2020 - Waitrose - Butter Enriched Mince Pies

Being a Waitrose's standard mince pie they carry certain expectations. They should be on a par with the luxury range from the likes of Aldi, Tesco and Morrisons. 

2016 - Heston [Blumenthal] from Waitrose - 4 Spiced Shortcrust Mince Pies with a Lemon Twist

We haven't really seen or heard much of Heston Blumenthal recently, so when I saw these on the shelf in Waitrose, I think I let out an uncontrollable squeal of joy. HESTON IS BACK! He's been busy in the kitchen with Waitrose coming up with these and a number of other Christmas related treats. My review of Heston's previous mince pies is the most viewed review to date. Can these new ones upstage the old in every way?

Spar - 6 Mince Pies

Now this is a treat. I was queuing at my local petrol garage to pay for my fuel oblivious to the fact that I was standing in a Spar. I just to happen to glance to my right and saw these. Without any hesitation at all, I picked these up immediately and paid for them. Lets see how these do amongst the rest on the leaderboard.

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.

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.

Coles Bundaberg Rum Mince Pies

Our first international review!

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.

Starbucks Mince Pie

I don't drink coffee or tea. Don't like the stuff. Therefore, Starbucks is not a place I visit often and so would not have thought to get a mince pie from there had it not been for my work colleagues mentioning them as a possible contender.

Asda - Extra Special (created with Leiths School) - All-Butter Mince Pies

It would appear Asda have an "Extra Special" line for their mince pies. These surely cannot be as bad as their current mince pies. Can they?

Asda - Chosen By You - Mince Pies

As a guest writer, I feel the need to stay true to the tagline for this blog, and therefore I most certainly will not be mincing my words.

Aldi - Holly Lane - Specially Selected - Luxury Mince Pies

The second of the two boxes my colleague's mother bought for me are Aldi's luxury brand. Their regular mince pies were good, so these should be even better, right?

Aldi - Holly Lane - Deep Filled Mince Pies

I have been hearing a lot of promising things about Aldi and thanks to a work colleague's mother, I have kindly been given a couple of boxes of their mince pies. Let's hope they beat their direct competition, LIDL (although that's probably not hard!).

Morrisons Christmas - Deep Filled Mince Pies

That supermarket you once went to that was called Safeway, is now Morrisons. So while my mother continues to call it Safeway despite the business being bought by them over 8 years ago, they have had plenty of time to get their mince pies in order.

Greggs Sweet Mince Pies

I have to admit, this not a place where I would usually go to get a mince pie. I've always associated Greggs with pasties and danishes, but I have been hearing good things about their mince pies and so I just had to have some.

Tesco's Finest - Deep Filled Mince Pies with Courvoisier ® VS Cognac

Tesco have been rather uninspiring with their mince pies this year. I'm hoping the Finest range is the game changer - after all, they have brought in Courvoisier to add that bit of quality to the pie.

Sainsbury's - Taste the Difference - Brandy Rich Mini Mince Pies

The larger mince pie has dominated this blog since the start. It is about time I reviewed a mini mince pie. These are Sainsbury's luxury, "taste the difference" brand. Let's see if all good things come in small packages.

Tesco - Christmas - Deep Filled Mince Pies

Tesco have never really impressed with their mince pie range in previous years - they have trotted along with what feels like a "follow the pack" mentality. I hope this year is different and we see a stand out pie from them.

The Co-Operative - Truly Irresistible - Luxury All Butter Mince Pies

During university Co-Op mince pies were never very far away. I had always been impressed with these. I hope that this is not because I was too lazy to travel anywhere to get a decent mince pie and simply accepted what was put in front of me. Let's find out.

Waitrose - Christmas - All Butter Mince Pies

My sister was originally sent on a mission to bring back some of Waitrose's own mince pies, but when she also brought back the Heston Blumenthal mince pies, these were set aside. They are now back, but will they be overshadowed by its more famous step-brother?

LIDL - Snowy Lodge - Deep Filled Mince Pies

LIDL have made themselves a household name in recent years. Their wallet friendly products have got us flocking to their stores, but are their mince pies another reason to go?