MINCE PIES

The school where I work has a Christmas market each year. The pupils make various things, and the proceeds go to charity. Being English I thought that I should contribute with something English. What represents an English Christmas better than mince pies?

Before we could make them, I had to overcome a cultural misunderstanding. I told the head of the kitchen that I would be using mincemeat (sent from the U.K., since it is not available here), which made her all nervous. Apparently there are lots of Danish health and safety rules in a school when you are dealing with meat, and she didn't realise that mincemeat has nothing to do with meat!

Sorting that out took a while, and then this evening we were ready to go. A team of seven put together 45 mince pies which will be sold on Sunday. Two were slightly broken, so we divided them up between us. Not as good as my mum's, but still pretty good for a first ever attempt.

Walter Blotscher