Looking Back: You can’t go wrong with a meat and potato pie - with Hendos!
Have you been eating a lot of salad lately? We have such a variety today at any time of the year, but when I was growing up it was definitely seasonal with no salad in Winter!
But there was always pies! Is there anyone who doesn’t love a pie? It’s one of the most versatile foods there is. Sweet or savoury, meat or fish, you can buy or make one.
Pies date from the Ancient Greeks, mentioned in the plays of Aristophanes. with every country in the world seeming to have its own favourites.
Here we are obsessed by meat and potato pie. Originating in the North of England and served with mushy peas and lashings of gravy it’s a meal fit for a king, but also popular are steak pies, cheese and onion pies, pork pies (which go with salad, of course) steak and ale, chicken and mushroom and of course apple pie.
I always have Hendersons Relish on my meat and potato pie. Not to be confused with any other relish, it was said that our famous Sheffield son, the late Peter Stringfellow put it on his bacon and eggs, although that could have been a step too far! And on hearing a false rumour that it was to be discontinued, Sheffield actor Sean Bean ordered two gallons of the stuff!
It was popular with troops serving in Iraq who used it to disguise the bland taste of the food served to them.
Pies are particularly popular at football matches. They are tasty, nutritious and filling and warm your hands on cold days. And what’s more they don’t let you down like your favourite team often does!
They were one of the staple meals of soldiers in the trenches of World War One although they were just meat and potato without crust or gravy!
Cottage pie is popular. Traditionally made with leftover meat from the Sunday joint, and lots of potato, it was traditionally in the 1700s the food of poorer people, living in cottages. Hence the name!
In an attempt to make pies more upmarket, a restaurant in Mayfair recently produced a posh pork pie which included black truffles, Alsace bacon, duck liver and cognac.
Not sure it would go with Hendos!