Michael Caine’s Chicken and Bacon Pie

When I heard that Gill of the Realweegiemidget Reviews blog was organizing a Michael Caine blogathon I really wanted to participate.  

I was dying to make his Chicken and Bacon Pie but I couldn’t work out WHEN.  Life is so busy at the moment, I despaired of finding a free timeslot.  Then last Wednesday, wandering through the London Underground system I spotted this:

and knew I just had to go!  So tonight (Michael’s 85th birthday and the last day of the blogathon) I took myself off to my local cinema, the Everyman in Muswell Hill.

I was excited to see the film, and even more excited to see the live Q&As with Michael that would be beamed live from the National Film Theatre to 400 venues all around the country after the screening.  

The film archive I work for had supplied some footage for this documentary so I had my clip-spotting head on.  I have seen a LOT of footage from the 60s in my time but this documentary has some superb stuff I’ve never clapped eyes on before.  I absolutely LOVED it.  Kudos to the film-makers and researchers who gathered such a vast array of brilliant material and used it so well to illustrate Michael’s journey through the decade.  I thought it was a fabulous piece of work, and funny too.  Thrilled to hear that there will be a 6 part TV series featuring more of the interviews that were undertaken for the film (icons such as Marianne Faithfull, Twiggy, David Bailey, Paul McCartney, Mary Quant and more).  I will definitely try and catch those.

The live Q&A was so much fun to feel part of.  Michael looked great, and he regaled audiences all around the country with his witty responses to Edith Bowman’s interviewing (it was obvious that she was really enjoying his company).  Questions were also sent in via Twitter using the hashtag #MyGenerationMovie – so that audiences everywhere could be involved.  What I liked best were Michael’s anecdotes involving food (naturally) and there were a lot of them!  He talked about the first place in London you could get a burger and the fact that he thought the early discotheques were great because you could get a meal there.  I definitely got the impression that MC is a man who loves his food!  A bon viveur.

At the end of the event, we all sang Happy Birthday which I thought was really sweet.  I so enjoyed seeing this documentary on the BIG SCREEN and it almost felt like I was in the same room as Michael Caine for half an hour there.  How absolutely lovely.

A few Michael Caine food and drink related bullet points because it is late and I have to get this posted before midnight!

• When you are based in the UK it’s hard to search for images of Michael Caine and food on the internet as you will mostly get pix of the rather handsome chef Michael Caines instead

• Occasionally you’ll find a good one though…

• Michael said he learned a lot about food from Len Deighton when he played Harry Palmer

• Michael’s cooking scene in The Ipcress File caused quite a stir, you can read all about that and Len Deighton’s brilliant cookstrips here…

• I am going to start calling my cafetière an Insta-Brewer

• Michael’s Chicken and Bacon Pie recipe is based on a dish he loved that was served at the Connaught Hotel in London (SUPER POSH) in the 1960s. They have a legendary “martini trolly” at the Connaught, I experienced it once.  I was not paying…

• Michael is apparently very good at making roast potatoes, you can read all about his method here…

So I would strongly suggest making Michael’s pie with some roast potatoes made Caine-style on the side.  I am adding this to my recipe “to-do” list so no doubt it will pop up on the blog again at some point.  Thanks for organizing the blogathon Realweegiemidget Reviews, I can’t wait to read all the other entries!

I do love the serving suggestion, “serve with chilled white wine or champagne.”  Naturally!  Cheers Michael, you are an absolute gem.