On a clement mid-Autumn day, we travelled up the length of the Lea Valley to the market town of Bishop’s Stortford. It was once a flourishing centre of the malting industry and a major coach stop between London – Cambridge. A twice weekly market has been going strong since 1228.

The town is a hodgepodge of structures from different eras ranging from Tudor era dwellings, Georgian industrial buildings to Victorian emporiums. It also boasts a profusion of independent shops including photographic suppliers, opticians, butchers, jewellers and homeware.

After a leisurely amble around town, time was fast approaching for our luncheon fixture at F. Cooke.

The latest in their long lineage of shops (dating back to 1862). This branch was established in December 2021 by Fred and Zoë Cooke on the site of a former Carphone Warehouse.

Some much needed sustenance was required after such vigorous walking. A hefty serving of pies was immediately procured upon entry. Fellow ‘piegrims’ Keith Allwright and Nick Evans anointed their victuals with sousings of chilli vinegar before digging in.

Tim Richardson travelled all the way from Birmingham via a multitude of trains in time for our rendezvous. A talented illustrator, he has specialised in watercolours for over 17 years, producing scores of paintings including historic buildings, beer glasses and plates of pie & mash. You can check out his work here.

Your scribe was a picture in green, harmoniously complementing the liquor hued contours of his foodscape.

The pies were densely packed with mince and quite moreish. This was complemented by a flavourful liquor; the parsley Fred states is made from a secret family source.

Paul Chrysanthou showed off his athletic credentials by consuming a triple serving of eels in order to bolster his point tally. Such prowess has been seldom seen since Graham Darlow dominated the league tables back in the 2000’s, where he employed a similar tactic. In honour of such deviousness, maybe we should label this move the Darlow Manoeuvrer.

Cooke’s eel draped signage hangs proudly at the rear of the dining area and by the entrance.

As we cleared our plates, Richardson showed off his finished painting, completed with the space of 30 minutes. It is a picturesque mini-masterpiece to behold.

Fred invited me to a guided tour around the kitchen; although relatively compact in size, they make enough pies to feed 30 diners at a time.

Talking about quantities, the shop has recently joined the competitive eating bandwagon with its mammoth 8 pie, 8 mash and 8 liquor challenge. Many people have attempted it over time, both professionals and amateurs alike.

The 5th generation of the Cooke pie & mash dynasty, Fred initially pursued a career as a publican before he decided to go into the family business. Incidentally, his father ran the former Dalston branch, which the club visited a few weeks before it closed in 1996.

His wife Zoë manages the operations at the counter. For afters, the shop serves a wide range of fruit pies, from apple & cinnamon, rhubarb and even peach!

(Below) Some puddin’ face boys.

The proprietor was in mid uniform change when he joined us in a post meal shopfront pic on the sunny side of the street.

Prior to taking the train back to the big smoke, we stopped off at the Port Jackson for a few rewarding tipples. A branch of Wetherspoons, it is named after Sir George Jackson, one of the principal shareholders behind the funding towards the development of the Stort Navigation.

Pull the Anchor!

MG