The Life of Pie

This is the story of Joseph Cooke, who serve's up London's most traditional food - pie and mash which has been a staple since the 18th Century.
F. Cooke's pie and mash restaurant is on Hoxton Street and Joe ensures that this fine tradition remains part of London's heritage.

[@TB-vb1st]

This owner/cook seems to be in the majority of documentaries about pie and mash, he must be the best of the lot.

[@crownjohn6666]

Dorian Graye his pie is alright but the jelly eel is disgusting man😂😂😂

[@burlhorse61]

is he the expert of pie and mash in london??

[@chrisdooley6468]

burlhorse89 yes in East London they are considered the best. Anytime I’m in London I get a double pie with mash and liquor but they can keep those eels they’re horrid lol

[@charaznable2859]

He is

[@SvenTviking]

burlhorse89 Some say that’s Goddard’s in Greenwich.

[@cghchgify]

To this day scientists still have no idea how soft he’s holding those pies.

[@carriehallahan5568]

I understood that reference.

[@gjaeigjiajeg]

I don't know why, but I feel nothing but mad respect for this bloke

[@electron8262]

Yes, even as a vegan who he would probably refuse to serve

[@blackcitroenlove]

@@electron8262 I think he's the kind of man who would figure it out. There's a generous way about him.

[@quantranminh9203]

@@electron8262 nah, there's a vegan pie and mash portion on the menu

[@bubbacalling]

he does vegan pies because he has to, not because he wants to haha@@quantranminh9203

[@rodrigomonteromiguez6684]

KZbin seems to recommend me this chap every once in a while, and I´ll surely watch it!

[@stevelee4952]

I was born in Bow 70 years ago. I love pie and mash. I moved to southern Spain 20 years ago for health reasons and luckily my missus does a blinding copy of the real thing. God bless her.

[@Korasi]

This is the most wholesome documentary I have ever seen. love this.

[@BGRUBBIN]

I told my chefs the same thing, let's do a few items really well and people will come. This is why I would love to visit this place one day.

[@cajsheen2594]

In the sixties we used to leave the Market House pub and go across for pie and mash in the Broadway. Happy Days! X

[@d3generate804]

How old are you?

[@jck7986]

I love those restaurants that focus on a few dishes to perfection! ❤

[@jeffbrewster6658]

I’ve been living abroad for the past 6 years , My God I would love double pie double mash liqueur and eel. My favorite food .

[@PepsiandLola]

If you living in Spain go down to Iceland in the freezer section you will find frozen pie and mash with licqer .. it's ok..

[@darrenwilson8042]

These businesses can't survive on love from Spain mate. As the clientele moves away they die.

[@JulieWallis1963]

Jeff Brewster I get my pie n mash with liquor by mail order. I’m not sure if they deliver abroad, but I can tell you this, my first lot of pie n mash in decades tasted _amazing_ . It is a taste of my childhood.

[@garyknight3979]

Yes I've eaten there . When I was a lad in the late 60's & 70's I used to go to a pie & Mash shop in Hackney road near the Children's Hospital I remember they also made Apple pies there.

[@hermionegardener3796]

"We don't have that many weirdo customers... vegetarian customers...." Hilarious.

[@DockterDoom]

Weirdo customers... vegetarian customers. lmao.

[@bubbacalling]

Factory Farming is weirder, look into it.

[@bubbacalling]

@Tomakak not really, even if we are omnivores, we don't have to eat meat to survive. It's a choice with a victim each time. Meat and dairy contains hormones, and is the leading cause of heart disease, high cholesterol etc, it's completely unnecessary. Watch Dominion, What the Health and Forks over Knives. The information is out there. I'd rather go on the University of Oxford's study which shows that we need to reduce meat intake by 80% to stop irreparable damage to the environment. Peace.

[@shlomybiton1906]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@walterkersting1362]

Vegetarians are some of my favorite people to cook for, their palates are so easy to please. And they are content.

[@shlomybiton1906]

walter kersting I’m vegetarian but it’s still hilarious

[@GrinddalCPH]

Did he just call vegetarians weirdos’ ? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@juandavidrestrepoduran6007]

ACTAN0NVERBA well not that it isn’t the truth

[@AliasUndercover]

@@juandavidrestrepoduran6007 I'm married to one. She'd be the first to admit it.

[@GrinddalCPH]

juan david restrepo duran I agree, it was just very blunt, and funny 😂

[@Sethasss]

arent they ?

