A UK lawmaker wants protected status for classic Cockney dish pie and mash

LONDON (AP) — A British lawmaker has joined campaigners calling for a cornerstone of Cockney cuisine, pie and mash, to be given protected status as a distinct traditional food. Conservative legislator Richard Holden led a debate in Parliament’s Westminster Hall on Tuesday calling for the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed label for the dish. It consists of a pie filled with ground beef, accompanied by mashed potatoes and doused in a parsley sauce known as liquor. Holden called the dish “the original fast food.” Pie shops were once commonplace in London but their number has shrunk as the city’s culinary tastes have diversified. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would assess the case once a formal application is submitted.