… and finally - Perfect Pies and the Garlic Farm

My final contributions from the Good Food Show begin with Simple Simon's Perfect Pies. I'm convinced it's a “North of Watford” thing – I've always been addicted to good pies – they don't have to be vegetarian, far from it – just good.

The best way I can illustrate the variety here is to show a couple of photographs taken on the day.

I came away with 2 x cheese & onion, a butter bean & brie and fresh & smoked haddock with leek and white wine sauce. The lady on the stand said that these pies are intended to be a meal in themselves – a weenie bit sceptical since I would always serve other stuff with a pie, if only veggies.

We ate the cheese & onion pies a day later, freezing the remaining two for a later date. They were delicious and the lady on the stand was spot on – they are a meal in themselves, or in my case, two – I saved half for the following day.

Fast forward a couple of weeks – pies defrosted according to instructions and 25 minutes later supper is ready.

The verdict for the butter bean & brie and the fish pies was not as good as the cheese & onion. The puff pastry is excellent and consistent in all them but the fillings were disappointing in the butter bean and fish. It may be of course that I was just unlucky anyway if you want more information check out their website – www.simplesimonspies.co.uk.

If you love garlic and use it regularly try the Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk for lots of different varieties and sizes and other products too. Be careful though - it's a bit like buying herbs and spices but if there are enough mates then it would be worthwhile sharing an order. Don't forget that you can roast your garlic and freeze it.

Check out the photo – elephant garlic - seriously!

In conclusion, there's so much to cram into a day at the Show I'd venture to suggest a little planning is required to make the most of it – have a great time!