Results revealed that the north still loved hot, pastry-covered pies, with Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester all strongly voting in favour of meat & potato, pork, and steak & ale respectively.
Nottingham attempted to redefine pie with a majority (39%) expressing their love for mashed potato-topped cottage pie, while London voted in favour of banoffee, a dessert version of pie.
Pie history
Favourite pies by city:
- London – banoffee (44%)
- Newcastle – steak & potato (79%)
- Leeds – steak & ale (53%)
- Wigan – pie barm (67%)
- Liverpool – steak & potato (73%)
- Bristol – apple (57%)
- Glasgow – pork pie (42%)
- Birmingham – chicken & mushroom (56%)
- Manchester – pork pie (71%)
- Nottingham – cottage pie (39%)
Data collected by Hungry House
Digital marketers Visual Soft dug in to the history of the British pub menu classic and revealed that despite being recorded back in Egyptian times, the earliest written references to ‘pyes’ were found in relation to King Henry VI’s peacock and partridge pies in the 15th century.
The company also paid tribute to television programmes such as The Great British Bake Off and said this was to thank for a rise in pastry popularity.
Graeme Coyle, marketing manager at retailer and manufacturer of baking and kitchen products Andrew James, hailed the pie as one of Britain’s “most iconic meals”.
Integral to British cuisine
He said: “Pies have been integral to British food cuisine for hundreds of years.
“Although they vary regionally, the essential components of pastry and a delicious filling never change!
“The re-emerging popularity of pies comes down to people wanting a simple and filling meal that has a homely feel to it.
“Also, with programmes like The Great British Bake Off, we can see people look to test their hand at making one of Britain’s most iconic meals.”
Fun facts about pies in pubs:
- An inn in Burnley, Lancashire holds the record for the most expensive pie in the UK. The Fence Gate Inn’s Golden Bon Vivant meat pie sold for £8,195 to eight guests in 2005. It was made from Wagyu beef that cost £500, winter black truffles, French bluefoot mushrooms, Chinese matsutake mushrooms, and gravy made with two bottles of Vintage 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine.
- The world pie-eating championship takes place every year at Harry’s Bar in Wigan, Lancashire, since starting in 1992.
- The majority of pubs tend to use puff pastry in order to create that golden crisp.
- Celebrity pub chef Heston Blumenthal once built a pub from edible pies.
- Companies like Pieminister recognise the traditional pub food through collaborations with pubs and pub companies to sell award-winning pies.
Information from digital marketers Visual Soft.