I just want your expert pies and your.......K’s

(With apologies to Prince*)

(*In the unlikely event he's reading)

Now I've eaten a LOT of pies in the last two years or so, 400+ in fact but it's the ones which escape my clutches that eat away at my insides the most. You've probably seen the cover of Life of Pies by now, splattered all over this website as it is. 

However, what you've not seen is the second choice cover. Indeed, it may end up being first choice yet or a part of it may end up being incorporated on to the back.

The thing is the Brook Street Bakery wasn't there when I visited in March 2012. It was there but it wasn't open as it was undergoing refurbishment. Fuming I was, apoplectic with rage, well apathy at least. I tutted loudly and ended up walking aimlessly around Congleton fish market.

It was part of a number of incidents occurring to me upon visiting this Cheshire town which are so painful to recall I can't even do the Conga or handle a Conger Eel without getting vivid nightmares about it. 

I'd consigned this sorry episode to the dustbin a long time ago but fast forward to March 2014 when I'm sifting through photos and drafting a front cover and up it pops. The undecorated facade of the Brook Street Bakery and then the question won't go away:

I wonder if they ever finished redecorating it?

What if their pies are the best in the world and through my own bad timing I missed out on them?

So for the second time of asking I head once again to Brook Street Bakery, Congleton with no idea whether it exists or if it's open. Purely because the idea has been planted in my head and won't be dislodged. Like a coconut at the fair with a nail hammered into it underside to stop hotshot Dads smashing it out of the shy to impress their offspring these niggling unanswered questions will not be shifted no matter how many wooden balls I throw at my brain.

You see kids - you can't find the answer to everything on the internet after all, I've found that out myself painfully at times during my noble quest.

And you know what? Congleton's attempts of reconciliation with my heart pay off handsomely:

Brook Street Bakery is no more but in it's place is K's Bakery and it's no surprise to find that the pie they do serve up looks absolutely stunning. 

It's advertised on the wall as a Peppery Meat and Potato Pie for £1.85 which certainly ticks a lot of boxes for me and the girl serving is polite, welcoming and possesses that all important military style efficiency

Not only that I get the last one in the shop, how’s about that? I started off so unlucky with this place and now I’m the luckiest man in the world....

The pie is hot and weighty in the hands and as it sits there in the passenger seat of my car brooding away it smells absolutely fantastic.

It typically could be the best of the lot two months after I have finished my book, it really does seem that good on the face of it. Two years of travelling the country and I could have stopped my search right there and then had it been open.

Except it was under previous owners then whose pies might have been shit. Although this is a pie which looks like it has been around for a while with the same recipe so I suspect it may have been passed down a generation or two. Always the best way.

As I drive back through Congleton I still know nothing about the place, my usual fascination being over-ridden by my frustration of the inability to find a decent pie. There's textiles and oatcakes and a thriving market and a splendid looking pub converted to rugby club at the top of the hill from it to reward thirsty prop forwards. 

And it's still more congested than downtown Napoli but you can't have everything.

I’m due back in Wigan in an hour so I try and get to Knutsford Services where I can park up and manhandle this beast in no uncertain terms and when I get there twenty minutes later it's still hotter than the sun.

 

I am of course getting carried away with the narrative and the reality is somewhat different. It’s a mighty fine pie and it’s large but it’s not the best one I’ve ever had.

It is absolutely packed to the brim with a good inch and a half of content: mashed up potato and light coloured mince meat all bound together in the traditional way. 

A crust has a decidedly homemade feel to it: soft and flaky on the top however a part of the side crust detaches as I attempt to lift it out of the foil tray thus meaning extreme dexterity is required to keep this tricky little flavour filled bundle intact. 

Flaky spillage off the crust all over my car. I am ashamed to admit there has long been a pool of pie flakes accumulating in the central valley where the handbrake rests.

Tastewise it's advertised as possessing a peppery kick so I'm well and truly ready for the spice but in truth it comes in instalments rather than being present throughout. Without this injection it's perhaps a tiny bit bland probably due to it being so big as to make it difficult to keep the flavour consistent. Nevertheless it is made in a very worthy impeccably traditional meat and potato style. A bit "Gidlow Bakery" like which will mean something to Wiganers if admittedly nobody else in the world.

In summary, it's one of the largest individual pies I've had which may be a bit pricey veering towards the £2 mark but doubling up and scoffing two in one sitting would test all but the largest of appetites. 

It scores a respectable 56.5/70 which puts it comfortably in the top 10% of pies I've reviewed and certainly warranted the repeat trip out to the heart of Cheshire.

 

Life of Pies is a travel based diary written by Martin Tarbuck who goes in search of the perfect pie. It is due to be released in September 2014 but is available to pre-order now including a special inscription offer.

Priced just £9.99 + P&P just click on the Pie Shop to buy

K's Bakery Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ks-Bakery/397337603701099