Power to the pie

1. Bunny in a crust​
Pie Week is “always fun” at the Old Sergeant, a Great British Community Pub award-winning Ram Pub Co lease in Wandsworth, south-west London. Manager Keris de Villiers says: “Pies take over the menu and are the basis for staff incentives and upselling. Last year’s most successful recipes were ‘bunny in a crust’ – rabbit with red wine – and cheeseburger pie, baked pasty style with two beef patties, bacon, mushrooms, onion, cheese sauce and a dollop of relish.

“This year we’ll have more staff involvement, encouraging each member to suggest a pie flavour – the crazier the better. The inventor of the best-selling pie wins a prize. As we like to showcase exotic meats, such as zebra and python, my suggestion will be zebra, chorizo & feta.”

2. Winter warmer​

“Cooking and eating pies on gloomy winter days provides a welcome, comforting hug,” says Suffolk-based British Larder owner, chef and award-winning author Madelene Bonvini-Hamel. But she doesn’t settle for standard fare. “In summer we cook and serve a lot of beef, so the game season adds variety. Venison can have a very strong flavour that varies according to the animal, so ask your butcher whether you are buying fallow, muntjac or red deer. One of the most popular pie recipes among those I have posted on our British Larder website (http://www.britishlardersuffolk.co.uk​) is for venison ale pie with a carrot and potato rösti topping as a welcome change from mash or pastry. Try using celeriac in this dish instead of potato.”

3. Festive pies​

Annual festive guided walks for 15 participants, led by expert guide Ken Goor and starting from the Friends of Ham in Leeds, with mince pies and mulled cider included in the £7 ticket price, are a big attraction at the recently refurbished pub, which specialises in charcuterie. Owner Anthony Kitching says: “Top quality mince pies are always welcome at Christmas, and we find that making our own and serving them at an innovative festive event draws attention in a relaxed way to the care we take with all our food. We focus mainly on ham and cheese, but it’s important to include sweet treats. Many walkers also sample our menu and drinks here before or after their outings, and participating in enjoyable events encourages them to return.”

4. Punk meets Pieminister​

Engaging customers and communities by allowing them to name your innovations can spark interest and boost coverage. Since BrewDog joined forces with Pieminister last summer to produce two BrewDog beer-infused pies, sales and interest have been “epic”, according to BrewDog marketing spokesperson Sarah Warman. 

Describing the Chick ’n’ Hop – a Punk IPA, chicken and ham pie – Warman says: “The hoppy hit of Punk works wonders with its two meaty friends, adding a slightly sweet flavour to the mellow chicken and ham. At our BrewDog AGM in 2014, we invited our shareholders to suggest a pie name for our second pie, which resulted in the awesome MooDog – a mouth-watering British beef, smoked bacon and 5am Red Ale pie.” 

5. Parlour pork​

Jesse Dunford Wood, chef-proprietor of Parlour in Kensal Green, is passionate about pork pies: “I prefer to make long ones like you find in the supermarket,” he says. “We’ve done venison pork pies, gala pies (with ‘endless’ egg running through) and classic pork with various nuts and fruits. Pistachios and dried fruits work well, or try adding raw chopped apple. I love filling our pies with fruit jelly: apple in pork pies, or redcurrant in venison pork pies – what a treat! Making two simultaneously in loaf tins gives us about 30 portions. It’s worth making them twice weekly, and the GP is around 75%: as with sausages, fat content is key. I use half fat to meat – some minced, some chopped. And our reindeer pie went down well at Christmas.”

6. Prioritising pies​

At the Rising Sun in Woodland, near Ashburton in Devon, a good value monthly-changing menu featuring pies and desserts has been extended from a traditional Pie Night to include lunchtimes from Tuesday to Thursday. A half-pint of real ale or small glass of wine plus choice of pie with chips, new potatoes or mash; salad or vegetables; dessert; cheese & biscuits, plus tea or coffee costs £15 per person. February’s five pies include mixed white fish, olives and pine nuts and a vegetarian option of apple, Brie and cranberry at this family-run business on a popular tourist route between Dartmoor and Torbay. Traditional lemon meringue pie with raspberry sorbet is on this year’s Mother’s Day menu, which includes a free glass of wine for every mum.

7. Pie-off​

To celebrate Pie Week 2014, Truffle Hunting invited top chefs to enter their twist on a traditional pork pie at a Pie-Off at its Princess Victoria gastropub in London’s Shepherd’s Bush, judged by experts including restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles and Olive​ magazine editor Christine Hayes. Displayed anonymously, pies were rated for taste and texture in a contest won by the Garrison’s Tom Langdon. Tickets (£10) entitled each guest to admission, pie tastings and a complimentary craft beer, raising £500 for charity Action Against Hunger (AAH). This year a Selfridges representative joins the panel on 2 March and the winning pie will be sold on 7 March in Selfridges Food Hall. The Truffle Hunting team aims to double last year’s AAH donation.