Bigham luxury pie review

Lussorian was lucky enough to try a selection of Bigham’s latest luxury pies a while back. As it was all a bit much for one person, we drafted in some pie connoisseurs to give their discerning opinions!

First off, the thing that strikes you about Bigham’s is that they have gone to enormous trouble to get the packaging right. It’s not over the top (so good from an environmental stand point) and it’s a clean/simple design which gives the pies a quality feel even before you tear into them. The pies themselves, are for the most part contained within ceramic ramekins, which come in surprisingly handy for a variety of recipes.

Our team of pie taste testers gave their views via questionnaire and a rating out of ten below:

Fish Pie

First up in the taste test was the Fish Pie – pieces of salmon and haddock in a traditional parsley sauce, with creamy mashed potato, crunchy cheddar and breadcrumbs. So often fish pies come up short, but this was firm and delicious. Our only slight issue – there wasn’t quite enough fish for our liking, nonetheless a delicious pie. 7 / 10

Steak & Mushroom Pie

Tender British steak slowly braised with red wine, mushrooms and fresh thyme and covered with a light and flaky pastry lid. This really was a good quality pie. A good, firm, crusty pastry, well seasoned filling and a nice consistency. The balance between tender steak, mushrooms and gravy was spot on. So many pies on the market are swimming in gravy, with comparatively little meat – not with this one. 9 / 10

Chicken Pie

This one split the panel as it was undoubtedly a well made pie, with great pastry and full of juicy chunks of chicken. However, some of our taste testers found the tarragon too overpowering. Nonetheless, this did not detract from the overall quality of the pie, with high ratios of meat / vegetable to gravy pleasing everybody. 7 / 10

Steak & Ale Pie

This classic pie is easy to get wrong, but again Bigham’s have succeeded in doing the basics well. Well seasoned, melt in the mouth steak set within a deep flavoured ale gravy. Nice balance between meat, onions and gravy. One taste tester wanted bigger chunks of steak, but generally this was excellent pie. 8 / 10

Shepherd’s Pie

Out of all the pies this possibly received the most positive response. Deep lamb flavours, offset by creamy mash – made for the perfect Shepherd’s Pie! Easily a 9 / 10

All Charlie Bigham`s meals have been inspired by his food experiences. Bigham’s say:

“Whether it`s an exotic Beef Teriyaki or a warming British classic like Shepherd`s Pie. They are all hand prepared with the finest, freshest ingredients, with no additives or preservatives.”

All meals retail in the UK for £5.99, (apart from pies which are £6.99), and are enough for a couple to share. Available in Waitrose and on ocado.com