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The classic Cockney dish of pie ‘n’ mash may soon have special protected status.
Earlier this week, Richard Holden – the Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay – called for Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status for the iconic London-born meal, reports BBC News.
TSG status is already given to Scottish salmon, Welsh lamb and Cornish pasties, and minsters have backed the new motion, with Environment minister Daniel Zeichner saying that government would ‘go big’ on regional food and would welcome a ‘formal application’ to preserve the carb-y classic dish of pie, mash and liquor.
Holden had previously said the dish was ‘the original fast food’ and ‘part of that Cockney diaspora’. Protected status would ensure that pie ‘n’ mash would have protected geographical status, and non-genuine producers wouldn't be able to claim the pie ‘n’ mash name. True pie ‘n’ mash is made up of a minced beef pie, mashed potato and parsley sauce aka liquor. If protected status is given, a recipe for classic pie ’n’ mash, will have to be agreed on.
According to the BBC, Zeichner has also said that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have been involved in the process. ‘They are clear that an application for TSG status requires agreement on the recipe that producers would need to follow to use the name in future,’ he commented.
Prior to the debate, Holden had written to 40 MPs in constituencies with pie ‘n’ mash shops. ‘It’s part of a campaign to celebrate and really promote pie and mash, which has spread out from its beginnings in central and east London, down the Thames Gateway and out into the world,’ he said. ‘We’re wanting to celebrate it.’
Want to celebrate pie ‘n’ mash without having to mingle with MPs? Then get stuck into our list of the best places to eat pie ‘n’ mash in London.
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