Hawarden Estate Farm Shop

The Monster Champion Pie Chompers have recently prompted the Pieman to widen the search for fresh new pies in recent weeks and this led us last week to Hawarden Estate Farm Shop. They have recently won awards for its Welsh Beef in Black Beer pie which was tempting enough.

So a selection was bought and we can heartily recommend their Pies and in particular the Steak & Mushroom which was fantastic. The sausage roll left you wanting to lie down and make a new notch on your belt, very large and with poppy seeds on top? The Cheese, Ham, Spinach and Honey Pasty was less well received however.

The shop itself is a minefield of edible and drinkable delights throughout. The only problem though is that your wallet is going to take a bashing. Everything is a little on the pricey side. A second mortgage or selling a prized possession may be necessary. The 3-star gold award winning Black Beer Pie was £2.95 and the size of a normal Steak Pie which for this Pie chomper was a little bit rich.

French Pie Found

In recent times our search for pies in France has been pretty poor. However this time we were much further south in the Allier on the northern edge of the Auvergne region and one of it's specialities is the delicious Pâté Aux Pommes De Terre.

Within the pastry you find thinly sliced and layered potatoes with a delicious crème fraîche/herb /onion sauce all the way through. No meat but any pie is better than none. You can obtain smaller ones on a daily basis from your local patisserie. The following is recipe for the Limousin version which adds Fatty Bacon http://www.yourgateway2france.com/limousin-recipes.php The potatoes combined with the sour crème fraîche make this brilliant as a snack or a main course. None was ever left!!

We have previously enjoyed a personalised version in a restaurant near to St Priest en Murat. Nanny Pie arranged prior to our booking to have our names added (In Pastry) to a Gargantuan version of this pie which would have fed 20 or more. So much so we took it home and returned the large two handled dish a few days late when we'd ate it all.