Pork Pies Are BACK For Picnic Week!

And The History of Pork Pies 

It's National Picnic Week, and with some decent weather finally showing up, we're calling it… Picnic season has arrived!!

Whether you're heading to the beach, the moors, the park, or simply the back garden, there's one food that always seems to find its way into the basket: The pork pie!

But where did it come from?

A Pie With Medieval Roots

Pork pies have been around for a very long time...

Recipes for meat wrapped in pastry were being recorded as far back as the year 1390, during the reign of King Richard II. Back then, pies weren't quite the tasty pastry parcels we know today!

The pastry was often thick and sturdy, designed to preserve the meat inside rather than be eaten itself. In many cases, people would eat the filling and leave the pastry behind!

(A criminal waste of pastry, if you ask us!)

Medieval cooks also liked to mix meats with dried fruits and spices, creating combinations that would look a little unusual on today's picnic blanket…

Melton Mowbray's Influence On The Pork Pie

The pork pie we know today really found its feet in the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray during the 1800s.

Local bakers developed the distinctive hand-raised pies that became famous across Britain. Made with uncured pork and baked free-standing rather than in tins, they developed that characteristic rounded shape and crisp pastry shell.

The pies became popular with local workers and travelling hunting parties, who needed something hearty, portable and filling. Not much has changed there!

Why Pork Pies Became Picnic Royalty

Long before meal deals and supermarket snack aisles, pork pies were doing exactly what they do today!

They're easy to transport and don't even require cutlery! Here are some of our picks for an awesome picnic spread:

Pork pies, scotch eggs, proper squares of cheddar, pickles and chutneys, strawberries, and sausage rolls!

Try out this DIY recipe and impress your mates: Pork Pie Picnic Skewers

You'll need:

• Cubes of Chunk Pork Pie
• Mature cheddar
• Pickled onions
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumber chunks

Thread onto skewers and serve with a pot of chutney or pickle on the side.

They're easy to grab, easy to share, and ideal if you're feeding a crowd!

The Chunk Pork Pie

We use British pork, seasoned with subtle herbs and spices, wrapped in traditional hot water pastry and baked free-standing to achieve that classic historical shape. Each is handmade in Devon and hand-crimped by our bakery team!

One thing you'll notice is that we don't add the traditional jelly layer found in some pork pies. It's something that divides opinion every year… Thankfully, everyone agrees on the important bit: the pie!!

Pork Pies... But Hot?!

Traditionally, pork pies are served cold, and don’t get us wrong, they're brilliant cold!

But since moving to our frozen unbaked format, we've discovered they're pretty fantastic hot too. 

Serve yours with a good pot of chutney, some pickle or piccalilli, brown sauce… or simply on its own!

We're not saying you'll never go back to cold pork pie... we're just saying it's worth trying! And with National Picnic Week here, there's never been a better excuse to stock up!

Whether you're eating yours on a beach, in a field, at a cricket match or in the garden, a proper pork pie still does the job.

Go on - Take a Chunk!