British Pie Week: how do you eat yours? Bedford News

It’s the age-old question that accompanies many pub lunches – how do you eat your pie?

Full crates or pastry trays? Sauce, liqueur or red sauce? Mash, chips or just solo?

The options are, it seems, endless and highly emotive, colored by fierce debate – preference apparently depending entirely on where you are from in the UK.

Even the toppings differ from region to region; butter pie and cogwheel pie are beloved treats in the north, while in the south star pie is a common meal – with sardine heads sticking out of a pie crust.

The way a pie is served also varies enormously.

Take the Cockney tradition of making a pie with mashed potatoes and liquor, for example; with the liqueur traditionally made from the water preserved from the preparation of cooked eels.

There’s even some debate to be had over how to tuck into a pie, with some opting to simply pick up the pie with their hands, and others opting to use a knife and fork.

As we celebrate British Pie Week, which runs from March 7-13, pie master and owner of Mad O’Rourke’s Pie Factory, Peter Towler, is here to settle things once and for all – putting us straight on the “right” way to savor the much-loved dish.

The son of a baker, Peter has spent his entire life in the food business – and half of it has been devoted to pies.

Peter says the best way to avoid a burnt mouth is to actually remove the top of the pie first and, while waiting for the dish to cool, dip the fries in the sauce filling.

“Your pie absolutely doesn’t need tomato or brown sauce – it’s a shame,” added Peter, 60.

“There’s a lot of flavor in our pies as they are; you’re eating the wrong kind of pie if you need it with sauce.”

“You’re going to want to serve this delicious pie with fries or mash, nothing fancy is needed.”

When it comes to baking, Peter says his personal preference is to have it moist.

He also shed light on the best drink to enjoy with a piping hot pie – and insists the gravy-filled delights of the Tipton place are best accompanied by a pint.

“Don’t risk taking the shine out of your pie dinner with a cheap lager,” he said.

“It’s absolutely best to go for a good quality beer, like a nice bitter or an IPA.”

If you want to get your hands on a pack of Mad O’Rourkes pies, wherever you live in the UK, check out Black Country’s Pies By Post; a venture launched by the company during lockdown, which sees the restaurant sending its famous cheeky-named pies across the country.

Handmade pies include: Posh ‘n’ Becks (steak and stilton), Hen Pecked (chicken and mushroom), Eeny Meeny Beeny (vegan chili veg) and Wham Bam Thank You Lamb (mint lamb ).