Contains: Wheat

Free from: Palm Oil, Nuts, Soya

Pies. One of the most British dishes you can have – the essence of homely comfort food and to this day I haven’t tried a vegan alternative. Well, until yesterday. I sat down with our in-house omnivore and pub grub aficionado to have a proper pie-and-mash meal (quick disclaimer: we didn’t have mash. I’m a fucking fraud. It was a baked potato.) £2.00 for two pies (a pound a pie) is a serious bargain especially since one pie is enough for one meal.

Pies are complex. I’m talking some next level, pan dimensional shit levels of complex. The first layer we have to judge on is the outside –that fine ass pastry crust. It’s flaky, it’s puffy and its buttery (not like eating straight lard, but like well-cooked Jus-Rol), literally hitting all the criteria points for texture. It’s like eating the skin of a well moisturised angel. The inside is piping hot, as it should be. You get that steam pouring out from the watery and meaty insides, just like a regular pie. Second layer we have to judge on is the filling. The saucy inside tends to make the pie wet, but who doesn’t love a soggy chunk in the mouth? It’s meaty and almost identical to real mince. Pour a little gravy on top and you’re on to a winner.

You need to taste Linda’s pie. Linda has the best tasting and sweetest smelling pie I’ve ever put my face in. Sure it’s a bit beefy, but whose pie isn’t? With its perfect pastry layering all around, the inside just overflows with this stew-like mince mix. Throw some roasted veggies and mash on the side and prepare for those hearty dinners because this is a 10/10 winner.

This week, our resident omnivore and pie expert (an ex-vegetarian, the most despicable types) tucked into these pies with me to try and give us a better feel for our rating. The pie was good, a strong contender for a replacement but it lacked the proper depth and range of flavour (but what do they know, darn meat eaters, right?) but it’s made up for by being less stodgy. It was definitely filling but it also didn’t make you feel like sewage afterwards.

• My Rating: 5/5
• Omnivore Score: 4/5
• Overall: 4.5/5

Find this product at: Tesco’s, Saisnbury’s, Morrison’s and other stores.