For this British Pie Week (5-11 March), Vintage Inns is championing a British favourite, having quizzed the nation to find out their pie preferences.
When given only one choice between a wide selection of savoury pie fillings including chicken, fish, steak or vegetable, the nation voted overwhelmingly in favour of a traditional steak pie with a majority vote of over 50%. 70% believe it’s what’s on the inside that counts – with the filling proving more important than the pastry.
The online survey, which was conducted on behalf of Vintage Inns that operates a collection of country pubs, discovered that, despite social media feeds being flooded with shots of the newest food trends, guests are sticking to old favourites when choosing sides. Traditional mash paired with cheese gained over a third of the vote (32%).
However, some of the more adventurous respondents opted for extras including caramelised onion and horseradish which gained 12% and 10% of the vote respectively, alongside pesto, spring onion and olive oil to boost their mash side.
It’s music to Vintage Inns’ ears that 88% of the UK agreed that they would mostly enjoy their pie in a pub next to a roaring fire after a long countryside walk. To top this off, over a third (36%) of the population would rather cut out cooking at home altogether and head straight to their local pub to get their pie fix.
It also appears that a pie isn’t a pie unless it has gravy with almost a fifth (18%) of voters stating they’d have it with every single kind of pie. Vintage Inns also know that ‘chips or mash?’ is an important debate over the dinner table, this saw a split decision with mash and chips sharing a third of the vote each.
Rachel Westwood, marketing manager of Vintage Inns, commented, “It’s great to find out that the people in Greater London are still opting for great British dishes such as the traditional pie. All of our pubs hold ‘Pie Wednesday’ every Wednesday and serve a selection of six pies including local favourite, steak and mushroom. We hope that guests celebrating British Pie Week will come and try them out at their nearest Vintage Inn.”
Vintage Inns’ Pie Wednesday showcases six delicious pies available every week, and guests can choose from its four hero pies which feature steak & mushroom, smoked fish pie, chicken & thyme or a roasted vegetable tart, or two specially – selected additional pies that vary from week to week.
There are also a whole host of sides for guests to choose from including triple cooked chips, baby potatoes or a range of mash which guests can have in a variety of flavours; classic with butter, cheese, olive oil, spring onion, pesto, horseradish or caramelised onion.