Lobby (food)
{{Short description|Stew made from beef, and potato}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2014}}
Lobby or lobbies is a traditional stew or casserole, containing corned beef{{fact|date=September 2024}}, potatoes and onion.
Background
Lobby is a traditional North Staffordshire stew eaten by potters. 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".Maurice Hassell (2008) A Cooks Tour of England Power Publishing {{ISBN|978-9963-673-41-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3SaFzFnQb0MC&dq=lobby+stew&pg=PA56 p55 et seq] 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. However, one writer from Wigan states that, as well as mutton or tinned stewing steak, lobby can be made using corned beef.[http://www.rockyandkensfoodfights.com/food-thoughts-from-abroad-a-rant-by-ken/ Food thoughts from abroad- a rant by Ken] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108191708/http://www.rockyandkensfoodfights.com/food-thoughts-from-abroad-a-rant-by-ken/ |date=8 January 2020 }}; retrieved 27 November 2020
A similar dish to lobby can be found in Liverpool, where it is called scouse.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2008/07/25/lobby_feature.shtml BBC - Stoke & Staffordshire - Discover Staffordshire - Lobby - a traditional Potters' dish] It is thought both names derive from "lobscouse", a cheap stew dating from the early 18th century.
See also
{{portal|Food}}