‘Pies up!’ Tory MP says Cockney classic pie and mash must be protected

“Pies up, please!” The counter staff called out for fresh trays of beef pies every few minutes as the lunchtime rush arrived. Robins Pie & Mash in Basildon was packed with families, couples and solo diners of all ages when local MP Richard Holden sat down with the Express over the classic Cockney dish.

He ordered a double serving with traditional parsley sauce, known as liquor, for £10 before liberally dousing his plate with malt vinegar.

Mr Holden, who narrowly won his Essex seat of Basildon and Billericay by just 20 votes this summer, is campaigning for pie and mash to be given protected status.

The Tory MP, 39, said: “These pies are made every day in the back. They’re like an artisan product really, it’s not frozen. It’s pretty inexpensive – £5 for your pie and mash and liquor. It’s as cheap or cheaper than you’d pay for a McDonald’s and more nutritious.”

The former Conservative Party chairman is working with producers to seek Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status for the dish, which originated in London’s East End.

As we ate, he explained that he first tried it as a university student but rediscovered it in the run-up to the General Election. “I kept popping into both here, Robins, and Stacey’s Pie and Mash which is just down the road,” he said.

“It’s very convenient and the perfect place to nip in for a hearty meal when you’re knocking doors.” The cafe is so lively I sometimes struggle to hear the MP over the clanking of plates and music blaring in the kitchen.

Diners are seated on simple benches at tables each holding two bottles of malt vinegar. One departing customer called out to the staff: “Absolutely 10 out of 10!”

Pie, mash and liquor has been described as a dish that is as much about the people as the food, born in London’s eastern docklands during the Victorian era.

Seen as traditional working-class fare, it was once made with eels from the Thames. They were later replaced with meat, typically minced beef. At Robins, you can still buy it with a serving of jellied eels on the side.

Fans of the hearty meal include football legend David Beckham, 49, who was last month spotted stopping for pie and mash in an Essex cafe with son Romeo, 22.

Eileen and Robert Cash were among those enjoying lunch at Robins. The couple live in Spain but were visiting to meet their new great-grandson and always stop for pie and mash when in the UK.

Eileen, 84, said she was “all for” protecting the dish. Robert, 86, added: “I was brought up on it. Being Cockney it’s like tradition, pie and mash with jellied eel. When I was a kid, every Saturday my mum used to give me the money to go and have it.”

At another table, Jackie and Terry Edwards said they dropped in at least once a month. Jackie, 64, said: “I was brought up on pie and mash when I was younger, especially being from the East End. We used to eat a lot of it because it was a cheap food, and now it’s a nice treat.”

Some 42 constituencies are home to a pie and mash shop and Mr Holden says TGS status would give producers a boost. He added: “Family shops like this will be able to basically advertise themselves as a premium product.

“It’s a bit like the difference between a pork pie and a Melton Mowbray pork pie. If you do it in a traditional way – and that’s all got to be worked out – then that will give you a bit of an elevated status.”

To receive TGS status, a food item must have characteristics that distinguish it from similar products and a production method that has been consistent for at least 30 years. Examples include traditionally farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots pork, Bramley apple pie filling and watercress.

The MP has made representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) about an application. He is now working with producers and campaigners to agree on a that is specific enough to meet the criteria but ensures that all traditional pie and mash shops can be included.

Mr Holden said communities like his “sometimes feel that their British cultural heritage is a bit looked down upon, so it’s nice for areas like this to think that what they’re bringing to the table, as their traditional British product, is also celebrated”.

And he hopes the campaign will kick off a wider trend of recognising classic British dishes. He added: “France has almost 800 designations for its regional produce, Italy’s got the same. We have got under 100 in the UK.

“We should do more to celebrate that and push it out. It’s not just about pie and mash on its own, it’s actually more broadly about us celebrating our food.

“Especially when we don’t know what’s going to happen with farming and stuff like that, support for those sectors. Anything we can do to promote local, British products is a positive.”

The MP added that many dishes on the continent which are seen as more artisan actually started as local products in, for example, French villages.

He went on: “London is one of the culinary capitals of the world now and that’s great, but also let’s celebrate some of the stuff that we do really well which is more traditional. It’s not just about the Michelin stars, it’s also about the man on the street.”