In France the English are (not so) affectionately known as ‘Les Rosbifs’, simply I guess, because of our affinity with this Great British dish, although calling someone a ‘Roast Beef’ hardly constitutes an insulting nickname. More derogatory is our nickname for the French…. ‘the Frogs’, which you could probably argue is because of their taste for eating frog’s legs. Anyway, that anecdote has really got nothing to do with today’s story. 

The other dish that the Brit’s are well known for consuming in copious amounts is fish & chips. In days gone by a large proportion of this delicacy would be consumed in the street, packaged and kept warm by wrapping the food in old newspapers! Sounds pretty uncivilised I have to admit, especially by today’s largely obsessive hygiene standards, but when I was a boy, eating fish and chips out of a newspaper, seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of salt and malt vinegar, was always something of a treat. (I should add that there was always a layer of greaseproof paper between the outer wrapping and the food, to prevent the latest news headlines from being reproduced on on the side of your portion of fish!)

So, only today I learned of a very original, new interpretation of this national dish – fish and chips….. but baked in a pie! It has been developed as a ‘ready meal’ by one of the UK’s top (and most respected) high street retail chains, Marks & Spencer. Judging by the photo, it’s not quite as disgusting as it may sound, albeit we do know that food photography is quite notorious for being PhotoShopped (even more than some celebrities). Unfortunately this is not something can I can order from Amazon, and so I will have to wait until the next time I visit the UK to try it – and try it I will. Watch our future blogs for photos and tasting notes! 

(Incidentally, the green layer at the bottom of the pie is ‘mushy peas’, almost like a pea purée, but then that’s another story)

In France the English are (not so) affectionately known as ‘Les Rosbifs’, simply I guess, because of our affinity with this Great British dish, although calling someone a ‘Roast Beef’ hardly constitutes an insulting nickname. More derogatory is our nickname for the French…. ‘the Frogs’, which you could probably argue is because of their taste for eating frog’s legs. Anyway, that anecdote has really got nothing to do with today’s story. 

The other dish that the Brit’s are well known for consuming in copious amounts is fish & chips. In days gone by a large proportion of this delicacy would be consumed in the street, packaged and kept warm by wrapping the food in old newspapers! Sounds pretty uncivilised I have to admit, especially by today’s largely obsessive hygiene standards, but when I was a boy, eating fish and chips out of a newspaper, seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of salt and malt vinegar, was always something of a treat. (I should add that there was always a layer of greaseproof paper between the outer wrapping and the food, to prevent the latest news headlines from being reproduced on on the side of your portion of fish!)

So, only today I learned of a very original, new interpretation of this national dish – fish and chips….. but baked in a pie! It has been developed as a ‘ready meal’ by one of the UK’s top (and most respected) high street retail chains, Marks & Spencer. Judging by the photo, it’s not quite as disgusting as it may sound, albeit we do know that food photography is quite notorious for being PhotoShopped (even more than some celebrities). Unfortunately this is not something can I can order from Amazon, and so I will have to wait until the next time I visit the UK to try it – and try it I will. Watch our future blogs for photos and tasting notes! 

(Incidentally, the green layer at the bottom of the pie is ‘mushy peas’, almost like a pea purée, but then that’s another story)