All posts in M&S

Overall Score: 6/10

Such promise from the festive green box, the lovely photos and promise of ‘vostizza’ currants! It’s a shame that the contents of said festive green box are a disappointment.

I do like a puff pastry mince pie – the Co-op did a particularly good one last year – but this offering from M&S has multiple issues.

The pastry is too dry – puff pastry is crumbly and dry by its very nature – but this is too much. There’s also too much of it and not enough filling – which compounds the dryness.

The filling isn’t as good as it sounds on the box either – those ‘vostizza’ currants don’t seem to make any impact, apart from on the price I imagine. Save your money and buy a traditional mince pie or the Co-op version (not yet tested but comes from good stock).

Overall Rating: 8/10

The mighty M&S strides into battle. This isn’t their ‘extra special’ pie – it’s a standard pie, but expectations are still high…

The mincemeat is the star here, just sweet enough with some lovely plump fruit too. Just how a mince pie should taste in my opinion.

The pastry is nice and buttery but I think just a little too soft. The soft fruity mincemeat seems to be the culprit here, which is a shame.

I’m being harsh because it’s M&S, but this is still a very good choice. I’d still rather have the Aldi or Lidl pie though…