Lobby or lobbies is a traditional
stew or
casserole, containing
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
or
corned beef,
potatoes,
carrots,
peas
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
, and
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
.
Usually made out of the leftover Sunday roast to make a 2nd meal
Background
Lobby is a traditional
North Staffordshire
The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history ...
stew eaten by poorly-paid
potters
A potter is someone who makes pottery.
Potter may also refer to:
Places United States
*Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US
* Potter, Arkansas
* Potter, Nebraska
*Potters, New Jer ...
who could not afford freshly prepared food every day. It consists of minced or diced beef or lamb, diced potatoes, onions, carrots, leeks, and root vegetables bulked up with pearl barley and seasoned. Maurice Hassell describes Lobby as "a nutritious economic meal made with the season’s vegetables". It remains on the menus of local pubs and on locals' dinner tables today.
In
Leigh, Greater Manchester, the dish earned the nickname "lobby gobblers" for the inhabitants of the town, in contrast to the "pie eaters" of neighbouring
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...
. However, one writer from Wigan states that, as well as mutton or tinned stewing steak, Lobby can be made using
corned beef.
[''Food thoughts from abroad- a rant by Ken'']
retrieved 27 November 2020
A similar dish to lobby can be found in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, where it is called scouse.
BBC - Stoke & Staffordshire - Discover Staffordshire - Lobby - a traditional Potters' dish
/ref> It is thought both names derive from "lobscouse", a cheap stew dating from the early 18th century.[
]
See also
* North Staffordshire oatcake
* Scouse
Scouse (; formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English) is an accent and dialect of English associated with Liverpool and the surrounding county of Merseyside. The Scouse accent is highly distinctive; having been influenced he ...
* Lancashire hotpot
Lancashire hotpot is a stew originating from Lancashire in the North West of England. It consists of lamb or mutton and onion, topped with sliced potatoes (or a more traditional topping of pastry or puff pastry) and baked in a heavy pot on a ...
* List of stews
This is a list of notable stews. A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, bean ...
References
{{Stoke-on-Trent
English cuisine
Culture in Stoke-on-Trent
British stews
Beef dishes