Archive for October, 2010

I read somewhere, recently, that one of the oldest eel, pie and mash shops in London (was it in Bermondsey?) has closed its doors for the last time. There were wonderful pictures of the richly tiled interior, with its hard wooden benches polished by many bums. The shell of the original, the tiles and fenestration, will stay, as far as I understand, because of its historic value as a listed site, but the original operation will cease. Perhaps it will continue as yet another "new restaurant". Then again, it might well become a clothes shop. Sad.

Why do we no longer eat eels? Wherever one is near a river or lake in France, Italy and Spain, eels are eaten in season with voracity and much pleasure - and by all. But in Britain the phrase, "Why do we no longer eat eels?" is loaded with class-consciousness.

Along with oysters, whelks, tripe, pigs trotters, ox tails and other interior bits and extremities, eels are associated with victuals for the working classes. This is typical, I'm afraid, of this country's attitude towards food. Curiously, oysters, ox tails and pig's trotters in particular are now considered delicacies.

Everyone knows that in Victorian times, 100 oysters could be had for a penny - or some such piddling amount. We could easily suggest that the very fact of their costly price today, is one of the reasons for their allure. If cabbage was the price of caviar, and vice-versa, whose taste would we prefer?

But back to eels. The Japanese and, especially, the Chinese eat eels till they are coming out of their ears. In fact, there is probably a very good hot-pot-stew dish that they might do incorporating eels' and pigs' ears. They certainly do stews of oysters and eels, belly pork and oysters, eels and belly pork, so an ear or two could only add interest to these.

When elvers - the tiny, tiny infant eels, not much more than an inch long - swim up the river Severn on the back of the spring tides, it is the cause for much celebration around the area of Frampton-upon-Severn, where, I am led to believe, there is an annual elver-eating competition. Jane Grigson, who mentions this in her book, Fish Cookery, was told that a pound of them had been eaten by the village garage mechanic in one minute flat, which constituted a record. Now this might not sound very much, but, believe me, the elver (and, less so, the eel) is one of the world's richest foods. Sadly, they are not the regular annual treat for Gloucestershire people they used to be. A pound of elvers now fetches anything up to pounds 30 - and most of them are air-freighted to Japan before you can say yen.

But where else in Britain to find them? Well, in London, and Chinatown in the West End particularly: live eels are readily available seven days a week from the charming Chinese proprietors of Good Harvest fishmongers at 14 Newport Place, WC 2 (0171-437 0712), who will happily fish some out of their deep, Stygian tanks with a net and pop them into a plastic bag. They then hit the eels sharply to kill them before gutting, ready for you to take home, still wriggling. Then, of course, you have to skin them.

If you live near clean rivers or lakes, ask your fishmonger whether he knows of eel fishers in the vicinity. Manchester and Liverpool, and, to some extent, Edinburgh and Cardiff, have thriving Chinese communities, so look in Chinese supermarkets there.

Skinning an eel is not as difficult or as worrisome as you think. Make a circular cut through the skin just behind the head. Now, with a pair of pliers and holding onto the head with a damp tea-towel or dishcloth, pull away the skin sharply with some determination and fortitude; it will peel away from the flesh as one long inverted bicycle inner tube. Trust me.by Simon Hopkinson is 1997's Glenfiddich Food Writer of the Year for his writing in this magazine. READ MORE: independent.co.uk

Eel Pie Island is the only inhabited island on the semi-tidal Thames. Its most famous contemporary resident, Trevor Baylis, OBE, inventor of the clockwork radio, has been heard to describe it (with some exaggeration) as "120 drunks clinging to a mudbank".

It is a tiny place, just 600 yards long and barely 150 at its widest, but it has nearly fifty houses, some twenty houseboats, two boatyards and a score of small businesses and craft studios, two boating clubs and a nature reserve at each end, and it is connected to the rest of the world by an elegant footbridge.

Eel Pie Island is in the River Thames 10 miles southwest of central London. The Eel Pie Island Hotel was built in 1830. The island was formerly called Goose Eyte or Twickenham Ayte. The hotel served eel pie and the name Eel Pie stuck. It has also been said that Henry VIII used to stop at the island for eel pie when he was passing on the Thames

The island has enjoyed two periods of special fame: in the nineteenth century it was a resort for Londoners who, like Charles Dickens, came by the newfangled steamboats to spend the day in the grounds of the hotel that dominated the island. In the 1960s many now famous rock bands played gigs at the hotel. The Stones had to carry their equipment over the famous footbridge, which is the only way to get onto the island. In the 60s the footbridge was so old and worn that only three people were allowed on it at one time.

The Eel Pie Studios, on the mainland nearby, formerly owned by Pete Townshend and now owned by The Lightning Seeds, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. Townshend's publishing company, Eel Pie Publishing, is named after the ait. The original club closed down in 1967 and was reopened by new owners as Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden in 1969. Genesis had one of their early gigs at the Rock Garden.

A suspicious fire demolished the hotel in 1972. Neighbors petitioned against having the hotel rebuilt and an apartment building was put in its place. The island is now mostly residential. There are quite a few artists still in residence even without a nightclub. A surprising number of people all over Britain and beyond remember Eel Pie Island and its gigs - usually with a nostalgic smile.

All vouchers now come with memorabilia card being Christmas, Birthday or Special Friend, all with envelope.Valid for 12 months the voucher is good for the chosen products delivered anywhere in the UK. The total you will be paying for the card and voucher includes the products to be delivered in the UK (anywhere with a UK postcode).