By Parkdean Resorts on 08/03/2022
How do you like your pie? Shortcrust, puff or flaky pastry? Mushy peas or gravy? Chicken or steak? Chips or mash? The great debate that brits love to discuss but we at Parkdean Resorts have gathered some pie sales numbers to reveal the nations true favourite after all.
First there was Pizza Day and now, there’s Pie Week! National Pie Week is coming up on March 2nd - 8th 2020 and is the perfect excuse to indulge in one of our favourite hearty comfort food choices. No matter how you eat them or what you have on the side, pies are the go to British classic! So here at Parkdean Resorts, we’ve added the award-winning Tom’s steak and ale pie to our menus! Tom’s pies are handcrafted in Devon, with tender west country beef soaked in malty ale and encased in shortcrust pastry so you can enjoy home comforts away from home.
From enjoying pies at our parks, making your own at home, to pie festivals and pubs featuring an array of specials, Pie Week is all about celebrating that buttery pastry goodness! During Pie Week, Brits are expected to consume an unbelievable 8.6 million pies, but which type of pie is the UK’s favourite filling?
From the pie filling to the crust and what you prefer on the side, we combined our restaurants' sales with a nationwide survey, to find out which comes out on top…
Tying at the top: Classic chicken and mushroom draws with steak and kidney!
Coming in neck and neck with 17% of the votes each was chicken and mushroom and steak and kidney. Pie is a British staple and so are it’s classic fillings, so it’s no wonder that chicken and mushroom and steak and kidney are the most popular pie flavours across the UK! These rich fillings combined with a crispy golden pastry are perfect examples of traditional British food.
Controversial: Vegan pies now make the top 10!
But what are the rest of the nation eating? The potato-topped cottage and shepherd’s pie came in with 8% of the votes each whilst vegan pie fillings took 5% of the vote. With vegan fillings making their way into the top ten it will be interesting to see how this affects the nation’s favourite pies in years to come, with mushroom wellingtons and Pieminister’s famous Kevin pie becoming more and more popular.
| UK's Favourite Pie Fillings | Votes |
| Steak & Kidney | 17% |
| Chicken & Mushroom | 17% |
| Steak & Ale | 16% |
| Cheese & Onion | 13% |
| Shepherds Pie | 8% |
| Cottage Pie | 8% |
| Corned Beef | 6% |
| Vegan Pie | 5% |
| Meat & Potato | 5% |
| Fish Pie | 5% |
Chips in! Brits vote chips over mash as the ultimate pie side dish
Our research has identified the UK’s favourite pie fillings and pastry types but what do people like their pie served with?
With a whopping 46% of the vote, another of the nation's favourite foods was crowned the perfect pie accompaniment - chips! No matter how they are served, from french fries to wedges to double-cooked or oven-baked, chips always pair perfectly with pie. But if you are not one of the 46% then maybe mashed potato is the side dish for you? With 18% of the vote, creamy mash took the second spot, closely followed by garden peas at 16% and mushy peas at 14%.
| UK's Favourite Pie Side Dish | Votes |
| Chips | 46% |
| Mash | 18% |
| Garden Peas | 16% |
| Mushy Peas | 14% |
| New Potatoes | 6% |
What’s your favourite pastry type on a pie? This one got the no.1 vote...
As a nation of pastry lovers, it is interesting to see how a concoction of butter and flour can divide the country. Although the UK favours shortcrust pastry, with 38% of the vote, puff pastry followed closely behind with 36%, showing that the nation is almost divided between two very different pastry types. Shortcrust pastry is thick and firm, perfect for soaking up all the gravy whereas puff pastry separates into buttery layers for a rich, moreish and velvety pie texture.
| UK's Favourite Pie Side Dish | Votes |
| Shortcrust | 38% |
| Puff | 36% |
| Flaky | 12% |
| Filo | 7% |
| Suet Crust | 4% |
| Choux | 3% |
A nation of mushroom lovers: The UK's favourite pie fillings by city
Pies are part of the foundations of Britain with chicken and mushroom pie taking over our capital cities of London, Belfast and Cardiff and paving the way as the favourite in Liverpool and Southampton as well. Whereas steak and ale stayed strong in Edinburgh with 20% of voters residing there voting for the meaty filling. A firm favourite in the North, steak and ale pie also topped the charts in Leeds and Glasgow too. Leaving the rest of the nation for steak and kidney pie, except the standout city of the lot - Norwich, with 44% of the votes in the city going for their ultimate vegan pie filling!
Enjoy award-winning pie at Parkdean Resorts
With all this passion for pie we at Parkdean Resorts couldn’t miss out, adding the award-winning steak and ale pie from Tom’s Pies to our menus across the country. With over a decade of pie rearing experience, Tom’s steak and ale pie is the ultimate homage to home comfort food, crafting delectable chunky beef steak soaked in a Devonshire malt ale surrounded with buttery shortcrust pastry.
Can you think of anything more comforting than a breakaway with Parkdean Resorts, enjoying a rich glass of red with Tom’s steak and ale pie with a side of mash or chunky chips? Yep, we didn’t think so.
10 places to celebrate National Pie Week 2020!
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£12 pie and a pint - The Market House, Saffron Waldon
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£9.95 pie and a drink - Axe and Compass, Leighton Buzzard
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£5 a pie - Netherton Steakhouse, Long Stratton
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Win pie for a year - True North Brew Co, Sheffield
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Pie, chips and peas for £10 - George Wright Boutique Hotel, Bar & Restaurant, Rotherham
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£10 Pie night - Fox and Hound, Lulsley
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Great British Pie Off - Essington Farm, Wolverhampton
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Pie and a pint - Aysgarth Falls Hotel, Leyburn
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Perfect pie competition - Coopers, Leeds
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£12.95 pie and a pint - The Sun Inn, Cottesmore
Methodology
Alongside leading customer research company TLF research we conducted a nationwide survey to find out the UK’s favourite pie fillings delving deeper into the nation’s favourite pastry types and what sides people prefer. With 1500 respondents across the UK and restaurant sales data and insight we were able to find out the answers to the UK’s burning question, what is the nation's favourite pie filling?