Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe!!! It may not be at the top of the tourist stops like the Eiffel Tower or the Great Wall of China, but it is a must if you are in Melton Mowbray or a fan of the pork pie. No. I did not make a special trip to Melton to go to the shop, unlike other people I know. I was in the area having dental work done, there was some time left on my pay and display ticket (might as well get your money's worth), the sun had come out, and to be honest, for as many times as I have been through Melton, I have never actually stopped.
You can't miss it! There are two entrances. One side of the shop is the butchers with sausages. They make amazing sausages and if I had a kitchen, I would have been shopping on that side of the store. For faculty lunches, the principal's wife cooks bangers and mash and she always gets the sausages from D&M. Some of my favourites: Toulouse (red wine and lots of garlic), Yorkshire Leek, and the Somerset (apple and cider)!
Instead I entered on the other side of the store where the bakery is... including the pork pies! Unfortunately at 3 p.m. there was not much in the display. However, I recommend for tourists stopping in here to get a feel for British food and products. I bought a Toffee Cake (absolutely delicious, moist, gorgeous), a large (because I'm American I would call it a medium, maybe even a shmedium) pork pie, and two sausage rolls. The pork pie was for other people who enjoy meat flavoured jelly, in fact, I know it is blasphemy, but if the pork pie were served hot, even warm, I think I might like it, but the idea of cold, dense meat, with meat gelatin... no thanks.
The sausage rolls were a different size... not the long ones like Greggs, nor the small bites, but rather somewhere in between. They were not warm... or hot, which I would have liked, but... the flavour of the sausage was lovely and while I did like the pastry, I did think there was too much pastry. The pastry sausage ratio was a bit off. The staff were not particularly friendly, but they were efficient. Overall, it was still a success! read more