We taste test a Grasmere Farm steak and ale pie at Deeping St Nicholas’ Vine House Farm to celebrate British Pie Week

“Be at Vine House Farm for 3pm. Your contact will bring the package,” was the message from the newsdesk.

It all sounded very James Bond at first, but this assignment quickly proved to be even more thrilling… pie tasting.

Travelling the world, bumping off super villains and bedding glamorous women with stupid names sounds fun, but in Lincolnshire we know there’s nothing more quintessentially British than a good locally sourced and produced meaty meal. It’s what we do better than anyone else on the isle.

This was my duty, to mark national pie week with a taste test.

Grasmere Farm’s James Barnes was the man with the golden crust, greeting me with one of the Lincolnshire butchers’ steak and ale pies, one of the business’ many delights on sale at the Deeping St Nicholas farm shop, as well as many other stockists in the county and beyond.

With a knife as my weapon of choice I cut through the sizeable £3.50 pie and began my mission.

Within seconds I knew all the right boxes were ticked. The pastry was strong but not too tough, the filling was flavoursome (no mean feat with steak and ale) and the meat chunky and plentiful.

As I’m sure you know, it’s not easy to get a pie right. There are great pies and terrible pies. This was a great pie.

Let’s just say I didn’t need to eat again that day either.

The Pie Who Loved Me? Maybe, but probably not as much as I loved it.

What do you think? What’s your favourite pie? Post your thoughts in the comments below...