Hailing from the town of Oldham, pie making and pie eating is in my blood. Obviously not as much as someone from Wigan, but I’m certainly an expert when it comes to hot tasty fillings encased in pastry. And so, I was very excited this week to hear that the phenomenal Great North Pie Co are heading into the city centre this Christmas.
Starting in a home kitchen just a few years ago, Great North Pie went on to win a whopping 9 categories at the coveted British Pie Awards, as well as winning the overall competition and even being named the Best Small Producer!
All of these accolades obviously stem from the exceptionally high quality of their pies, something that they’re exceedingly devoted to. From the butter content of the pastry to the source of their fillings, every single detail has been considered, tested and perfected over the years.
Their menu of pies is always changing with the seasons, and so there’s always something different to get your teeth into. There’s their Swaledale Beef Mince & Onion with roast onion puree, ale gravy, redcurrant jelly and Worcester sauce, or indeed their Roast Chicken & Ham; full to the brim with slow roasted chicken, baked ham, white wine cream, ginger, nutmeg and tarragon.
If there’s only one pie which you get to try though, make sure it’s their Classic Lancashire Cheese & Onion – a truly wonderful creation and quite possibly the greatest cheese and onion pie you’ll ever eat.
They take Dewlay’s Lancashire cheese and combine it with caramelised onions, nutmeg and Japanese panko breadcrumbs and it’s amazing.
They’re outstanding pies and you can trust me on that (Oldham remember!) and as I said – they’ll be heading to the city centre VERY soon. In fact, if everything goes to plan, they’ll be hitting up Winter Island at Escape to Freight Island from Saturday 19th December – so you can give these beauties a try surrounded by Christmas trees, live music, mulled wine and more.
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To get involved, you’ll have to book a table at Winter Island, which can be done right here…
