Pie 'n mash fans seek protected status for Cockney classic

"One and one please love," a regular said, leaning on the counter at a pie and mash shop in London's East End.

In seconds, one piping-hot beef pie appeared with a single scoop of mashed potatoes at G Kelly's shop, topped off with parsley sauce known as liquor.

Londoners have been eating this classic Cockney combination since at least Victorian times but for many years the working-class staple has had a humble reputation among outsiders.

Now a campaign to get pie and mash special protected status is gaining ground, with supporters arguing the dish deserves an official stamp of recognition similar to Parmesan cheese and Champagne.

After a British politician took the case to parliament and won the backing of MPs, campaigners hope to land the label this year.

"Bout time," said G Kelly customer Daniel Terrance as he tucked into his third pie and mash of the week. "I just want more," the 39-year-old electrician chuckled, eating the meal with a traditional accompaniment of jellied eels.

The first pie and mash eateries began to crop up in London in the 1800s, when street hawkers selling pies teamed up with eel vendors and set up shop near the city's docks.

Over time, a set of rituals has grown up around the dish, from the quickfire "one and one" ordering system to the fork and spoon that purists insist on using to eat it.

The pie's flaky crust and soft suet base have been a fixture for generations but most cooks have agreed to let one old-fashioned practice slide -- nowadays, the liquor is rarely made from stewed eel water.

British cuisine has had a hard time shaking off its bad reputation but backers say pie and mash is worthy of joining hundreds of dishes with official protection in mainland Europe and, increasingly, in other countries including the UK.

The campaigners, among them several pie shop owners, now need to get a recipe for the dish approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs so they can secure a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) label.

The stamp legally safeguards traditional recipes but differs from badges awarded to foods like Parma ham in that it allows them to be made outside a specific area.

Neil Vening, the fourth-generation owner of G Kelly's family shop, hopes the label can prevent big companies from capitalising on tradition to pump out sub-standard pie and mash.

"It's undermining this great heritage we've got," the 33-year-old said, pointing to the black and white photos of relatives and staff around the shop, founded by George Kelly in 1939.

For regular customers who have seen dozens of pie and mash shops close since the dish's heyday, nostalgia is a big part of the appeal.

Gentrification has pushed London's Cockney population further and further from the East End and changing tastes have ushered in a wave of coffee shops and artisan bakeries.

"I like the changes but not every local does," said Leanne Black, who has worked at the shop for 14 years.

The 45-year-old East Ender explained many customers love the comfort an old-fashioned pie and mash shop brings.

"It's not just about the food. Some people feel like out there, that the world has changed so much and when they come in here it's like a time warp. It's the smell in here. It's the tables, the cold marble... It's everything."

Pie and mash's recent history is not just a story of decline, though. Vening said G Kelly's is enjoying a boost as newcomers and tourists eat alongside old-timers.

And East Enders who moved away from the capital have taken the dish with them - dozens of pie and mash shops are now flourishing outside London.

An official status would cement this turnaround, the campaigners argue.

Conservative MP Richard Holden, who took the motion to parliament late last year, said he wanted to celebrate pie and mash shops like those in his Basildon and Billericay constituency east of London.

"Let's give them the protected status they deserve," he said.  |  AFP