Bring back Friday Pie!

I recently took part in an episode of the CQI’s Quality Impact podcast, during which I was asked to think back to food safety at the beginning of my career in the 1980s. The first thing that came to mind was Friday Pie.

Remember Friday Pie? During the podcast, I explained all about what that delicacy was, and then got into a debate about whether Friday Pie should still be on the menu today.

First, the background. It was my first full time job – no company will be referenced, but I don’t think what I am going to discuss was particularly unusual at the time. My workplace was a large manufacturing site with a big, old, kitchen, where the radio was always on. Stand and Deliver, by Adam Ant, was one of our favourites because of the style of the service counter – very much us on one side and the customer on the other. It was really not the best for good customer care, but, in the main, the workforce was after a good meal, not a chat.

I was straight out of college, a little naive and scared, so everything was a bit overwhelming. The menu consisted of the usual traditional favourites, such as pies and stews and, of course, fish and chips on a Friday. However, fish and chips had competition and that was Friday Pie.

The filling varied, depending on what had been on the menu that week. It really should have been called Leftover Pie, as it contained whatever hadn’t been sold, such as cottage pie, curries and any unused vegetables, all combined with gravy made from a traditional stock pot and topped with pastry or potato and reheated. It was very popular!

Leaving aside food safety risks, it did reduce food waste. At the time, this kitchen didn’t have a blast chiller, and I don’t ever remember using a food probe to test temperatures. I also don’t recall ever having any food safety-related complaints following consumption of Friday Pie.

"Have we gone too far, and are we throwing away food that is fit to eat, or can be combined to produce a new delicious dish, for fear of the consequences?"

Caitlin McArthur, Audit and Compliance Manager, Sodexo, UK

Monitoring food safety

Today, food safety laws and good practice would prevent the production of a Friday Pie for the following reasons:

• the stock pot carries the risk of Clostridium perfringens bacteria forming from being constantly reheated;
• it would require the introduction of blast chilling, to prevent the food being in the danger zone for too long;
• the number of days that food can be kept is now limited to prevent bacteria from forming;
• we have to be mindful of the allergens that could be in the different dishes.

All this protects the customer and the reputation of the provider because of a fear of prosecution and civil cases.

So, should Friday Pie have been removed from the menu?

After recording the podcast, I started to think about my upbringing and food at home. My mum never threw any food out; we even had potato peeling soup – surprisingly tasty! Christmas would not have been the same without the final turkey and ham pie, made up of all the Christmas leftovers with a white sauce and stuffing. I survived, and my parents are very healthy for their respective ages and still eat the same way today (although, it is fair to say that when I visit, I do check the fridge for out-of-date items!).

A risk too far?

So, is the food waste produced today really all waste? I completely understand the risks of serving unfit food and would never advocate producing food that caused illness. But have we gone too far, and are we throwing away food that is fit to eat, or can be combined to produce a new delicious dish, for fear of the consequences?

It is an interesting debate and one that deserves further discussion. I will finish by saying that the queues were out of the door on a Friday for the pie!