After years of eating the wares of service station hot cabinets, stadium menus and country bakeries, I never found a pie I didn’t enjoy. I doubted such a thing existed. But I thought maybe, somewhere in the depths of an Australian supermarket freezer, I would find it: a pie that would save me from the shame and utter plainness of writing an article that says “any pie is fine”.
I bought every frozen or refrigerated pie labelled beef or meat and did a blind taste test with a team of Sydney bakers and chefs – Rob Pirina (Glenorie Bakery), Tom Mitchell (Shadow Baking), Andy Bowdy (Kiln), Justin Narayan (MasterChef), Toby Wilson (Ricos Tacos), Kimmy Gastmeier (Cherry Moon General Store) and Ryan Broomfield (Broomfields Pies).