2018 - Sainsbury's - Taste the Difference 6 mince pies

Stop the press! It's a mainstream supermarket that's claiming to have changed their mince pie recipe. Kudos Sainsbury's, you deserve another review so, let's get to it!

2018 - Harrods - Spiced Salted Caramel Mince Pies

Right, mince pie lovers. We're back with a new mince pie and a slighty refined reviews. Don't worry, the same amount of decision-making is going into each mince pie review, were just going to spare you from all the detail.
We're kicking this year off with the big guns a previous year winner, Harrods.

Morrisons - Signature - All Butter Deep Filled Mince Pies

I thought I'd change things up this year and buy a mince pie from the Morrisons Signature range. I'm beginning to notice that many of the standard mince pies from the big supermarkets are all very similar. Lets see if their premium range is worth the extra pennies.

Mr Kipling - Exceedingly Merry - 6 Mince Pies

Mr Kipling always seems to be one of the first mince pies of the season I try. Maybe I have high hopes for it, or it is just a good bench mark to start the season off with? Lets see how it fairs.

Selfridges & Co - 6 Nut Topped Mince Pies

Now this is going to be complicated. We have two varieties in this one box of mince pies. 3 of them are almond topped and 3 are walnut topped. Yes, I know it would have been easier to just have just reviewed 6 of their their standard mince pies, but when they're bought for you, I cannot really complain! On closer inspection of the ingredients, the only difference is the topping on each mince pie, one walnut and other almond. Therefore, this review will proceed as normal, but we'll take into account the different toppings on each. Make sense? Lets go.

BHS Deep filled Mince Pie

BHS - A great department store with plenty to things to buy like clothes, shoes, bags and mince pies? Yes, BHS have a cafe who are now selling mince pies! This revelation was stumbled upon via BHS' twitter account. We swiftly made our way to a local BHS cafe to pick up some of these little giants. Can these deep filled mince pies measure up and break into to the well established clique formed by the supermarkets?

Morrisons Christmas 9 Mini Mince Pies

Here at the Administration, we tend to overlook the mini mince pies as generally being mostly pastry and never really being that great or noteworthy. That is until some are thrust in your direction. They cannot be overlooked in those circumstances! We decided to dust off the crumbs from the larger mince pies, print out new score sheets and take a very small bite out of these mini mince pies to see whether anything has changed.

Duchy Originals from Waitrose - Organic Mince Pies

Okay, I promise this is the last box of mince pies from Waitrose! I picked these up simply because they said these mince pies are organic. It seemed interesting, I won't lie. Do organic mince pies taste any different? Anything special? Lets find out.

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.

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 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.

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.

Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Mini Mince Pies

Stumbling across these mince pies was quite a treat. With Jamie Oliver being a household name you would think these mince pies would be everywhere, or more specifically, in your local Sainsbury's. These elusive mince pies were discovered in Boots!

Coles Bundaberg Rum Mince Pies

Our first international review!

Heston Blumenthal (made for Waitrose) - Puff Pastry Mince Pies with Pine Sugar Dusting

After much questioning as to whether I would try "the other Heston mince pie", I have finally made my way to a Waitrose to pick up a box. Can Heston's pies take the top two spots on my leader board?

Pret A Manger - Mince Pie

This gourmet sandwich shop that started in London has grown substantially. With stores as far east as Hong Kong and as far west as Chicago, I want to know whether they still care about their home town by making a decent mince pie this Christmas.

Costa - Mince Tart

After sampling Starbucks' offering on the mince pie front I was intrigued to find out just how seriously the other big name coffee shops took their mince pies.