How to bake the perfect pie

Michel Roux is known for food with an elaborate flourish: a julienne here, a coulis there. But when it comes to winter food, he knows humble is best.

“As a meal in winter, you just can’t beat a pie,” says the triple Michelin-starred chef, above. “You have everything in one dish: the delicate pastry, crumbling in your mouth, acts almost as your starter – and the delicious moist, melting meat, as the main course.”

His love for pies came from his grandfather and father who were charcutiers and used to make and sell hot and cold varieties in France. “Pies are cheap and cheerful, and if you have any left over, which I often don’t because I am greedy, they freeze really well.”