[@123fourfive5]

Probably referring to the religiously vegan

[@Cehcko]

I have it once a week still. Moved from SE London to Kent 20 years ago and there’s pies here! Even found a pie shop that sells manzies. I get mine from arments most of the time. I was brought up on them and my kids love them. Only thing I eat to the point of bursting! Love them! ❤️

[@dnyo]

Manzies do cold delivery as well FYI, easy peasy to heat it up and its great.

[@andyneedham6001]

Gawd bless ya my Ol mate for the service. So much has changed but you bring us pride. Take care A.

[@coyotelong4349]

I’m on a kick of watching every video about Joe Cooke and his pie/mash shop that gets recommended 😂

[@jackyblue67same10]

Another thing why would anybody with any sense at all give this video a thumbs down they must be the weirdo's he was talking about lolol

[@asonofscotland6505]

If I'm ever in east London I'll stop by there. Pie n mash looks delicious 😋

[@Pighood]

Roger dat

[@alundavies8402]

There’s a pie and mash shop In Leysdown but I can’t get there so I am not getting much proper food now

[@raptorman6055]

low7782 integrate? K

[@RTSchofield]

@White Working Class Pride hush now dumb-dumb.

[@azharvalimahomed885]

Same here I would love to try it out looks quite nice

[@Simon-dc2gr]

"We do what we do, we are what we are. That's it". amen to that. No need to negotiate with whatever others do nowadays

[@carolleenkelmann3829]

Fascinating. I'll visit you too when I get to England.

[@levimacdonald5188]

😋😋💯keep up the tremendous work mate! It's all done out of love and passion for great pie n mash ..

[@BrumCraft]

Aha, I recognise this bloke, met him a few weeks ago at his shop in Hoxton. Top geezer!

[@DBProductions12345-m]

it closed down ages ago

[@BrumCraft]

@@DBProductions12345-m F Cooke Pie & Mash Shop, Hoxton. Still open

[@Tycini1]

I recently became obsessed with these pies and I'm not getting it anytime soon because I'm not visiting London

[@liberaldriller9884]

Try a Cooks Pie and Mash from your supermarket frozen section. It's from an East End company and the parsley liquor is really good. Only about £2.50 a box.

[@matthewdickson7838]

Wish we had em up northl .. love the family history of the london family businesses 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧👍

[@vintagebrew1057]

My partner grew up in another county. Took him to the pie n' mash in Poplar. He had the liqour, vinegar and pepper on top. He loved it!

[@Ianthe22]

I am actually interested in hearing him play a piece on the pianoXD.

[@ichaukan]

I need to dive into some of this... especially the jellied eels and chili vinegar.

[@arricammarques1955]

'Pie & mash made from scratch' Love, it!

[@hiramabiff2017]

Joe Cooke is a legend and so is his family. The shop they had in Dalston had ques going down the road 6 days a week. I feel sorry for him that a processed food company has " Stolen " his family name to print on boxes of cheap frozen Pie n Mash meals and the is nothing they can do about it.

[@mauricegarvey4631]

Ah no. I was thinking with this video made in 2015, how the business was doing now. Is it still open ?

[@hiramabiff2017]

@@mauricegarvey4631 He seems to have had quite a few KZbinrs making videos of him over the years. Yes, the shop is still open , but sadly the market is a shadow of what it once was and after the local supermarket closed down near Joe's shop and the dramatic decrease in shoppers I fear his business does not have long before it closes.

[@mauricegarvey4631]

@@hiramabiff2017 thanks for the reply. Glad to know he still going 👍 London is not English anymore - no different to other former western towns like Dublin, Brussels, Birmingham, Berlin, Marseille, Amsterdam etc. Cockney traditions like pie and jellied eels are rank. I ain't no farking Cockney, but I'd never want to see the end of these old school traditions. They're a link to history and culture

[@scrotum8660]

I’m gutted I’m 21 love pie and mash still ain’t been to his place

[@scrotum8660]

@Jason Voorhees nah but I ain’t fit

[@salesman687]

"We don't have too many weirdo customers... vegetarian customers". It's kind of interesting that even a very traditional and conservative restaurant actually made SOME adjustments to what some customers wanted. I'm all for traditional meals don't get me wrong and I love this "bloke". I just thought it was interesting, that he actually made a slight change to his menu which was basically four things. I don't think that there's anything wrong with having just four things on the menu. Indeed, I applaud it! Simple, easy and delicious.

