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Heat the butter in a large, heavy-based frypan or saucepan over a modest flame and fry the onion until it is starting to brown.
Add the celery and carrot and cook another few minutes, stirring often, to soften.
Add the meat, perhaps a little at a time, and fry that too. Ideally you want the meat to brown without the onions burning, but usually mince is hard to colour because it sweats and boils before it has a chance to brown.
Add the thyme, bay leaf and Worcestershire and cook another minute or two. Pour in the stock and turn right down and simmer, at least 40 minutes, preferably an hour, to soften. Using a lid is a good idea at this point, and add more water if it's getting too dry. Stir it occasionally to stop it sticking.
Taste for salt and pepper (remember the cheese in the mash on top) and pour into a 2-litre casserole dish or similar.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
To make the topping, mix the hot mashed spuds with the cheese, butter, mustard and horseradish and stir to combine.
Spread this mash all over the mince in the casserole dish and scrape the top with a fork or similar to get lots of peaks and troughs. These will caramelise and add heaps more flavour.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the pie is browned and starting to bubble up from the edges.