Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the docks of London. The dish has been popularised as "a Cockney classic". It typically consists of a minced beef pie (traditionally eel pie was also sold alongside meat, fruit, and steak and kidney pies[1]), mashed potato, and a parsley sauce known as liquor, with malt vinegar or non-brewed condiment (similar to vinegar) provided as a condiment. Pie and mash shops have been in London since the 19th century and are still common in East and South London and in many parts of Kent and Essex.
History
During the Victorian era, industrial air pollution tended to be worse in the east and southeast of London because of the prevailing westerly wind, with the result that the East End was settled more by the working classes, while the western part of the city was home to higher social classes.[2]
Pie and mash originated in the early 1800s, when extensive docks first opened in East London. Dock workers needed an inexpensive, warm meal, and pie men began serving eel pies from carts and market stalls. The eels typically came from Dutch fishing boats. Minced meat trimmings later replaced jellied eel.