Celebrate British Pie Week at Cardiff Farmers Markets
Whether filled to the brim with comforting fillings and encased in golden-brown shortcrust, flaky filo or topped with buttery mash, there is little more comforting than a pie - especially when the weather is still struggling to reach double digits.
Here in the UK, we consume over £1billion worth of pies every year - so it’s hardly a surprise that we have a dedicated week just to celebrate the Great British Pie, an occasion that’s now now in its fifteenth year.
To celebrate British Pie Week in our own way, we caught up with Christos Georgakis, aka Private Chef Christos to find out how the humble pie has shaped his food business, and helped him to connect and collaborate with other traders at our weekly markets.
“I have been in the UK for 25 years and have worked at high-end restaurants and hotels all my life, winning both local and national awards as a chef over the years. Four years ago I decided to be a private chef , specialising in dinner parties and meals for families.
I have also always loved farmers markets, but wanted to offer something different - so I decided to go back to my heritage and start making Greek bakery products.
I know that British people really love pies! So now, I make a selection of Greek pies with a traditional filo pastry base - I’m sourcing everything I can locally, and try to produce pies accordingly what is available at the market each week.”
Filo pies from Private Chef Christos
“I have been working with Oscar from Slad Valley Mushrooms to create some delicious mushroom pies especially for pie week. We exchange products every Sunday at the end of the market, which is a great way to support each other’s business.
My customers love the pies I’ve created (Slad Valley mushroom , Kale and Feta Cheese; and Slad Valley Mushroom and Lentil Bourguignon) so as time goes on, my plan is to do more of this ingredient swapping with the other veg and meat suppliers at market, using their fresh local ingredients to make lots of different filling combinations that I’m sure market customers will love.”
If you fancy celebrating British Pie Week with some of Christos’ delicious pies, you can find him at our Roath Market this Saturday and at Riverside this Sunday.
Along with his Slad Valley Mushroom pies, his British Pie Week selection will include his Kefalonia Three-Meat Pie ( Gower beef , pork and lamb ), Gower cauliflower cheese filo pie ( vegetarian) , Arni Kleftiko Filo Pie, Gower Lamb Kleftiko with Potatoes, Shallots, Peppers & Feta, and his Murton Farm Cauli Cheese Filo Pie (vegetarian).