We’re no stranger the the humble Pie Barm in these ends; the Wigan delicacy also known as the Wigan Kebab or Pie Sandwich. It has now been revealed by TasteAtlas that of all the English foods listed on their website, the Pie Barm came out as one of the lowest rated, and second worst of all English sandwiches and wraps… rude.
In its overview, TasteAtlas describes the Pie Barm as: “Pie barm or Wigan kebab is a unique English sandwich hailing from Wigan. The sandwich consists of a meat pie that’s sandwiched between a barm cake – a buttered roll that’s leavened with barm (beer foam, in most cases). The Wiganers are well-known for their pie-eating and they even attempted to send a pie to space in 2016, but didn’t succeed.”
It added: “The pie used as the filling for this sandwich is usually of the meat-and-potatoes variety” – as we very well know.
Understandably, the overview also suggests getting a Pie Barm from Galloways Bakers in Wigan, which we have also done (not to brag), with user Grace Hocking commenting: “To get your hands on one of these beige masterpieces, slink to Galloways Bakers to fill your boots with carb-heavy goodness” – finally, someone with taste.
Lagging right down at the bottom near the Pie Barm, which came 14th lowest rated, is an array of North West staples such as the Lancashire Hotpot (10th worst English meat dish) and the Kendal Mint Cake, which was the third worst rated English food product and the seventh worst confectionery in the world… we’re not going to argue with that one.
Perhaps obviously, the top three rated English dishes came out as Afternoon Tea, Fish and Chips and the mighty Full English Breakfast, along with some other questionable entries into the top 15 like Black Pudding and the Egg Sandwich.
Leading the way for our region, though, is some tasty scran including the Cheese and Onion Pie, which ranked number one in the ‘variety of British Pie’ category, and the Bakewell Tart, coming in eighth in both the ‘English Dessert’ and ‘variety of Afternoon Tea’ categories – finally, some recognition!
Keep your eyes peeled in due course for some serious campaigning of behalf of the Pie Barm; we’re thinking protests, a Wigan pie-buying spree, and perhaps a recount. Protect the Pie Barm!