Everyone knows NZ is a pie-loving nation, which is why the current ‘cockney cuisine’ movement in London should be right up our own street, writes Demi Perera

Firstly, what is a Cockney?

“My father is 75 years old and still works as a porter in Spitalfield Market,” Leanne tells me as I open my minced beef pie and push a dollop of mashed potato onto the fork. I’m at G Kelly Eel and Pie Shop on Roman Road, London where Leanne has worked for 15 years.

“I was one of the last to be born in Bethnal Green Hospital before it closed,” she tells me. If the church bells had rung at the time of her birth, Leanne’s mother would have definitely heard them. Why does that matter? Because that makes Leanne a Cockney.

Cockney is the indelible imprint of the East End of London. There may have been a time when the term was liberally applied to every Londoner. However, by the turn of the 17th century, it had been narrowed to one place and a type of person; the Bow-bell Cockney, a person born within earshot of the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow Church

Circa 1825: The Church of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, London. Photo / Getty Images

Travel writer Fynes Moryson was the first to record it, when in 1617, he disparagingly wrote,

“Londiners, and all within the sound of Bow-bell, are in reproch called Cocknies, and eaters of buttered tostes.”

As prevailing wind conditions carried the sound of the chimes eastward, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Limehouse, Hackney, Shoreditch and Mile End became the heartland of Cockney identity.

Cockneys, a close-knit community, rarely left the East End and developed a dialect particular to themselves; the ‘h’ was dropped from words and ‘th’ pronounced as ‘v’ or ‘f’. Later in the late 18th century, rhyming slang, a bewildering wordplay of rhyming phrases evolved to camouflage conversations around outsiders.

The church of St Mary le Bow has a close-knit Cockneys community Photo / Getty Images

The expansion of London

By the mid-19th century, the East End’s working class worked long hours in the new eastern docks. The first to open was Royal Victoria Dock, in 1855. Seven more had followed by 1886.

Dockers and other workers in the ever-expanding capital city created a demand for lodgings. Soon, substandard housing sprung up around the docks with one thing in common - a lack of basic amenities such as water, sanitation or kitchens. So it was, that to meet the need for a warm, nourishing meal, pie men first appeared on the streets of London.

Many pie shops, including G Kelly, no longer use eel stock for liquor. Photo / Getty Images

“Pie men would wander through markets and streets and sell pies,” says Cheryl Arment, co-owner of Arments Pie & Mash in Walworth, Southeast London which has been open since 1914.

“Around the docklands, the fresh eels, sold through Billingsgate Market, came from the Netherlands. Pie men would source dead fish, rather than fresh ones, from Dutch ships and fill the pies with them,” says Arment. “They poisoned more people than they fed. Pie men had a terrible reputation. The first pie and mash shop was probably set up out of concern for public health!”

Best new culinary trends in London: ‘Cockney cuisine’. Photo / Getty Images

Henry Blanchard opened the very first Eel Pie House in Southwark in 1844. As prosperity improved, minced meat trimmings replaced fish and eels were served on the side either jellied or stewed. Mashed potato as an accompaniment, on Blanchard’s menu, appears to have been added in the Victorian era.

“You might notice the decor in all the shops are the same. Glass windows, tiled walls and Carrarra marble counters and tables,” says Neil Vening, General Manager of G Kelly’s. “It was probably influenced by M. Manze, an Italian immigrant, who set up one of the earliest pie shops in Bermondsey.

M Manze Eel And Pie House in London. Photo / Getty Images

How to eat pie and mash

“Our regulars are locals. Cockneys don’t like change. They always have the same thing,” says Leanne.

Arment agrees. “It’s common to see four generations of the same family eating around the table. Or the baby having a first taste of mash and liquor. It’s in their blood.”

It’s worth noting here that pie and mash typically mixes minced beef pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce known as liquor - and the littlest of diners aren’t washing down their dish with a dram of alcohol.

The Cockney way to eat pie and mash is to turn the pie over and open the base with a fork - never cut with a knife. Once the steam has escaped, season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Tomato sauce, mayonnaise, mustard or any other condiment is not used or offered in a traditional shop.

At G Kelly’s no dairy is added to make the mash creamy. The liquor, a sauce made with water leftover from boiling eels, thickened with flour and seasoned with salt, pepper and chopped parsley, flavours the mash. However, many pie shops, including G Kelly, no longer use eel stock for liquor.

No frills dining is all the rage again in London. Photo / Getty Images

Leanne is happy that an old East End dish is having a resurgence. “We have a lot of new locals who have moved to the area. They want to know what to order and we are always happy to help. Our customers also use apps to order from us and the food gets delivered everywhere.”

While the perfectly handmade pies travel the length and breadth of London, Leanne, like any true Cockney, remains rooted in the East End. “I rarely leave the Roman Road,” she chimes. “The supermarket, the dry cleaners, the chemist - it’s all here. I don’t need to go anywhere. Everything I need is here.”

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