‘I’ve eaten 98 jellied eels and 153 pies’: Meet the club devoted to London’s famous pie, mash and liquor

Thick pastry, savoury meat filling and fluffy mashed potatoes, all swimming in a distinctively pale green, parley-scented sauce.

If you’ve ever ventured into one of London’s historic pie and mash shops - a longstanding feature of the city’s East End - you’ll recognise the hearty meal, often accompanied with a side of stewed or jellied eels (if you dare).

And someone who is long familiar with the - possibly acquired - taste, is Pie and Mash Club founder Nick Evans.

Self-described as a  “free-to-join social club open to all who take an interest in London’s traditional dish”, they meet on Fridays and earn a score for each item they consume.

Nick is currently top of the club’s leader board, having eaten at least 98 eels, 153 pies, 152 portions of mash with one eel pie.

A graphic designer from Dorset who didn’t even taste pie and mash until he was 29, Nick is now a long-time devotee, who meets regularly with a group of friends and strangers to competitively consume the classic dish.

“My East End credentials really aren’t great,” he laughed.

“I didn’t even grow up in London.

“In the mid-90s I used to work in a book publisher and there was a group of us looking for something to do on a Friday lunchtime.”

Venturing into a nearby pie shop in Waterloo, the group decided to make it a regular thing.

Evans said: “We just thought it would be fun to do it together and have some kind of gentle competitive element to it.

“Traditionally you go in and there’s a queue, and you sit down and it’s functional - no table service, but you hear people asking for a three and a one, or a two and a two.

“People who have grown up in recent times with restaurants are in for a bit of a shock!”

A culinary tradition since the 19th century, these legendary delicacies are as much a part of the city’s image as red London buses, or the iconic Westminster skyline.

However, despite the creation of the Antonio Conte pie (a meatball marinara) by We Are Tottenham Pie and Mash Shop, it may surprise you to learn that one of the best-known purveyors of the historically English dish is in fact from the sunny hillsides of southern Italy.

Michele Manze arrived in Britain in 1878 aged just three, after his family left their home village of Ravello.

Initially in the ice cream trade, Manze soon realised the workers contending with London’s rain and smog needed heartier fare, and he began selling wholesome pie, mash and eels.

Establishing M. Manze in Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey, in Southwark, the shop, which is serving customers its traditional recipes to this day, went on to become the longest-standing pie and mash shop in the capital.

And Nick, who now lives in Dartmouth Park, Camden, says the dish’s historic bent is the key to it’s enduring appeal.

“It’s like you’re sitting in a living museum and you’re eating living history,” he enthused.

“This recipe would have been passed down since the 1890s, and it hasn’t changed.”

Nick’s first taste of pie and mash left him cold, but over time, he said it has become a firm favourite.

“I’d never had it before and afterwards I thought, I don’t think much of that,” he admitted.

“I was used to homemade meat pies but because it was a social thing I stuck with it and after a while or so you accept the taste of it.

“Over time you realise every pie shop has its own version of the thing.

“You’d think, how different can they be? I’d never had anything like liquor before - I’m a gravy guy at heart.

“They are usually old family recipes passed down from generation to generation.”

As the years went by, Nick and his friends decided to open up the group to outsiders.

Creating their website in the early 2000s, the Pie and Mash Club was born.

Now with a mailing list of close to 80 members, they can expect to rustle at least 20-odd pie fanatics for their group meals - which are closely monitored and scored, with a champion pie-and-mash eater crowned each season.

Nick said: “I thought why not have a go putting it online. It’s just stuck there ever since.

“Gradually people got in touch who wanted to come along and we became a bit of a club.”

While for newcomers, Nick offers his advice on the best ways to eat pie and mash like a real eastender.

He said: “At most of the pie and mash shops - you do get some cafes wise enough to offer them - you’d be lucky to get gravy. The liquor is the sauce.

“Other than that, there’s no real hard and fast rules although I have fallen foul of purists a few years ago.

“Traditionally you eat pie and mash with a fork and spoon. Knives are just a no no and this was due to the historically high knife crime rates in these areas of London.

“You’ve got a pie on your plate and a lot of people put the pie on its bottom. Then cut a few slits and then you put a dash of vinegar in. That’s the best way to season if you want to.”

Currently avoiding organising large meet-ups due to the pandemic, Nick says a small group recently met at Hughes’s Pie Shop in Ruislip, Hillingdon.

“It was all you could want from a pie and mash shop,” he said.

“I even invited some friends who have been vegan since the 1980, as they serve meat-free pies. I tried one as well as a meat pie and it was pretty good.

“I never thought I would have seen them in a pie and mash shop.”

To join the Pie and Mash Club, visit their website.

The Pie and Mash Club’s top-rated London pie shops

B.J.'s Pie House 330 Barking Road, Plaistow E13 8HL

Byrnes 4 Ross Parade, Wallington, Sutton SM6 8QG

Cockney’s 314 Portobello Road, Ladbroke Grove W10 5RU

L Manze 76 High Street, Walthamstow E17 7LD

M Manze 87 Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey SE1 4TW

M Manze 105 High Street, Peckham SE15 5RS

Maureen's 6 Market Way, Poplar E14 6AQ

Millers Pie and Mash 8 Albert Rd, Belvedere, Bexley DA17 5LJ

Scott’s Pie and Mash 51 The Walnuts, Orpington, Bromley BR6 0TW

What is your favourite pie shop in London? Let us know your thoughts at [email protected].