Is a single boiled egg surrounded by a layer of ground meat enough to comprise a meal? What if it comes with a side salad? Or is eaten with a knife and fork?
New rules in England aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 mean the majority of pubs can serve alcohol only alongside a “substantial meal.” The term has sparked much soul-searching and debate about food and appetites in a country where “eating is cheating” is a mantra for many at the pub.
“One man’s substantial meal is another man’s light snack,” said Karol Sikora, a U.K.-based medical professor and former head of the World Health Organization’s cancer program, who has been puzzling over the new rules like many people in the U.K. “They’re making it up as they go along,” the 70-year-old said of the government’s strategy.
Government ministers have offered conflicting interpretations of what qualifies as substantial, while police chiefs have been dragged into the fray over whether they’ll be inspecting drinkers’ dinners. The makers of some of Britain’s oldest comfort foods—long at a disadvantage as the nation looks to slim down—are suddenly talking up the heft of their creations to reduce the risk of being deemed insubstantial. Pubs are scrambling to whip up new dishes they hope are affordable enough to woo drinkers but robust enough to abide by the law.
About 21,000 pubs in England are in parts of the country that as of Dec. 2 came under the government’s “tier 2” rules, which include the substantial meal edict. Some have never had kitchens.
Customers eat at Ye Olde Mitre Inne in London.
Photo: Gary Murphy
The government says its aim is to make pubs more like restaurants. While it hasn’t said how that helps, many speculate it is intended to keep people seated and sober and reduce mingling.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said the measures had been designed to allow hospitality businesses to safely reopen, while reducing transmission. She declined to comment further.
In a recent radio interview, George Eustice, the government minister responsible for food, said he thought a Scotch egg—a boiled egg covered in sausage and breadcrumbs and then deep-fried—“probably would count as a substantial meal if there were table service.”
Shortly after, Michael Gove, another senior government minister, said he thought a couple of Scotch eggs made up a “starter.” He then backtracked in a subsequent televised interview saying “a Scotch egg is a substantial meal.”
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The government has pointed out that a “table meal”—literally a meal eaten at a table—has for decades been enshrined in a British law as part of restaurant licenses. But most people have never heard of the law, which doesn’t define what a substantial meal is.
Chris Bird, a London-based lawyer, on a recent night found himself ordering a substantial meal at a pub—despite having already eaten pasta for dinner—just so he could have a beer. “I’m ashamed to say I ate it,” he says of the Scotch egg he ordered. “It was a really nice egg, soft on the inside and served with a relish and crispy kale.”
Chris Bird ordered a Scotch egg so he could have a beer on a recent night in London.
Photo: Chris Bird
Orders of Scotch eggs—traditionally a pub snack—have jumped. Family owned Scotch-egg maker Happy Belly says it is expecting to rake in about $560,000 in December, more than five times its usual sales. It is also creating a new calzone and savoury egg to meet rocketing demand.
Other common pub snacks are benefiting too. Sarah Pettegree, owner of Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies, recently secured a wine bar as a new customer. She is making large, seven-inch, “artisan” pies for the bar, which specifically asked for a “substantial meal.”
Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies has seen an increase in interest for large pies.
Photo: Sarah Pettegree
While new to most, the question of what constitutes a substantial meal predates the pandemic.
In Ireland, until 2000 bars and clubs could get a late-night license only if they served a substantial meal. The price of food was included in a night’s entry and at a certain time, lights came on, music turned off and revelers were supposed to eat up. Disco-goers of yore say the food—often a watery chicken curry—was rarely eaten and mostly ended up on the floor.
Ireland dusted off the rule this summer, saying pubs had to serve substantial meals to reopen. In a move that attracted derision from many, the government also said it should cost at least about $11. “Totally Pintless,” booed the Sun, a tabloid newspaper.
In Britain, the bafflement began in October when drinking establishments in and around Liverpool were told they could stay open only if they served a substantial meal. The U.K.’s housing secretary weighed in, saying he didn’t think a Cornish pasty—a half-moon-shaped pastry traditionally stuffed with potatoes and meat—counted on its own, but would pass the test when served with chips or salad.
“Pasties are a working-class staple eaten out of a bag by hand and, dear God, not to be had with sides,” said Richard Lowes, a 32-year-old geography lecturer who lives in Cornwall. He said that pasties were traditionally a convenient, filling lunch for miners, and that expecting people to eat them with sides is an “elite London view” held by out-of-touch politicians.
Ye Olde Mitre Inne is serving 100 to 250 orders of fried food daily.
Photo: Gary Murphy
Inconsistencies abound. Movie theaters and sports venues, which are still open, are allowed to sell alcohol without food, while pubs differ on how many drinks people can order alongside a substantial meal. Pubs can order food from neighboring restaurants but diners themselves can’t.
Some pubs are getting creative. “Soup of the day: Carling,” read one pub’s chalkboard in Liverpool referring to a popular lager. A Brighton pub created a fake tap for a beer called Substantial Meal, describing the imaginary ale as “hearty, filling and flavoursome.” Its social-media posts went viral, but the pub was forced to backtrack when national newspapers reported it was circumventing the rules.
The King’s Head, located northeast of London, has created a new “Boris Menu” offering breaded fried mushrooms or garlic bread for about $1.30 and hot dogs or beef burgers for $2.65. “Please note that these are ‘substantial’ meals but not the most accomplished of dishes,” the pub warns on the menu, which features a drawing of the prime minister wearing a jester’s hat.
In London, the Southampton Arms has temporarily rebranded itself the Noodle Arms after its owner bought a kettle to make instant noodles. “You usually come for the beer and the atmosphere,” the pub wrote on social media. “Presently we are forced to say come for the noodles stay for the beer.”
Gary Murphy, owner of Ye Olde Mitre Inne, another London pub, has slashed meal prices by 70% so he can offer smaller plates fried en masse rather than grilling individual dishes that takes much longer. He is now selling 100 to 250 meals a day up from just 10 to 15 previously. Customers can get a bunless vegan burger, scampi or chicken with chips.
“Come and experience Orwell’s England where the Government controls every aspect of your life including your social life,” Mr. Murphy recently wrote on Facebook to advertise his new menu. Customers, he added, could order three pints of beer with a single meal of scampi. “The law does not limit the amount of drinks you have.”
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at [email protected]
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Appeared in the December 12, 2020, print edition as ‘Forget Brexit—England Is Debating Pork Pies, Scotch Eggs.’
