Chef Nokx Majozi shares how craft skills have elevated the humble pie

If you look at the restaurant industry, you can see how pies have boomed; even places with a Michelin star have started to do them. Before, no one was doing this in London – the pie was just a type of food that you would serve in the pub.

I was working at the Rosewood London hotel for five years before we opened a dedicated restaurant called The Pie Room. It came about because when I was a junior sous chef, we introduced one pie to the menu and people ordered it all the time. Then we thought, why don’t we have a specialised pie room? It took a lot of people to approve it, but we managed to get it. I’d never been a pastry chef before, but there was one pie I especially liked, a grouse pie. Every time I made it and finished the pastry with these beautiful lines, I thought, ’this is something I want to do’.

When I first started at The Pie Room, we went to the British Museum and there was someone there who showed us books about pies. I’m particularly interested in older pies and the banquets they used to be part of because I like working out how you can make them today, and make them better. History is important when you’re creating something – you shouldn’t lose it. For example, I serve pork pies, which have been around for years and years; we’ve largely kept the recipe the same, but instead of using pig’s stomach lard, now we use leaf lard in the pastry (which comes from around a pig’s kidney) to make it softer.

When we’re doing latticework, we always use a small cutter; sometimes it’s a V shape or a flower. For the other designs we’ll use knives, crimpers or a mix of everything. We often use the moulds [around The Pie Room], but not the beautiful antique ones because they’re quite valuable – there’s even a mould from the 18th century.

I grew up eating pies in South Africa, and still eat them now with my family. Everyone there eats pies as a snack – I would compare it to the sandwich in the UK. My grandma would make some pies at home, but sometimes the pastry was hard and I struggled with it. I also ate pies during university when we were out clubbing – especially at the end of the night because you could get them in petrol stations.

So I thought, why can’t I bring the flavour of the pies I had growing up into the pastry I work with in London? That’s how I came up with a peppered steak pie for British Pie Week because in the UK we have steak pie, but it’s made with blue cheese. I did use British suet pastry for mine, but instead of steaming it (which is normally how it’s cooked), I baked it. It has inspired me to do more in terms of blending both South African and British heritage.

I made the pithivier pie early on in my career, and it made me fall in love with pie-making. When I scored the details on the pastry, I got a moment on my own in a busy kitchen when I could focus on one thing – no one was disturbing me. I got to go from seeing the pie at the beginning of the process when it had no details or shape to it, to seeing it at the end – it was incredible.

I’m particularly interested in older pies and the banquets they used to be part of because I like working out how you can make them today, and make them better. History is important if you‘re creating something - you shouldn’t lose it.