Aldi's Christmas Secrets: Derbyshire deli's 'pigs in blankets samosas' to feature on Channel 4 show tonight

A delicatessen near Derbyshire is thinking outside the box and has created a festive-themed snack - Pigs In Blankets samosas which could soon be stocked at your local Aldi.

It is a hybrid mash-up of two popular dishes, samosas and pigs Iin blankets.

Pratik Master, 37, from Wigston created the unique snack featuring a traditional fried pastry triangle, with a lightly spiced filling of pigs in blankets.

The samosas are part of Aldi’s new show that will see British suppliers go head-to-head with pitching their new festive product to Aldi bosses – with the supermarket considering pigs in blankets samosa as a contender for shelf space.

The new Channel 4 show also follows the supermarket as it prepares for Christmas, with a behind-the-scenes look at current suppliers, in-store operations, and the launch of the nation’s first-ever bottomless pigs in blankets restaurant.

For the show, innovative suppliers pitched to the Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, Julie Ashfield, and the Communications Director at Aldi UK, Richard Thornton, for the chance to land a life-changing contract for the festive season.

Other hopefuls include Ian and Lesley Buxton’s pigs in blanket ice-cream, Liverpool bakery Desserts by Dre who attempted to wow with his Christmas pudding cheesecake and a festive-themed steamed pudding from Worcestershire-based The Pudding Shop.

Speaking about the motivation behind his creation, Pratik, who is owner of Wigston Deli - Not Just A Corner Shop said: “Samosas are a beloved snack. pigs in blankets are popular and synonymous with a Sunday roast and Christmas. So putting something together that ties in both of these highly desirable things was a foregone conclusion.

“Coming from an Asian household where we ate a Sunday roast with spice, which is a normal thing, trying a pigs in blankets samosa for the first time didn’t feel ‘out of the box’ because it is just what I would eat.”

Another surprising Christmas-themed dish vying for Aldi’s attention is Ian and Lesley Buxton’s pigs in blankets flavoured ice cream.

The couple who have run 80-acre Yorkshire dairy farm Yorvale make around 50 flavours including classic vanilla and mint choc chip, but it’s the unusual festive offering they hope will land them with the winning spot.

Lesley said: “We experimented with different flavour profiles. They included Brussels sprouts, bacon and chestnut, port-soaked cranberries and blue cheese, blue cheese and smoky bacon, even a Christmas spiced ‘Cuthbert' carrot cake!

 “But we finally landed on pigs in blankets as it was by far the best and most festive tasting of them all.”

The ice cream divided opinions of the Aldi team.

Richard said: “I am a little bit apprehensive” and “My taste buds are very confused” while Julie said: “It tastes like really nice ice cream, with a smoky bacon crisp.”

Julie added: “With so many of our existing suppliers coming up with great Christmas products, we really only have space for one more within our seasonal range. We absolutely have to stand out from the crowd at Christmas and new, quirky products are key to this.”

*The Christmas special, Aldi’s Christmas Secrets airs on Channel 4 on Monday, December, 18 at 9pm.