Pieminister’s Bride’s Pie wins the judges’ hearts in the British Pie Awards
Pieminister wooed judges yesterday at the British Pie Awards, making it into the top three Bride’s Pies with its Wedding Drum Pie and winning a prestigious Gold Medal.
The pie was entered into this year’s Innovation Class; the only class for pies that are not commercially available. This class is seen as an opportunity for Britain’s best pie-makers to pull out all the stops and let their creative culinary skills run wild.
Tristan Hogg has been making Pieminister’s pies since founding the company with his brother-in-law Jon Simon in 2003 and he seized the chance to create something different for this year’s awards. Inspired by one of his favourite films, Stanley Tucci’s ‘Big Night’, Tristan based his recipe on a traditional Timpano (Drum) pie – as featured in the film’s infamous scene.
“It’s always fun to get creative in the kitchen at work, so I leapt at the chance to spend the best part of two days over a hot stove for this very special pie. I started with a traditional Italian recipe but added a few of my own little touches and of course, like all our pies, I sourced the best, ethically-produced ingredients I could get my hands on. This is the ultimate feast for special occasions and a real labour of love, so it’s the perfect ‘Big Night’ pie for a lucky Bride.”
Pieminister’s Wedding Drum Pie is about indulgence, pure and simple, with layer upon layer of delicious textures and flavours. Densely packed, this ‘drum’ of silky smooth olive oil pastry is filled with Ziti pasta, tender meatballs, chunks of Genoa salami and Provolone, Picante and Pecorino sardo cheese and quails eggs. Tristan carefully combined the ingredients in a painstakingly slow-cooked rich Ragu sauce made with beef shin, pork ribs, fresh oregano, garlic and plenty of Chianti. (Tristan was so proud of the final result when it came out of the oven, his colleagues had to literally prise the pie out of his hands to be sent to Melton Mowbray for judging!)
Pieminister makes all its pies in Bristol using the best, fresh ingredients sourced as close to their kitchens as possible. The company only uses free range British chicken and pork and other high welfare meats and is the only British pie company to hold three Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards from Compassion in World Farming.
In recent years, Pieminister has gained a reputation as one of the go-to caterers for good, fuss-free food for weddings of all sizes and styles, up and down the UK. From knees-ups, to barefoot picnics and ballroom banquets, Pieminister’s classic pies have added a note of distinction to many marital celebrations.