Are you hosting a Christmas party this year? Does the thought of making 50+ mince pies fill you with dread? Are you thinking of going to Waitrose / M&S / Tescos / Sainsbury’s / Lidl to buy some rank mass produced ones instead?
STOP (particularly if you’re loaded and into charity and stuff)
Because this is a nice idea that you may have seen on Tuesday during that weird 08:37 slot on BBC Breakfast when you realise (a) you’ve just missed the end of the sport; (b) Carol’s done the whole weather thing; and (c) you’re late for work again:
Starting from 09:00 tomorrow, you can bid for 50 mince pies to be made for you by a top chef. The auction lasts until 18:00 on Friday 16 December, after which the winning bidder for each chef will get the pies delivered to their door. And all the proceeds go to charity. So that’s good.
There are some big names in there – some of them Michelin Star holders (lots of them, in fact), others well known for their baking skills, all of them likely to make you mince pies that are second only to your mother’s.
The full details of how to bid, the many chefs participating, leader boards for the most expensive pies, etc are at www.mincepieproject.com.
I tried a couple of tasters the other day and, though they weren’t quite in the traditional style (I usually prefer really short, almost chalky pastry, with a covered top), I thought the ones by Eric Lanlard were particularly good (pictured above). So there’s a little tip-off for you.
And as it’s almost Christmas, here’s a massive photo for you Masterchef the Professionals fans.
Is the above photo available in poster size?
@our kid – no