Most Expensive Mince Pie

A mince pie worth $4,700 (£3,000) is on display at the Exchange shopping mall in Ilford; designed by Andrew Stellitano, who runs food design firm Astarism, it contain platinum leaf, a solid platinum coin, holy water from Lourdes to bind the pastry, vanilla beans and cinnamon from eastern spice markets and highly prized ambergris sugar derived from sperm whale secretions - setting the world record for the Most expensive mince pie.

The Guinness world record for the most expensive pie cost customers to the Fence Gate Inn, Lancashire, UK £8,195 (then $14,260) or £1,024 (then $1,781) per slice when ordered by eight guests on 14 November 2005. The pie's ingredients includes £500 ($870) worth of Japanese wagyu beef fillet, Chinese matsutake mushrooms - so precious, they are harvested under guard, Winter Black truffles, French Bluefoot mushrooms at £200 per 1 kg ($348 per 2 lb 3 oz), gravy made from made two bottles of vintage 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine at £1,000 ($1,740) each and finally the pastry topped with edible gold leaf costing £100 ($174) per sheet.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the largest mince pie, set by a 1.02 tonnes (2,260 lb) pie, baked at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, UK.

The World's Most Expensive Mince Pie was designed on a computer and cut with a laser.

It took Andrew Stellitano, who runs food design firm Astarism, more than a week to create. He said: "It's an extremely intricate design."

The expensive pastry was brushed with Eggnog and gilded with platinum leaf - a technique favoured by the Victorians - before being dusted with Ambergris sugar, which comes from a secretion from sperm whale.

Containing a solid platinum coin, the pie will also contain a 1920s cognac and the pastry will be bound together with holy water from Lourdes.

The Most Expensive Pie in The World will be on display for a month from Sunday at the Marvellous Mince Pie Manufactory, a mince pie workshop in The Exchange shopping centre in Ilford, where visitors can create their own "artisan" mince pies.

A prize draw on December 19 will give shoppers the chance to take home the pricey pie.

Money raised will be donated to the Chigwell Riding Trust charity, a riding centre for people with special needs.

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