I used to eat lots of fat as I loved the fat off meat. The best was the boiled bacon fat. I liked my steak and kidney pies also. My cholesterol was through the roof. I stopped the sat fat and went onto eating Healthy grains, couscous,barley etc. My cholesterol went down to 3.4..then last two years,started to eat wrong foods again,and fat and cholesterol went back up..So I have laid off the sat fat again and just eat healthy fats,from fish olive oil ETC,when I ate grains or sweet potato I never felt hungry.
There are lots of reasons that cholesterol rises and falls. Switching to a diet lower in carbs, especially simple carbs, will lower cholesterol, as will going on lower calorie diets and reducing alcohol intake.
I am not saying you are wrong, just that there are many factors at work, and in the situation you describe there may well have been several of those factors in play.
For instance, a diet rich in pies, is a diet with red meat, processed low quality fats, highly processed carbs, and little fibre. All those things could be contrubutors, not just the saturated fat. Also, if a person is filling up on pies, they won't be eating other things which may have a beneficial impact. Especially when a lot of mass produced pastry is made with unhealthy fats.
Here is the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pie.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=277597842
Ingredients:
Water, Puff Pastry (27%) (
Wheatflour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Water, Salt, Emulsifier (Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)), Water, Salt), Beef (12%), Pork Kidney (9%), Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Modified Maize Starch ,
Wheatflour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Salt, Spices, Yeast Extract, Flavouring, Tomato Paste,
Barley Malt Extract, Beef Extract, Chicory Extract, Sugar, Colour (Plain Caramel), Tomato Powder, Garlic Powder
In the above, there is twice as much puff pastry as beef (kidney is low in fat), and all the added fat is margarine and veg oil.
I just think that blaming saturated fat for raised cholesterol in those circumstances is a bit too simplistic.