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Similar Marie Rose sauce, Gammon, Ploughman's lunch, Bangers and mash, Mushy peas | ||
Egg and chips is a popular working-class dish in the United Kingdom, consisting simply of chips served with fried eggs. Food writer Mary Cadogan says that "Egg and chips for me is a marriage made in heaven. Whenever I feel the need of a bit of comfort eating this is the dish I usually turn to." Heston Blumenthal, owner of the Michelin star award-winning Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire, wrote in The Guardian that "You can't get much more British a dish than fried egg and chips."
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Associations
Egg and chips is associated with a working-class diet, and one writer has even cited it as a dish which members of the middle classes might find 'shameful' in wanting. In an article on moving from the working class to the middle class, a British journalist recounted that "There are things I grew up with that I still love—pub life, darts, egg and chips". Jack Charlton, after playing in the World Cup-winning England football team in 1966, remarked: "We stopped the car for egg and chips in a transport cafe. We'd eaten nothing but the best food for weeks and I was dying for some ordinary grub." The image of British people insisting on ordering egg and chips while on holiday abroad has also been used as a stereotype.
Health
In a study on the perceptions of social inequality of people in North West England, "Beer, fags, egg and chips" was highlighted by the researchers as an example of individual behaviour thought to be connected to poor health.
In Tanzania, egg and chips—called chipsimayai locally—is sold by street vendors, and is associated with poor nutrition and hygiene.
In popular culture
Egg and chips was John Lennon's favourite food. His Aunt Mimi would prepare it for him with a cup of tea.
The dish features in art as well as in real life. Egg and chips occupies a pivotal moment in the suffocating life of a working-class Liverpool housewife in Shirley Valentine. "Because it's Thursday, Shirley knows that Joe expects steak and chips for his tea. He is getting egg and chips instead... But Joe ... is not pleased at his meatless meal. He pushes his plate into her lap. That settles it. Two weeks later he comes home and finds an empty house."
In an episode from season 8 of Are You Being Served?, a store video featuring the face of Miss Brahms and the deep, sexy voice of Mr Grace's nurse attracts the attention of Lord Hirly, who invites Miss Brahms and her family to be his guests at the very posh Romano's restaurant. Captain Peacock and Mrs Slocombe stand in for Mr and Mrs Brahms, while Mr Humphries plays a bishop. On seeing the prices, Mrs Slocombe remarks that, on their wages, all they could afford would be egg and chips - but as Lord Hirly is footing the bill, they order pâté de foie gras, pheasant, guinea fowl, and venison. His Lordship does arrive but, alas, it was the nurse's low, sexy voice that attracted him - and she happens to be dining at the next table, so that's the end of Miss Brahms's upward mobility. Captain Peacock then calls over the waiter to request a slight change in their order: "Egg and chips four times, and a pot of tea."
The dish's status as a cornerstone of authentic British cuisine is solidified by its regular inclusion in modern popular culture. It features regularly in television depictions of British life, such as the long-running soap series Coronation Street, where it constitutes part of recurring character Johnny "Doc" Docherty's infamous catch phrase, "You've just had your tea, Lesley - Egg and Chips!". Egg and chips was also a favourite food for Tommies behind the lines on the Western Front during WW1, often washed down with cheap French wine 'plonk'.