"their flavour and taste remain unsurpassed in the known world."
Gerald Sheep-Shanks
Locally Sourced in Texas, USA. Handmade With Love
Photograph - Dunstan Orchard
HISTORY
The Handmade Pie Company is now located in Spring Texas, originating in Devon, England. This Company has been making pies with traditional ingredients and employing traditional methods by the Crispin family since before anyone can remember. The earliest record is from about 1857 when it is mentioned in a letter from Gerald Sheep-Shanks to his friend Claude Crispin. Journeying from Torquay to the capital of England, London, Gerald asks for some Handmade Pies for the journey because as he says "their flavour and taste remain unsurpassed in the known world." Obviously he got his pies !
Leonard Crispin in Bovey Tracey 1921.
In 1857, Claude Crispin made pies in a small bakery in Chudleigh Knighton at the gateway to Dartmoor. A delicious pie with local ingredients, made to a secret recipe and handmade in Devon. Potatoes, swede (aka turnip or rutabaga), onion and beef wrapped in a shortcrust pastry and baked in the oven, this is the Devon Pie.
The Crispin Bakery (1910)
Photograph - Janice Waltzer
Fierce arguments ensued between the Devonians and the Cornish both of which claimed to be the originator or home of this pies or pasty. In the 20th Century the European Union gave Cornish Pasties protected status such that they can only be made in Cornwall to certain specifications.
The Crispin Family at their home, Suncrest in Torquay 1961.
Boys at the back ; John, Bill and Rick. The Girls Pam on the left and Paul on the right, Leonard John and Lillian in the centre.
CHANGES Since 1857
In recent years the range of our Handmade Pies has increased - partly due to rationing during and after the Second World War., during which Leonard J Crispin was not only a Sergeant in the Torbay Police Force but more importantly the Head Buyer for the Co-Op Meat department for the entire South West of England and in times of rationing an important man. Lillian Crispin, his wife, started making variations to the traditional recipe depending on availability of ingredients. When Len could get Lamb she made Lamb and Mint Devon Pies, when Chicken was bountiful she would make a Coronation Chicken version using the exotic spice combination of curry powder imported from the then colony of India. Even reverting to making vegetarian Devon Pies using leeks, carrots, swede, potatoes and wild parsley. Lillian passed these recipes to her daughters Pamela and Paula who in turn passed them to their children. Lillian was Mark's Gran and since he began to cook 40 years ago he has made variations of the Crispin’s Devon Pie recipe and it is these pies as well as the original traditional pie that we, The Handmade Pie Company, offer today in the USA.
OUR PIES
Our Handmade Pies are made with the best of ingredients, fresh, organic, local (to our place of work) and healthy. Each is lovingly hand crimped (sealed with a twist). We use no preservatives, no added MSG, no added trans fat, no GM ingredients, no added anything (just a bit of love and pride) - in fact just plain good !
DEVON PIES - The pasty
The Devon Pie is known in the UK and the rest of the world as a "Pasty" (parse tea), a type of pie. A pasty, more than any other pie, is a complete meal. The original pasty is said to originate in 12th Century France but they are mentioned as early as the 9th Century in Britain. The traditional Devon Pie "written" recipe dates back to 1510 when the earliest Pasty recipe was written in Plymouth Devon.
A Vegetarian Devon Pie
photograph by Letizia Lorenzetti
Some argue that the origin of the Pasty is the Cornish Tin Mines which were too deep for workers to get back to the surface for a meal. So the miners took the meal with them at the beginning of the day. With meat and Potatoes at one end and with fruit at the other it was the perfect "to go food !"
Photograph - Peaflockstar
Handmade with the freshest and quality ingrediants.
Photograph - Don Swanson
Our Handmade Pasty. The perfect on-the-go meal-in-one. No mess - delicious hot, warm or cold.
Photograph - Asheem Gujadhur
Cornish pasties have become a protected product of the EEU with a specific recipe, local ingredients and necessarily made in Cornwall. The Devon Pie is a variation traditionally made in the neighbouring County of Devonshire by the Crispin family.
Nearly every culture in the world has a variation (ie samosas-India; patties-Jamaica; pirozhki – Russia; empanada – Spain, South America; bridies - Scotland; calzone -Italy; paste - Mexico; spanikopita - Greece).
hand raised pork PIE
Our Handmade Pork Pies are made with traditional ingredients : rough ground pork, bacon and a blend of exotic spices that make this aromatic pie irresistible ! The pastry is “hot crust” and hand raised. This combination of filling, aspic jelly and crisp pastry is truly a masterpiece of British, Traditional cuisine. We have 5 sizes from cocktail size to a Party monster size !
We also have a Gala Pie - the individual size has a quail egg ! - and a Huntsman’s Pie (with a layer of Chicken and Apricots). At Christmas time we produce a pork pie wth cranberries on top.
Photograph - Paul Townsend
Photograph - Iain Cameron
traditional & Nontraditional pies
As Artisans we can make and invent any combination of ingredients, however there is something wonderfully comforting about the traditional range of pies : Steak & Ale, Steak & Mushroom, Chicken & Leek, Turkey & Ham, Steak & Kidney, Shepherd’s Pie (with Lamb of course !), Fisherman’s Pie etc As well as local traditional favourites like Scotch Pies, Meat & Potato Pie, Stovies, Bridies and even Samosas.
We have a fantastic range of pies that only take 3 minutes to heat from frozen in a microwave - the pastry remains crisp and the filling tender, tasty and delicious. Truly easy food on the go - a great snack for the pie lover in a hurry. Perfect for that half time pie & Bovril !
Photograph - Chrissy Pesch
sausage rolls
Our Handmade Sausage Rolls are made with traditional ingredients. Ground pork, secret seasonings and a pastry that puffs up every time. These are available in all sizes Jumbo, regular and cocktail size. We also produce seasonal variations of the Sausage Roll - Sage & Onion or Parsley Thyme or Herbalicious (lots of herbes).
Photograph - Shula
Photgraph - Alpha
other products
We also make Scotch Eggs, Bridies, and a range of sausagemeats Lorne Sausage, Pork Sausages (bangers), Sage & Onion (sausage or bulk sausagemeat), Parsley and Thyme (sausage or bulk sausagemeat). We also make a range of Empanadas or Empanillas or Pastes, as well as pies from around the world.
All with the same love we give to all our artisinal handmade products.
OUR INSPIRATION
Devonshire in all its Glory! Located on the South Western peninsula of Great Britain. Home of the founding Fathers of the United States.
Start Point Photograph - Mark George
Dawlish Coast Photograph - ALISTAIR
Devon Copse Photograph - Graham Dean
Westward Ho Photograph - NikonAndOn
Boat Cove, Dawlish Photograph - Theresa Elvin
Sidmouth Photograph - Baz Richardson
Devon Sunrise Photograph - Richard Fox