NOW, I know what you are thinking, it is the height of summer, a time for food which is light and refreshing, so why on earth would I go to the Cardinal's Hat for a pie on one of the hottest days of the year?

The answer, of course, is because these are truly exceptional pies.

The brainchild of Nigel Smith, landlord of both the Hat and the Fleece Inn at Bretforton, these pies are the same award winning dishes served at the Fleece, and they really do live up to the billing.

My friend and I arrived at the Cardinal's Hat expecting one or two small pies to sample, instead, we were treated to four enormous pies, each a different flavour and each more delicious than the last.

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First up was a standard steak and ale pie. This was everything a pie should be, with large chunks of steak and a delicious gravy. It also met another key test for a pie, being moist but not soggy, a solid 7 out of 10 to start.

The second pie we tackled was steak and Stilton. This was my absolute favourite of the four, with just the right blend between the flavours of the steak and the cheese. It was perfectly cooked and served with mash and minted peas, and was the best of the four in my view. 9 out of 10.

We moved onto the third pie, with shocked onlookers struggling to believe we could take on a culinary challenge like this. But we soldiered on, not feeling any fatigue as the pies, though large, were surprisingly light. The pastry was not heavy and stodgy, which is so often the failing of lesser pies, and eating it did not feel like a slog.

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Our third pie was chicken tarragon. Another strong offering, this had leeks and bacon and a white mushroom sauce inside and was delicious.

If there was one criticism I could offer, it could have done with more seasoning as it lacked the big flavour of the previous two pies. Though I wouldn't have said it was my favourite, my eating companion did, saying he enjoyed that one more than the others. Another 7 out of 10.

The final pie was one my friend and I both looked at with trepidation, the vegan pie.We were naturally sceptical about the vegan pie, unsure what it was going to be like, but we were pleasantly surprised.

This pie gave the biggest hit of flavour of all the pies, with Mediterranean veg including tomatoes, peppers, courgette, aubergine and (surprisingly) cauliflower. This, as with the three pies before it, was perfectly prepared.

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What is more, my friend and I both said we would be tempted to order it as non-vegans, it was that good.

By that time, pie fatigue had set in, so we left a small amount of the vegan pie.

We were as surprised as the shocked pub regulars watching us devour these four massive pies, but we were shocked for a different reason. We were shocked because even after eating all four, we both said "I could do another you know". I highly recommend the Cardinal's Hat's new pie menu. If you want a good wholesome meal, you cannot go wrong.