< Back to Main Blog Posted: June 2025

The Secret’s in the Pastry: A Chat with Robin, Our Head of Pastry

Robin’s been part of the COOK family for 22 years now. He started out in our prep kitchen, where all the fresh food is prepped so it’s ready for the chefs to work their magic. These days, he’s our Head of Pastry, responsible for all the golden pies, quiche bases and buttery crumble toppings that come out of our kitchens.

We popped into the pastry kitchen to catch up with Robin about a recent change we’ve made to our shortcrust pastry.

So, Robin, we’ve heard whispers of a new pastry recipe. What’s the story?

“When I took over as Head of Pastry, we had several different shortcrust recipes floating around the kitchen. Some with lemon juice, some with egg yolk ... it was bedlam! Over the years, various chefs added their own spin, and it was time to bring it all back to one simple, brilliant recipe which we’ve now done. It’s rare to find a company making proper all-butter pastry mostly because it’s expensive. But once you taste it, you know it’s worth it.”

What makes it different?

“For one, we’ve taken the strong bread flour out. Now we’re using plain flour again, which is softer and easier to work with - especially when you’re re-rolling offcuts. And because we’re only using one recipe, it means we always have the right pastry, ready when we need it.”

What drew you to pastry in the first place?

“There’s a bit of flair to pastry - it’s creative, it can be sweet or savoury, and it’s all in the details. I’ve always loved it. I remember my first batch of pastry at COOK. We used a Hobart mixer that was rumoured to be 75 years old and from a WWII submarine. We’ve got another machine for rolling, but otherwise everything is done by hand.”

So, how do you make great shortcrust pastry?

Use cold butter, cut into cubes
Mix into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs
Add your liquid just when it’s ready (Robin says he can smell when the moment is right – “a savoury, buttery smell”)
Don’t overmix, or it’ll go tough

Top tip for avoiding the dreaded soggy bottom?

“Blind baking! Line your pastry case with baking paper, add baking beans, and bake it off before you add your filling. It stops the pastry from puffing up and keeps the bottom nice and crisp.”

Which COOK dish are you most proud of?

“It’s got to be our large Chicken, Ham & Leek Pie. It’s a proper pie – generous, hearty, feeds six, and it looks brilliant on the table. But for me, the pastry is the real star. It’s not about what’s on the inside!”

And the most difficult pastry dish?

“Our individual pies. We make seven different kinds, and they’re incredibly labour-intensive for their size. My favourite’s the Ham Hock Pie - packed with flavour.”

Any pastry disasters?

“When I worked in a bakery aged 18, I once made 20 sweet pies using salt to make the pastry instead of sugar. Every single one came back. That was a lesson I won’t forget!”

Ham, Hock & Leek Pie

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Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

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Pies

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Desert Island Pie?

“Our new Beef Bourguignon Pie. Absolutely stunning.”

One pastry you never get tired of?

“Crumble. Especially our crumble. The recipe hasn’t changed in 22 years. And yes, crumble counts as pastry in my opinion. It’s just not rolled. We even use the crumble mix to make cookies sometimes - they’re like nothing else.”

What about baking at home – do you ever get a night off?

“No chance! I’m always roped in for sausage rolls, pasties, vol-au-vents… any family party, I’m on pastry duty. And every Christmas morning we have cheese and bacon turnovers … it’s become our tradition.”

How do you make sure our pastry’s always top-notch?

“I taste it. Every day. I’m on the Taste Panel daily, sampling everything we make with pastry. We’re always aiming for 100% - no compromises. Which means a lot of sausage rolls and Beef Wellingtons… I know, tough gig!”

And what are you most proud of?

“This might be my proudest thing: once we’ve rolled our pastry twice, we can’t use it again. But instead of binning it, we now send it to the Felix Project in London. They use it to cook meals for children living in poverty. That feels really good.”

So, next time you tuck into one of our pastry dishes, spare a thought for Robin and his band of merry men and women. Because behind every great meal is a team who really care.