On the final day of British Summer Time, a group of day-trippers travelled north up the Central London Railway for an excursion to North Weald in southern Essex.

Since 1994, the Central Line no longer goes to North Weald as TFL scrapped all services between Epping and Ongar, so we took the belated ‘rail replacement’ bus service instead. 

After a lengthy journey through traffic and angst, we finally arrived in North Weald at the fashionably late time of 1:15pm. Aptly, L.N.E.R got it right when they once proclaimed: “it’s quicker by rail.”

Although largely a residential area, the village features a small parade of shops to cater for the needs of locals. One of the latest additions is Covs which has been trading in this area for 18 months at the time of writing. 

The premises was rather small by pie & mash shop standards, with enough room for four tables, a seafood chiller cabinet and a row of bar stools by the window. Upon our arrival, the staff generously placed two tables together, in order to make enough room for half a dozen eager foodies.

Peter Harvey continued his domination of the league so far this season, with hefty 3&2, incredibly this was only his first course!

Conversely, Ace Harvey took a relatively modest 1&1, with the intriguing addition of Cream Soda for added libation. With those dizzying combination of flavours, could a pie cream float be on the cards?

Hot on Peter’s tail was Harry Limby, who also went for a belly busting 3&2. Although currently 2nd in the league, he may prove to be serious competition for Peter this season, as they battle for pole position.

Meanwhile sitting opposite, Karen Ramos sportingly went for a surf & turf combo of pie, eels and mash, for her choice of repast.

I found the stewed eels to be flavoursome and generous in size. This was complemented by the liquor which was replete with parsley goodness and was decently well seasoned.  

For those looking for an alternative, they also sell a range of seafood options, courtesy of Mick’s Eels Supply Ltd of Billingsgate.

Terry Moore joined us for his first appearance of the season. His usual fare at these meetings is a double, double (2 pies & 2 mash). Perhaps we should nickname him the club’s new Mash Magnate, which was a phrase first coined for Vaughan Allen way back in the 1990’s.

Despite the sartorial flair in the jumper department, pie & mash still takes centre stage. 

The pies were rather filled and succulent with a well-baked pastry topping. Although the salty piquancy from the stock gave the filling an unusual flavour that slightly detracted from the overall beefiness. 

The mash was rather soft and pillowy in texture, which complimented the pies & liquor well. Back in the kitchen I discovered the secret to their fabled mash, a hand cranked industrial ricer. Although a common sight in pie & mash shops, these mechanical versions are rare to come by. 

Although branded mugs are available, they are currently not for sale due to a series of thefts.

Without warning, I caught Harry sneakily eating dessert without warning. Is he the mysterious ‘Silent Pudding Eater’ of legend?

Terry was more the merrier with a generous portion of sponge cake with multicoloured sprinkles and custard for afters, as he describes it. 

Peter cements his place at the top of the leader board with a 1&1 for dessert. A seasoned bell ringer, he has tolled bells at a number of Churches across towns along the London and Essex border, including St John’s in nearby Epping.

Sponge cake with multi-coloured sprinkles seemed to be universally popular among the diners that day. 

The shop's name is an abbreviation of the family surname Coventry. Run by Matt (right) and his son Ricky (left), they started business with a mobile food van several years ago, serving areas around central London. With the onset of the pandemic, they moved operations closer to home in Essex and established a local delivery service. In March 2022, they took over a former Fishmongers and established a shop on the high street.

The North Weald Shunting Gang

We then disembarked to the King’s Head, a Grade II listed building that dates back 450 years, built partly from old ships’ timbers. Notably, it was once popular with airmen from the nearby North Weald Airfield during World War Two. 

Although the Central Line currently ends at Epping, the promise of pie & mash lies beyond the terminus.

MG