Heston Blumenthal 6 Spiced Shortcrust Mince Pies

Returning to fight for the top spot on the Administration’s leader board is the controversial is-it-or-isn’t-it-a-mince pie from the man who was clearly never told not to play with his food as a child, Heston Blumenthal. While this debate rages on within the Administration, once these turned up, silence fell, as we were all eager to sink our teeth into one.

Fortnum & Mason - Six Traditional Christmas Mince Pies

Yes, that's right mincers, the (non-existent) revenue generated from reviewing mince pies has resulted in the Administration being able to splash out on some very posh mince pies for your viewing pleasure. We braved the gale force winds and torrential rain and arrived at the doors of the most well decorated supermarket in the country. You know you have walked into an upper class world when their staff are better dressed than you are. With the worry of being thrown out for wearing trainers, jeans and a rain jacket, I quickly found the mince pies and left. Let's see if you really do get better quality when you spend more.

Waitrose Christmas - 6 Shortcrust Mince Pies

Remember that imaginary hierarchy I spoke about back in the Co-Op review? Well, I'm going to assume Waitrose were at the top of your list too! Waitrose have many different types of mince pies available, from the budget "essentials" range to the organic mince pies (yes, organic - review coming!). In fact, I counted 6 different types, all under the Waitrose name. Lets see how their standard mince pies fair on the blog first.

Tesco Finest* Mini Mince Pies

As an honorary member of the administration it was vital that I had a benchmark to compare these mince pies when producing an overall score. So… according to the master administrator, Greggs (at time of writing) are the leader of the race, so I had to partake in a little taste test of my own to provide comparison.

Greggs 6 Sweet Mince Pies

Last year Greggs was second only to Heston Blumenthal's spiced shortcrust mince pies. It was a tough decision, but the originality of Heston's trumped the traditional mince pie. Can Greggs return to the mince pie game this year and triumph with the traditional mince pie done well? Have they changed the recipe? Design? Price? Lets find out...

Tesco 6 Christmas Mince Pies

We seem to be getting through the big supermarket mince pies rather quickly this year. Our next stop on the mince pie express is Tesco. My most accessible Tesco is one of their express stores, but it is not these stores (shockingly) that have started stocking mince pies. At the time of writing this, I could only find their mince pies in the larger branches. Not sure why this the case, but lets hope my drive to their larger branch was actually worth it.

Iceland 6 Deep Fill Mince Pies

Iceland. Supposedly where mum's go. Can't say I've ever seen my mum in Iceland. The store was, however, local to my university accommodation and was the source of my cheap morning chocolate cheerios. Last year's mince pie entry was definitely something to *not* talk about. Let's hope I'm not reaching for the sick bag this year.

Morrisons Christmas Deep Filled Mince Pies

I don't know about everyone else, but i've been noticing that Morissons have been trying to pass themselves off as a, sort of, market. I get the impression they are trying to make you feel like you are buying from a "stall" as if you were out in a local farmers market? To me, this is failing as it's just a giant supermarket with various counters and isles. I like the smell of a farmers market, all the different fresh smells; and sticking the fish counter right by the entrance of most of your stores is a lovely stench. However, I digress, lets see if their mince pies are "market stall" quality.

Marks & Spencer - 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Marks and Spencer mince pies are a firm favourite of the blog. Whenever I have a craving for a good mince pie around this time of year, M&S are on hand to ensure that my needs are fulfilled. Last year saw their inconsistency loose them a few marks. Lets hope this year is different.

The Co-Operative - Loved by Us - 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

If you were to list supermarkets / stores in order of prestige, most people's list would be remarkably similar. However, The Co-Op is often the store that's missed from that list entirely. In fact, on my list, I really wouldn't know where to place it. Maybe this is a good thing, I won't have any expectations from it and treat it as the humble mince pie that it is. Lets see how this one does.

Mr Kipling Exceedingly Merry 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

Mr Kipling have long been a British baking powerhouse, producing a whole variety of cakes and pies since 1967. Everybody knows the name and what they do. Their mince pies were very much below average last year. Lets hope they read my blog and made some improvements this year.

Sainsbury's - Christmas by Sainsbury's - 6 Deep Mince Pies

Right, the first pie to touch my lips this year is a Christmas by Sainsbury's Deep Mince Pie. One would expect the first pie after 10 months, regardless of quality, to taste extraordinary; a feeling akin to a mother seeing her newly born baby for the first time! Okay, maybe that's a bit too far, but I was definitely looking forward to sinking my teeth into this one. Lets see how it did.