Travels With Nate

When I first read the press release about this book, I’m sure you’ll forgive me that I didn’t actually read the word “Men’s”. I read “Haynes Pie Manual by Andrew Webb”. That was enough to get me excited. I received the book and thought “Hang on a minute; this is making a few assumptions”. Firstly, it’s assuming at as a man, I don’t have the foggiest idea of how to make a pie (I do – I’ve made many in my time) and secondly it is assuming one of two things – either that pies are foodstuff for men, and men only, or it is assuming that women automatically know how to make pies from birth. To be honest, I wasn’t impressed at this. I then started reading and was thankful that he kept the “Hey manly men, I’m talking to you, you loser who doesn’t know how to make a pie” to a minimum, aside from the occasional “RED MEAT PIE ARE ESPECIALLY FOR MEN. MEN LOVE RED MEAT.” So yeah, he doesn’t talk directly to us men right through the book which is a good thing, but it’s all still rath...

A little over a week ago I was browsing the internet and saw that upmarket supermarket Marks & Spencer were releasing a Fish and Chip pie. At first, I thought it was a little odd but then I thought, well, Fish and Chips are a British institution, as is savoury pie so why the fuck not? I mean, after thinking about it a little more, I wondered why nobody had done this before. As massive fans of fish and chips, Emily and I were amazed so I promised her a fish and chip pie for dinner last Friday, because I'm a classy motherfucker. So what makes a fish and chip pie? A layer of minted peas, a layer of fish in a tartare sauce and topped with chips in a pastry crust. To some people this sounds amazing, but to others it sounds disgusting. So what's it like? After tasting it, I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with it. I mean, when you have a dish, to ensure it all works you put everything that's on the plate on your fork to ensure it works toget...