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New pie and mash shop Betty's in Guildhall Street, Folkestone, is to open its doors tomorrow

A traditional London pie and mash shop is to open its doors this week.

Betty's Pye and Mash will be serving the much-loved working class delicacy in Guildhall Street, Folkestone, from tomorrow and it plans to expand to offering delivery once up and running smoothly.

Tony Pye and his daughter Betty at the pie and mash shop in Guildhall Street
Tony Pye and his daughter Betty at the pie and mash shop in Guildhall Street

As well as the famous combination of pie, mash and liquor, the family-run business will also eventually offer a full menu featuring stewed and jellied eels, jacket potatoes, sausage and mash, and oysters.

There will also be options for vegans, ensuring no one need miss out on a taste of the capital.

Owner Tony Pye - whose family have run the Chummys fish stall at Folkestone harbour for three decades - has relocated to the town from Leytonstone in east London and hopes his new venture can add something different to the local food scene.

"All our pies are freshly made daily," he said. "We want people to have a proper meal, a substantial meal that fills you up.

"My nan and grandad are from Poplar, in east London, and they used to run pie and mash shops years ago in Chrisp Street Market in Poplar. It's a real family thing, 100%."

A traditional dish of pie, mash and liquor sauce
A traditional dish of pie, mash and liquor sauce

Those family connections to the trade are honoured in the new shop's name, which is a nod both to Tony's grandmother Bet and his daughter Betty.

Hi uncle, also Tony, has also had a hands-on role, helping with the fitting out of the new premises which were previously home to a photographic shop.

The new dining destination is just the latest food outlet to now call Guildhall Street home, after the Bao Baron relocated from the Harbour Arm late last year.

All pies served at Betty's will be freshly made by famous south London pie and mash firm M.Manze, who have been feeding hungry Londoners for more than a century.

For the uninitiated, the traditional dish of pie and mash consists of a minced-beef and cold-water-pastry pie served with mashed potato and a parsley sauce known as 'liquor'.

Betty's Pye and Mash shop in Guildhall Street, Folkestone, opens this week
Betty's Pye and Mash shop in Guildhall Street, Folkestone, opens this week

Emerging from the docks of south and east London, the meal became a much-loved staple of working class communities and, despite the docks being long shut down, it remains a firm favourite to this day.

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