Mince pies are a Christmas staple – and it seems like everywhere you go over the festive season they’re on offer.
But that won’t be the case this year at one hotel in Scotland which has enforced a ban as in previous years the festive treat have ended up in the bin.
The Glynhill Hotel and Spa has made the controversial decision after 53 years of serving the pastry treat.
Chef Willie Millar said: “Every year, we buy them, we serve them, then with a very few exceptions we bin them – which feels like an awful waste.
“Not very many people at all seem to like them, even less want them at the end of their meal, so it feels like a bit of a no-brainer to simply ban them this Christmas and focus on offering desserts and sweet treats which our customers do want.
“We think we might be the first venue in Scotland to remove mince pies from their Christmas menus but it’s in line with customer feedback – and will also mean a reduction in wastage which can only be a good thing.
“Bye bye mince pies. Gone and forgotten!”
Guests at the 147-room hotel, in Renfrew, Glasgow, will instead be offered other desserts such as a cheesecake of the day with vanilla ice cream, sticky toffee pudding, mixed fruit pavlova and a banana split.
Guests with a sweet tooth can also choose from a brownie sundae, vegan chocolate fudge cake or a selection of Arran cheeses, grapes, and celery ribbons.
The hotel, which charges an average rate of £85 per night, said the reaction to outlawing the mince pies has been mostly good. Mr Millar said the hotel usually ordered around 5,000 mince pies every year to cater for Christmas parties and events – but 80 percent ended up in the bin.
More than 70 million mince pies are thrown away across the UK every year, according to estimates. Express.co.uk run a taste test this year on mince pies – and the retailer’s own-brand mince pies were all outranked by their luxury counterparts.
Aldis’ Specially Selected All Butter Mini Mince Pies were joined by Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and Co-Op Irresistible in the top four.
