When we were planning our trip to Great Britain, we did not imagine that we would be dazzled by the food we would encounter. Our last trips to Europe have been to Italy and we were treated to delicious food everywhere we dined. We did not expect the food in the British Isles to live up to that experience. That is because we did not know about the meat pies! Our plan was to eat most of our meals in local pubs. That is an atmosphere that we enjoy. We started our trip ordering the fish and chips that England is known for. The fish and chips were good, and we probably would have eaten them more often if we had not discovered the deliciousness of the meat pies.

My first encounter with the pie was at St Stephens pub- a historical pub right across the street from the Parliament building. This creamy chicken filling encrusted in flaky pastry and served over mashed potatoes and gravy made me want to move to London just so I could eat it every day.

The introduction to this tasty dish had me hooked. I ordered meat pie almost every day for the rest of our trip. I ate steak and ale pies, steak and cheese pies, pork pies, lamb pies, and ground beef shepherds’ pies. If there was a meat pie on the menu- I ordered it.

While we were walking through the Shambles in York, we came across shops selling pies. There were windows filled with different kinds of pies. What a treat to be able to go and choose a pie to take home or to just eat it while you walk. I didn’t do that, but I wish that I had.

When we returned home, we decided to try and make our own meat pies that would taste like the ones we ate on our trip. We did a pretty good job, and they were tasty, but I think we need to practice a bit more. What a fun experiment though!

When you travel to Great Britain be sure to sample the pies!