[@xr6lad]

Agree. No one needs to cater for other choices etc when it comes to food. And I say that with an allergie myself. It is up to the customer to find their own cafe/restaurant etc for their own dietary needs (within reason). Never to demand a business change it for them.

[@Ravrjei]

If a large family visits london wanting an experience, having 1 veggie option for that second cousin whos vegetarian might be the difference between him making £50 from an order and not, that family would just go elsewhere right and he loses out. Makes sense in 2022 tbh cant blame him even if probably annoyed him to do it, money talks.

[@elkaotik6790]

Why did you put bloke in quotation marks?

[@salesman687]

@@elkaotik6790 Because he’s not just some random bloke. He’s “Thee bloke”. As in “the most British bloke in all of britishness”.

[@JBrander]

@@elkaotik6790 Probably got triggered by him calling vegetarians as weirdos. So now he's calling him a "bloke" as a passive aggressive response.

[@deviceology9251]

Nice work Mr Cooke , honest to goodness fodder indeed.

[@cadetmouse]

I'm a born cockney, was born a mile from this place. The pie n mash is great, and the liquor...BUT...I wont eat the jellied Eels, they are not and never have been for me at all. Older Cockneys loved them. You see, this food would feed the whole area, before people had kitchens or enough money to feed themselves. Mainly the working classes and people in poverty. You'd get your meat n' Veg in one go. This was long long before other foods from the world or even other people from the world lived in East London and EVERYBODY used to eat Pie n Mash. They are a link to the area and east Londoners. Its a dieing trade, some will hold on, some have not. People today have all sorts of food in London now so Pie n Mash is seen as a tradition rather than a must eat place to go to. I wish they would update their menu and do other dinners or a breakfast and also Pie n Mash. Sadly, they dont serve other food and that will see them suffer as a consequence. Update, modernise and keep people coming or die, its that simple...Long Live tradition, Long Live Pie n Mash....

[@dublinsfaircity]

Good point. I'm visiting London next week and will try to visit this place. I also would think it better if they expanded the menu, even just doing the full english breakfast up to midday or whatever. It seems a very miniscule menu but it has worked i guess up to now.

[@dublinsfaircity]

@White Pride Worldwide Hi, yes i enjoyed it. Brought my 69 year old Mam for her birthday. Stayed in Kensington and visited few museums, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Thames River Cruise etc. To be honest where we were staying was predominantly white British. Thats what we noticed anyway. I know its a different story in many parts of London but we didn't venture that far past the usual tourist haunts. Majestic architecture with one building more impressive than the last. Beautiful city and quite mannerly and orderly we found for our brief stay. Thanks for asking. ✌

[@sneezydeezymcdeluxe7015]

@@dublinsfaircity South Kensington is a lovely area.

[@HollerAtcherBoi]

Eh screw off... Keep tradition alive. Keep your modernization

[@micky_mc_mullet1992]

WATCHED A FEW FILMS NOW WITH THIS GUY AND HES A FUCKING TOP BLOKE, KNOWS HES PIE AND MASH AND EELS WELL DONE SIR

[@Gothiczartan]

I've seen the part in a 1979 movie Quadrophenia where Jimmy Cooper orders a pie and mash which is my favorite scene.

[@THAIRISH_92]

The eels need the chilli vinegar they have, then it’s lovely! Was in there last month from Dublin, brought my wife and daughter. Proper old school London place, and the man is very very friendly!

[@momof2momof2]

Need to find this place the next time I'm in London

[@slackerZ1]

I think it closed

[@sjacrane]

@@slackerZ1 how poetic

[@ericb.8023]

If I ever go to London this is the 1st place I'm going to. After that... probably a pub.

[@tommyjoestallings855]

I live in Florida, I wish I could try it.. I'll never be able to afford to go to London. I'm a foody.. this looks so delicious. Something I'll miss out on

[@DBProductions12345-m]

it closed down ages ago

[@LadyAmaz]

My nan went to the Hoxton F Sharpe from young.. born in 1914...

[@xr6lad]

Wonderful. If any blow in activist says what is unique about Britain and why should we fight for it; this is it. Places like this. Traditions. Love of craft. Pride of what they do. I’m 56 but I love places like this. Not Americanised chains. Good solid traditional food. And good to him for sticking to just beef pies. And not hipster collections.

[@Virru112]

good for him but not doing other pie isn't exactly being non-hipster, it's called being basic. I get that it's an age thing but there's alot he could do that's still traditional without being "hipster".

