Cockney Food

Jellied Eels

East End Special - Jellied Eels

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'.

Pie and Mash

"It's plain and simple working class grub !"

The great working class food tradition in London is Pie and Mash. Historically, the pies were made from scraps of beef and vegetables; leftovers or from the local markets, under a pastry crust. The mashed potatoes were liberally covered in parsley gravy or "liquor".

Hot pies, a reasonably priced sustenance food have been a London tradition since Victorian times when they were sold on the streets by piemen. Fish pies were stuffed with eels, but with fish becoming scare during the Second World War minced meat became the standard filling.