MPs back motion calling for pie ‘n’ mash to get protected status

Mrs Leachman said the first Robins Pie & Mash shop was set up in London nearly a century ago and the family owned six businesses across east London and Essex.

She said pie ‘n’ mash shops were a “way of life” and a “tradition” for people with an east London heritage.

“We want to protect what my past generations worked so hard for,” she told the BBC.

“We don’t want it diluted and being sold anywhere and with any recipe.”

She said pie ‘n’ mash was made to a “specific” recipe: minced beef, mashed potatoes, and liquor – a parsley sauce.

“That’s how it should remain,” she added.

“In here, that is what we believe in, and that’s what all other pie ‘n’ mash shops are – and we should protect that as much as we can.”