Pie Guy!

Reading time: 3 minutes...

Tonight, we headed off to the famous Brockleby’s Pies – where else but in Melton Mowbray!

Jo and Janet brought me a ‘Pie Making Experience’ voucher for my birthday in 2024, but it’s only now that I’ve got around to redeeming it. Luckily, Ann came along too, guaranteeing at least one masterpiece! 🤔

It was a slow journey there – just 40 miles – but it took over an hour! However, we were first to arrive and had the pick of the massive car-park adjacent to Brockleby’s HQ! By 6.25pm we joined the 14 other willing souls about to exercise their pie-making skills in the official Brockleby’s production kitchen. After a quick snackette of (what else!) a pork pie and a coffee, we were ready.

Nigel, our Pie-Maker-in-Chief, introduced himself and after a short, but thorough ‘housekeeping’ session, he began the session with a short history of Melton Mowbray’s most famous export. Then, it was eyes down and hands-on for the rest of the evening. We were all enthusiastic about adding to our skill set tonight where even the hammering of the heavy rain on the roof didn’t distract us 🤔🌧️☔.

We’d all brought our own aprons, but then something terrifying appeared – authentic Brockleby’s hair nets! They were necessary, but it wasn’t a good look! 😆

Nigel then got into the detail of the evening, formally introducing the two-hour session. We’d be using raw ingredients from the off and inside the allotted time, we would finish with an authentic Melton Mowbray Pork Pie. He explained the process in digestible bite-sized chunks, but whether our pies would be the same, only time would tell.

The most important tool of the evening was the ‘dolly’. Looking like a early product from Ann Summers (oh, just me then!) 😯 it was to prove essential in the production process. Made from rare tulipwood (nope, me neither!) its surprisingly simple design helped us turn a lump of ‘hot water’ pastry into something that looked almost… beautiful!

Flour was our constant friend as we fashioned the pastry around the dolly.

Slowly, it all came together – from a lump of pastry to an immediately identifiable Pork Pie in just six stages! 👍👍

The pastry, initially quite tough, became very pliable as we worked it into shape. As we progressed, not only were we scrutinising our own work, but we were also looking at our fellow pioneering efforts. Do you know what? They all looked good. Thanks, Nigel! With just flour, water, a spoon and of course, the dolly, we’d created something that we all felt exceeded our expectations.

As Nigel made his final inspection, and after placing our creation in the official Brockleby’s box, it looked good enough to eat (but only after we’ve baked them at home and added the jelly) 😁.

By 8.35, it was all over. Nigel allowed us to ‘raid the freezer’ and purchase some ‘proper’ Pies at heavily discounted prices – we duly obliged and left with a Cocky Leeky , a Wild Deer and a slightly less annoyed Scrumper’s Pie (aka Apple & Blackberry). Yum yum! 😋

The Sat-Nav kept things interesting going home by taking us on a different (but faster) route, and we were indoors just before 10pm.

Things we learned…
– How to make an authentic Melton Mowbray Pork Pie (obviously!)
– Brockleby’s is a small operation. Just 13 staff work there on pie production
– They don’t make pies for anyone else
– Their Pork Pies are all handmade – no machinery as such, apart from the dolly

What a great evening that was! I’m probably not going to give up my day job, but we both had a great time! Nigel presented the perfect blend of information, expertise, and entertainment!

Thanks to Nigel for his skills and patience, and Jo and Janet for the gift! 😁.