[@HSDJun]

Yeah bro good job fighting for jellied eels and mash and pretending it’s some deep culture

[@SyntaxErr19287]

@@HSDJun ok “myung” should we say the same about asias fried big dishes?

[@karl4683]

Same could be said about pasta for the Italians or noodles for the Chinese, or some shit..

[@ptommo1543]

I’m a Londoner, Sth, and my go to is Goddards of Greenwich. I live on the Kent coast now and recently found out my local pie n mash get their pies from Goddards…..result. :)

[@OwODonut87]

been saving a trip to UK🤑 will definitely visit when the time comes

[@DBProductions12345-m]

it closed down ages ago

[@j-rocd9507]

I always say there is a reason some things become classics. They're good.

[@zoesdada8923]

They should do a show about this place.

[@jc-d6179]

Got to try it now. In London next week....

[@crowtein6104]

Without pie we are absolutely nothing! Life and pie go hand and hand, pie pleasure and basic life from pie...Pie is life, and life is getting pie on the regular.

[@justsaucerawsauce8291]

After grossed out for the few documentaries about this food, thing started to change and I'm craving it. Fuck me.

[@paulwhiteman6133]

I'm from Hoxton go there many times i think it's the best..sad to see hes cousin shop closeing down in Broadway market but I use to love Fred cooks pie and mash in Dalston too ...I'm in phuket thiland at moment but be there having 2 and mash soon.

[@TheScouseassassin]

Dalston closed too, ages ago!

[@SvenTviking]

They had a shop in the Cut behind Waterloo station, but that closed about 12 years ago. Licence to print money, that place, queues out the door at lunchtime.

[@butcherwoman3753]

Oh I’d love to eat a plate of the luscious deliciousness. That is what I call an excellent meal indeed.

[@mikeplatts2603]

Love it.

[@pjg_77]

Ain’t keen on the eels, bit the pie mash & liquor is the Bollox !!

[@beniamino939]

Those tall bottles of vinegar on the table are epic!

[@icampos89]

Love this guy. Gotta visit one day.

[@DBProductions12345-m]

it closed down ages ago

[@bryan7938]

Pie mash is marvellous

[@discharge29]

i'm in London Saturday from wales to visit my cousin - i'll be frequenting your establishment - see you then

[@richardbryant3169]

"fortunately or unfortunately,the old man died" I'd say that was pretty unfortunate myself lol

[@britishidiots3842]

Richard Bryant he meant for his career

[@richardbryant3169]

@@britishidiots3842 I don't know, just seemed a strange thing to say.

[@mikea6710]

Well if he said 'unfortunately, he died... It would sounds like the sentence would finish like '..and now I'm stuck with this racket'... If you say 'fortunately, he died...' it sounds like he ended up with a goldmine to own and work at that kitchen

[@Renwick19]

He’s a lucky guy because like his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents before him he was brought up in the trade and when his father died, he inherited an already established thriving business

[@zhicaofang2354]

0:46 Is that a fat Jason Statham?

[@englishdog1234]

there was a brilliant pie and mash shop behind Woolworth's in brixton south London,went there at least once a week.

[@zoesdada8923]

From what I understand most of these historical businesses are closing due to the rediculous taxes being imposed upon small business owners.

[@giansideros]

You mean the same taxes that every other bustling business in London has to pay too? London will soon be a ghost town if no one keeps an eye on those taxes.

[@fatedestiny1397]

It's not the taxes. It's the ground rent from rouge landlords. But the country just voted for more of the same, especially the pie and mash demographic. So all the best to them.

[@bryanreed8591]

I used to love it..can you come kerikeri New Zealand please...has a kid we went to one in Toottin

[@ellavaderknows]

I love this guy

[@Gary-vx7gp]

Love pie & mash This place looks decent, not sure I could stomach the eels though.

[@Virru112]

@Jason Voorhees probably a jobless northerner..but I'm sure the pies aren't that great, saying this as somene who actually uses seasoning.

[@liamwright2510]

@@Virru112you took the bait there mate 😂

[@alexshi9320]

I'm Chinese I think the jellied eels look delicious. Whenever you have leftover fish and put in the fridge the collagens congeal and you get the jelly. Sometimes it taste better to eat it straight up cold instead of heating it.

