One of the biggest influences of London food tradition is the River Thames. It provided fish, both fresh and salt water. The famous Cockney speciality, jellied eels, caught both locally and further out in the Thames Estuary is made by boiling the eels with plenty of herbs and allowing small pieces to cool and form their own jelly (or by adding a helping portion of using gelatine). The taste is a little like pickled herring.
Almost everyone from office workers and business people to tourists in search of a more traditional London experience are trying minced beef pies; bowls of stewed and jellied eels with a scoop of mashed potatoes doused in a green parsley sauce called 'liquor'.
