Higgidy Pies and Quiches at home - and out and about.

Higgidy pies and quiches aren't just your everyday pastry meal. They are a very special pie or quiche. Made using excellent quality fillings and without any nasty additives, everything on the ingredients list is a real thing you can go and buy yourself from the supermarket, with a name you can recognise. These are pies made in a real kitchen by real people.

We were sent a gorgeous cool (or warm) bag and some vouchers so that we could have a Higgidy picnic. I have to admit we had a problem finding a stockist initially, but we didn't give in because we both have memories of gorgeous Higgidy pies at a festival a few years ago. Higgidy online were very helpful and directed us to a local Sainsbury's.

There was a great range in the fridge at Sainsbury's, and we chose 5 products. I'm a vegetarian and Higgidy are a company who have really catered for veggies, with several protein-filled products all as carefully considered as the meat counterparts. I actually don't like cheese though, so I had a small slither, but mainly left it to my family to give opinion on taste.

We were hoping to finally have our Higgidy Picnic last weekend, but naturally not only was it drizzling, it was only 12 degrees at 11.30am. I like a picnic with warm food - heated pastries and soup kept warm in a cool (or warm) bag, but I wasn't prepared for that last weekend, so we all picnicked in the living room.

It's easy to see why Higgidy products are not cheap - the ingredients are in themselves expensive and the recipes absolutely full of flavour. There is nothing bland, no lack of colour, texture or taste. The Slow Cooked Steak and Red Wine Pie was rich and my 7 year old thought it was awesome. The Spinach, Feta and Toasted Pine Nut Pie was very impressive - with pine nuts throughout and the ingredients beautifully mixed and even throughout the pie.

Attention to detail is really important and Higgidy products aren't short on small details that other pies don't have. They look and smell delicious and all of the ingredients are cooked through perfectly - soft, but with good texture to give a really interesting bite.

The Higgidy Smoked English Bacon And Mature Cheddar Quiche is full of bacon and cheese, and was declared to be delicious by my partner and the little boys, while my oldest son ate the Little Spinach, Feta and Tomato Quiche. Higgidy products are proper filling food, a meal in themselves. And I must say perfect for a Winter's evening..

All of the Higgidy products were unanimously agreed to be gorgeous, a real decadent treat. A Higgidy pie might seem pricey when you compare it to a cheap everyday pie, but it certainly is not expensive if compared to any other delicatessen meal for one or high end freshly prepared bakery product.

Higgidy pies and quiches are available at selected branches of most major supermarkets, but what products are available and in which supermarkets varies massively from area to area. They are also available from Ocado and independent sandwich shops, pubs, delis etc. across the nation. You can find more details about stockists here, and you can always ask them - they're very friendly! Prices vary depending on the product and whether it's hot or cold, but are around £2.40-£4.20.