[@chazzlebazzle69]

Pie n mash definitely...though jellied eels I'm not sure I would try, what do they taste like

[@captainroger]

Must be the third video that I have seen of him

[@paul.oregan]

I made me want to check the train times to London. 🥧

[@JulieWallis1963]

At 4:25 did he just dive straight in? _Everyone_ knows decent pie n mash deserves a healthy dose of vinegar and pepper! 🤤 🤤 🤤

[@southpawscientific4122]

I need to stop by if I'm ever in London again

[@DBProductions12345-m]

it closed down ages ago

[@southpawscientific4122]

🙁@@DBProductions12345-m

[@DjDamnStrange]

Wish we had a pie mash shop in New Zealand.

[@simonboyce2235]

We have lots Of Pie We like Meat Pies I am really surprised America doesn't have meat Pies and I have seen Americans say they don't like Meat Pies and call them "disgusting" ?

[@111mrhead]

Looks very delicious.

[@inglese2996]

Long may it continue

[@MrCharliefarlie123]

I remember him x

[@peterah7957]

Iove these dining places

[@arthurjohnson9135]

Good video

[@Brickkzz]

Luv me pie an mash. Simple as.

[@rossturcotte419]

Love from Michigan 🍲

[@bowlingbuddie]

Found this video a few days after I vistied the place (Sop 19) hasn't changed at all bar the prices, but still tasty.

[@ergotot45]

Has been years, but next time im in The Smoke, Im going to this bloke's gaff!

[@ConcreteRiver]

do one thing and do it fookin right!

[@thatsamightyfinebasement]

Engerlaaand.... ENGERLAAAND WE LAAV UUUUUUUUU!!!! (shoves engerlaaaand made pie into engerlaaaand face)

[@jsm7566]

Sa lair tellement bon du Québec jai hâte de le goûter un jour

[@Magnetguy36]

im a yorkshire lad and was brought up on this stuff best food in the world pie n mash nowt finer

[@AvaT42]

I am eating in this place if I ever get to England!! My mum made pie n mash. Why is the gravy green though?

[@lefty3985]

That’s liquor not gravy the base is the water that the eels are cooked in made into a stock with parsley hence the green colouring

[@jackyblue67same10]

I'd love to go to England & try these pies they make there . They look so good & that looks like mashed potatoes they put on the side just wondering if that's what it is .

[@estbgti424]

Jackyblue67 Same yep it's mashed potatoes

[@jackyblue67same10]

@@estbgti424 So what do yal call them mash for ?

[@jackyblue67same10]

@@estbgti424 You do live in England don;t ya ?

[@sneezydeezymcdeluxe7015]

@@jackyblue67same10 Lmfao, what? It's called mash because it's just a short form for mashed potato.

[@jackyblue67same10]

@@sneezydeezymcdeluxe7015 Well still looks good anyhow lol

[@maxnoerenberg6370]

I was born in Halifax West Yorkshire and lived there for some time.....but there I didnt really see any Pie and Mash shop around...........maybe its because its in Yorkshire and we cherish our roast and pudding ha ha.......and as a snack I always love to munch on pork scratchings from the local butcher

[@bjnnsnorreson8035]

Its delicious. From denmark

[@adrianhochmann3091]

" Weirdo customers.......vegetarian customers " what a savage🤣

[@lonsdalebelt9645]

i make at home i have found a good substtute for liquor, if fact its bloody amazing and real easy .wizz bunch parsleyand half cup of peas cup water and a cube of organic vegtablestock boil for 10 min its totallyy yum yum wiv home made pie

[@waysofseeing1285]

Superb.

[@harryburrows2112]

Those pies look delicious

[@stevev3664]

The Dalston shop and the Broadway Market shop have now closed down. I don’t know anything about the Horton shop.

[@koolaidblack7697]

I love how full of muslims london is, how vibrant and multi-cultural.

[@awilderireland]

If it's full of Muslims it's hardly multi-cultural. Mono-cultural.

[@Anyonimus199]

"Its London, innit"

[@Carolinaskymaclean]

i knew what this was when i saw it.

[@coreytripp9939]

unless every english dude looks like this (which wouldn't be surprising since 1/300 people in england are cousins cuz of their ancestors extreme interbreeding) he apparently makes banging fried eel too, i also love how the look of the restraunt reflects the food perfectly.

[@sunshine8556]

As turk I respect pie, it is another form of Börek

[@alexbloddrunk1875]

I’d love to try there, next time i go to london

[@JoesWebPresence]

@2:40 "It's the first fast food in the country!" I just overheard a group of Cornish pasties, Arbroath smokies, Scottish haggises and a bucket of whelks laughing about this, and remembering being sold and eaten before that city was even founded!

[@gardenroom65]

Want to try parsley gravy