A leading chef has been taken on by leading pie maker, Lewis Pies, to spice up its latest line of pastry products.
Swansea-based Michael Knight will lend his culinary expertise to the new Wilfred range of savoury tuck from South Wales’ Lewis Pies and Pasty Company.
Knight – who used to cook for Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones at their Mumbles mansion and who has also catered for a number of Royal events – will add a touch of upper crust to the premium-themed products, which include The Saucy Cow (made with Welsh beef steak and Gower Power Ale ); The Fiery Chick with Collier’s powerful Welsh cheddar; The Lamb of my Fathers with Welsh lamb and local laver bread; The Clucking Valleys; The Steak and Tatws and The Gower Cwtch – steak with leeks and a hint of horseradish.
With this use of richer, top-of-the-range ingredients the Wilfred’s range is Lewis’ attempt to get away from the more everyday image of the humble pie and appeal instead to gourmet food lovers out there.
The well-known chef added that he’s looking forward to going up-market with his pie range.
“There’s definitely a demand for luxury pies,” Michael said.
“As a chef for high profile clients and running my own restaurant for many years, this opportunity allowed me to bring my experience and ideas together to the company and develop the range alongside Lewis Pies, which is very innovative as a business.
“There are places in Wales like Caerphilly that represent quality with its cheese, but there’s nothing that really does the same for the Swansea area.
“This is why we wanted to create premium pies with a focus on local Swansea produce, to show the quality ingredients and high-end produce available in the area.
“With this we really want to help it make a name for itself.”