Pie & Mash

Pie & Mash is a very British food. A very London thing.

It's been hardly changed since Victorian times. A meat pie, scoop of mashed potatoes, covered in a greenish gravy called "Liquor".

It is, in a word, delicious.

Now I've never lived in London, but I did work there as well as a regular visitor. It was only a 40 minute train ride away after all.

Where I did live (Southend-on-Sea) was at the end of two major train lines coming out of London. East Enders used to come down for weekends and the Pie & Mash shops came to cater for them.

Skip forward to the 70's-80's and most had disappeared along with the holiday makers, but a few remained. I have fond memories of sitting in those establishments. Steamed-up windows a barrier from the wet and cold outside, tucking into a hot meal amid the noise bouncing off the tiled walls.

Jake Green is a photographer who captured the history in his 'Pie & Mash London' project.

He created a short film, book, and held a live event on YouTube this past Sunday. The pictures in this post come from that event.

Guests included Matt Johnson (The The) and John Rogers (The Lost Byway). Talking about the memories, and love, of this food and the shops that served it.

It was great to sit and listen to a reading of 'For the love of Pie & Mash' by The Gentle Author. Watch the accompanying film to Jake's photos. Hear from the owners of shops still running. Live Q&A afterwards.

A very enjoyable event that made me nostalgic, and hungry.