Spalding’s Oh My Cod has battered mince pies and pigs in blankets back on the menu

They’ve become festive favourites at one Spalding chip shop – and now battered mince pies and pigs in blankets are back on the menu thanks to customer demand.

Bill Rai, who owns Oh My Cod, in Alexandra Road, is no stranger to adding more unusual delicacies to his fryers and has previously deep-fried Crème Eggs, a whole Christmas dinner, Oreos and Mars bars in his signature batter.

Last year, due to being so busy, Bill didn’t add any festive specials to his menu, but he says numerous requests from his customers has led to their return this month.

“We were just so busy last year that we didn’t get round to doing anything different for Christmas, but this year people have been asking – a lot!

“So, we thought we’d bring back the battered mince pies and the battered pigs in blankets, which are jumbo sausages covered in bacon. Both were really popular when we did them previously,” said Bill, who runs the shop with his wife Sandy.

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He began experimenting with deep frying different delicacies shortly after taking over the shop ten years ago. Battered mince pies were first added to the menu in 2015, when they were a hit with customers who hailed them ‘strangely yummy’.

They cost 60p each while the battered pigs in blankets are priced £3.25 and, according to Bill, are selling well with chips and gravy.

“It’s nice to offer our customers something a little bit different to all the other fish and chip shops in town – it gets people talking and trying new things.

“We did try a whole battered Christmas dinner one year, but in all honesty I think that was a little bit too much – it was maybe more suited to two people sharing.

“We do get a few requests from customers to batter different things – particularly Snickers bars, but unfortunately they contain nuts so we can’t really entertain that one.

“But the mince pies and pigs in blankets are going down well at the moment and we’ll be selling them until Christmas Day.”

Oh My Cod! This mince pie is amazing! review by Victoria Fear

I am stood in the queue at Oh My Cod less than 30 minutes after receiving the devastating news at this week’s ‘big weigh-in’ that I have put on half a pound.

Now, a lesser woman may have gone home to lick her wounds while reflecting on this latest personal failing (due to a complete lack of discipline when it comes to chocolate and cake) but not me. I have a very important job to do.

Our demanding editor is wanting us to give it a go, so who better to give this job to than ‘the big girl over there’. Hopefully he is referring to my larger than life personality.

The chip shop in Spalding has once again brought back the battered mince pies and pigs in blankets following popular demand so off I went to sample one of these festive treats.

Now, having a sweet tooth, I opted for the battered mince pie – which I was shocked to learn was just 60p! So great value and affordable for any budget.

This was would be my first battered mince pie, and dear reader, I didn’t quite know what to expect but I had heard good things. So in for a penny, in for half-a-pound.

I eagerly unwrapped my prize and dug in.

My expectation was that the cooked batter might have changed the shape of the mince pie by adding a few gnarly shapes – but it clearly resembled the pie.

The combination of batter and pastry perfectly complemented each other in a far better way than I had imagined it would.

Then, once you make your way through the buttery pastry, you hit the deliciously warm filling which was just a pure delight.

Unfortunately, with just a few good bites, I had wolfed down that mince pie and it had disappeared. I would heartily recommend this new festive delicacy to other people.

Now I just have the difficult job of explaining to my Slimming World Instructor that I do try really hard to stick to the plan but sometimes I do have to make sacrifices for work.

What do you think? Would you give a battered mince pie a go? Let us know in the comments below...