Clark's Pies, also

colloquially Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d "Clarkies" or "Clarksies," are well-known

meat pie A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, Frying, fried, or deep-fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the ...

s that originated in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, and can now be found in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and the South of Wales.

History

A printed paper bag from the 1930s states that the business was established in 1909. A shop opened on Llanmaes Street in

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

, Cardiff in 1913. Developed by Mary Clark, a second shop opened on Cowbridge Road East in nearby Canton in the 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the first shop was closed due to wartime meat

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...

. Dennis Dutch, Mary Clark's grandson, opened the third

pie shop A pie shop is a take away (fast food) outlet specialising in pies, especially meat pies. Common in some parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. Countries Australia A form of specialised bakery, or in more recent times purely a retail out ...

and bakery on 10 May 1955 in Bromsgrove Street, Grangetown. In 2005, Dutch celebrated the shop's 50th anniversary. The family have since sold Clark's Pies in Cardiff to another bakery ending their association with Clark's Pies In the 1920s, (Harold, Harry) Percy Clark left his mother Mary to branch out on his own, establishing a shop in North Street,

Bedminster, Bristol Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of Bristol, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district. The eastern part of Bedminster is known as Wind ...

, where he built his own business. The shop passed to Percy's sons, John, Ken and Roger Clark, who have all since retired. Keith Prested now owns Clark's Pies Ltd along with his partner, Roger's daughter, Dawn Clark, who continues in the family tradition as a director of the business, which is still located at 259 North Street, Ashton Gate,

where it has been making pies and pasties continuously since the 1930s.

Recipe

The exact recipe of the pie filling is a closely guarded secret containing

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

s and

gravy Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of meats and vegetables that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with thickeners for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a mix of salt and caramel food ...

. Unusually for a pie, the

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

is thick enough not to require a foil tray. Each pie has the word "CLARPIE" stamped into the pastry.

Consuming the pie

Knives and forks are not required; the pastry is thick enough to pick up and eat in the upright position without crumbling or getting soggy. Microwaving the pie will negate these qualities, making the pie pastry soft. A ''Clark's Tash'' is the nickname given to burning the upper lip with the hot filling.

Clark's Pie quotes

* Frank Hennessy: ''I can't remember not having a Clark's Pie. As soon as Cardiffians saw the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

they fell in love with it. They didn't realise why. It's like a giant Clark's pie with four cocktail sticks in it.'' *

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...

, former

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

player/manager, erroneously claims the pie to be a

invention: ''There's some great things that have come out of

– Clark's pies, a couple of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams.... not sure about me, though!''

References

External links

*
Clarks Pies (Bristol) Website

Secret of Clark's success kept under the pie lid – The Western Mail

BBC South Wales East Food

Photo gallery of the Clark's Pies Anniversary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarks Pie, The British pie brands history of Cardiff culture in Cardiff culture in Bristol Welsh cuisine 1909 establishments in Wales