouth and fresh tarragon) and the Minty Lamb Pie (freerange British lamb, carrot, swede, mint and rosé wine), all priced between £2.50 and £2.95 (or £4 if you eat the pie with mash and gravy in the small 22-seat café at the front of the shop). As well as the deep-filled savoury pies, there is also one sweet variety (the Adam's Apple Pie) and a new range of picnicfriendly tartlets will go into production shortly. These pies are a world away from the high-street pies we are used to. Rather than the stodgy pastry and "mysterious" fillings which have given pies a bad name in the past, Pieminister prides itself on filling the pies with the very best ingredients - free-range meat, local vegetables - and topped with a crisp, golden, flaky pastry.
"People care a lot more about what goes into pies than they did and are prepared to pay that little extra for them," says Hogg, who used to be a freelance chef, working all over the world for stars, including the Rolling Stones, the Pet Shop Boys, Eminem and Will Young. The business started when Hogg was working in Australia - where quality pies are big business - sitting on the beach with his business partner after surfing, and thinking up names for the company. "Pieminister just came to us - it's such a good name because people laugh at it, but always remember it," says Hogg. Back in Bristol in 2003, he started to experiment with recipes for his range of pies, practising in his flat, as well as in the kitchen of the local delicatessen where he was working part-time.
Hogg's aim was always to raise the profile of pies at a time when consumers are increasingly choosy about what they put in their mouths. "Things like BSE and books like Fast Food Nation have opened people's eyes to the fact that dodgy things happen in the food business and that mass-produced pies can contain a lot of mechanicallyrecovered meat and all sorts of weird stuff," he says. "It seemed a shame that a product that people associate with childhood and home cooking has been so abused - we thought it was about time the great British pie made its return. "As a chef, I've always said that decent ingredients cooked in the right way equals a decent product. "Our pies offer something a bit more substantial and high quality than a dodgy bit of meat inside a dodgy bit of pastry. "It's just personal pride - I look at every pie that comes out of the ovens and if it's not right, I won't send it out," adds Hogg, who now employs four people in the kitchen so that he can oversee product development.
The wholesale side of Pieminister is already spreading rapidly and its products are now stocked in delicatessens throughout the West Country, from Somerset to Herefordshire. The most recent development for the business has been getting the pies into pubs, and both Bath Ales and Brains Brewery have started to put them on their menus. Bath Ales' flagship Bristol pub the Wellington (the closest pub to the Bristol Rovers football ground) now has the Humble Pie on the menu and also supplies its popular Barnstormer ale to Pieminister for inclusion in the pies.
Brains also provides beer for the same steak pies, which will be sold in a number of their top-end pubs in Wales. On top of that, Pieminister pies are also to be found on the menu at top Bristol gastro bar the River, as well as several local golf clubs. In addition Hogg has meetings lined up with three top supermarket chains (which expressed an interest in stocking the pies after seeing Pieminister exhibit at Food & Drink Expo 2004), and there are plans to launch franchises as far afield as York and London. "People like our branding," adds Hogg, "And they appreciate that there's a big market for high-end products like this."
Pieminister can be contacted on 0117 942 9500.
What's on the menu at Pieminister
Humble Pie - Free-range British beef steak, kidneys, fresh herbs and Bath Ale in pastry. Minty Lamb Pie - Free-range British lamb, carrot, swede, mint and rosé wine in pastry. Thai Chook Pie - Free-range British chicken, fragrant Thai green curry, sweet potato and lime in pastry. Chicken of Aragon Pie - Free-range British chicken, smoky bacon, roast garlic, vermouth and fresh tarragon in pastry. Wildshroom and Asparagus Pie - Wild mushrooms, asparagus, shallots, white wine and cracked black pepper in pastry. Matador Pie - Free-range British beef steak, chorizo, olives, tomato, sherry and butter beans in pastry. Heidi Pie - Sweet potato, spinach, roast garlic, goats cheese, red onion and herbs in pastry.
Tristan's 10 steps to pie heaven
1. FRESH: Use really good fresh ingredients for the fillings and you will breathe life into those old pie recipes. 2. MELT IN THE MOUTH: For the pastry forget margarine, use good old-fashioned butter and lots of it, and if you are feeling really traditional you could use suet. The difference is amazing! 3. EXPERIMENT: As well as making your more traditional chicken and mushroom pies and such like, try some of your more contemporary and exotic casserole recipes - these also work beautifully in a pastry crust. 4. FOUR SEASONS: Pies are not just for the winter months, the ingredients and flavours you use will reflect the seasons. In other words, for the summer use lighter flavours such as chicken, lime, chilli, mint, sweet potato... the opportunities are simply endless. 5. ACCOMPANIED BY: Creamy mash, a good crunchy vegetable salad, sweet chilli sauce, salsa verde, proper chips, etc, etc. If you go to the effort of making a good pie serve it with an equally good side dish. This will go down better with your customers than a failed soufflé. 6. CUTS: When using meat in a pie it is important to keep it moist. Therefore use "self saucing" cuts such as chuck steak, chicken thighs and leg of pork. These cuts will also give the pie filling a better, fuller flavour. Ask any good butcher for advice. They always seem to know best. 7. HERBIVORES: There are countless amounts of simple vegetarian recipes for pies. Give them a go and even a hardened carnivore will be satisfied. Just make sure you use good ingredients. 8. PLAYSTRY: Play around with your pastry. Blend ingredients into it that will reflect your filling. This could, for example, mean freshly chopped rosemary for a traditional meat pie, or Parmesan and chopped sun-dried tomatoes for an Italian version. The rule is just play around with your ingredients. With your pastry offcuts, grate loads of cheddar cheese, grab a few herbs, mix, roll out thinly, cut into slices and bake… and you have proper cheese straws. 9. LIKE THE PICTURES: To get that textbook shine on your pie glaze your lid with a mixture of egg yolk and a touch of cream just before you bake it. Alternatively, for a real rustic look, sprinkle with a few seasalt flakes. 10
