Our inaugural Great British Pie Off hosted at The Chequers on 10th March saw the Country Creatures pubs as well as two other guest pubs do battle in the kitchen and what a battle it was! To celebrate Great British Pie Week we asked all 5 pubs to serve up their best pie to a crowd of local pie lovers and our celebrity guest judges. Taking part were The Chequers, The Swan (Ascott), The Double Red Duke, The Kingham Plough and The Swan (Swinbrook).
Pastry was tested and fillings tasted with one of our pubs controversially offering up a Shepherd’s pie. Competition was intense – these chefs were keen to win. All our pub goers got to sample all the pies, with plate loads of steaming pies coming flying out of the kitchen.
Our celebrity judges, Kaleb, Gerald and cheerful Charlie from Clarkson’s Farm, enjoyed the pies too and there was a lot of debate as to which was the favourite. Every guest got their chance to vote and it was very very close with (drum roll please)…….The Chequers coming out winners in the end. Congratulations to The Chequers and here’s looking for ward to the rematch next year!
A fantastic collection of pies:
The Double Red Duke – Wood fired tongue in cheek pie with ox cheek and ox tongue pie with wild garlic and caper sauce
The Chequers – Venison ‘bourguignon’ pie with venison, pancetta, siverskin on- ions, mushrooms & red wine
The Kingham Plough – Rabbit, smoked bacon & prune pie
The Swan, Swinbrook – Oxtail & Shin of beef , wild mushroom, confit shallots pie and truffled Madeira gravy
The Swan, Ascott-under-Wychwood – Charlie’s Mutton ( Shepherd’s ) Pie, Crispy Rock Oyster, Mint Salsa verde
Keep an eye out for similar events coming up soon. Do sign up to our a newsletter to avoid missing out.
Seeking a little calm from the winds this afternoon? Nestle inside at The Duke #CountryCreatures
The first sunny day of Spring and there`s only one thing for it! Long afternoons in the @doubleredduke gardens #CountryCreatures
We`re all for tucking ourselves away in a cosy corner of the @DoubleRedDuke today! #CountryCreatures
Coming soon to Clanfield in Oxfordshire:
The Double Red Duke.
A beautiful, 17th century coaching inn nestled between the Chilterns and the Cotswolds, close to Oxford and minutes from William Morris's Kelmscott.
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