The owner of Deptford’s 111-year-old pie and mash shop has vowed to keep his family recipe under wraps ahead of its closure this month.
Owner George Mascall said he was “not prepared to give away” Cockneydom’s best-kept culinary secret despite pleas from punters.
But Mr Mascall has said customers can buy fixtures and mementos from the Grade-II listed shop before it shuts for good.
The venue is remarkably unchanged since opening in 1914, retaining its trademark benches, tiling and terazzo floors.
Manze’s Pie and Mash, Deptford
Clients, who flock from as far as Kent and Essex to buy the prized pastries, will be gutted to hear Mr Mascall has pushed the closure date forward to Saturday, January 25.
Customers looking to stock up on frozen pies have been urged to per-order them over the phone amid red-hot demand.
Mr Mascall wrote online: ‘We expect to be very busy in the lead-up to our last days. Please, please, please, make sure you get in pronto for your visit. We are selling out much earlier in the day than normal, and I don’t want you to be disappointed and miss out on your last pie & mash.’
He said he was ‘not prepared to give away the recipe’ and that he had ‘no idea’ what the landlord would do with the building.
Mr Macall, descendant of the Manze family who migrated to London from Italy in the late 1800s, previously told the News he would “miss some customers” but was “looking forward to retirement”.
He said he would not be “getting the bunting out” but admitted he had “had enough of making pies”.
The shop contains many of the original features
“I’m looking forward to retiring I’m not gonna lie about that,” he said.
The father-of-three has no heir to take over the pie-making dynasty, as his children have ‘good established careers’ and ‘no interest in the business,’ he said.
The shop’s trademark decor has been recognised by architectural experts including the 20th Century Society and Historic England.
Historic England praised the outlet for its “characteristic shopfront and tiled interior, complete with benches, tables, terrazzo flooring, display counter and servers”.
The shop was founded between 1890 and 1914, by George’s grandfather Michele ‘Michael’.
Founder Michele ‘Michael Manze. Image: Manze’s Pie and Mash, Deptford
Manze migrated from the impoverished Italian town of Ravello in 1878. After setting up an ice cream business, he moved into the then-lucrative pie trade, sparking a dynasty that spread all over London.
At its peak in 1930, the Manze family ran thirteen pie shops across the capital with some, including in Tower Bridge and Peckham, still run by George Mascall’s distant relatives today