ORIGINATING around 200 years ago in London's East End, the humble Pie and Mash shop is hardly a new concept, but The Pie House in Tuckton is bringing it back with a modern twist.

Food writer Grace Lunn spoke to the owners, Paul Hefler and Matthew Betteridge, to find out more.

Q: Pie, Mash and Jellied Eels are obviously a London tradition, what inspired you to bring them to Bournemouth?

Matt: I think everyone likes pie and mash, it doesn't matter where you're from. We think we made it better, more of a variety of pies to suit all diets and tastes, and it seems to work.

Q: Where do you get your pies from?

Matt: Our pies are handmade from the Dorset Pie Company and they source all their ingredients from Dorset farms and local dairies.It's good food, local produce, it's all good and healthy. There's no deep fried, no processed food here.

Q: Jellied eels are not normally what you would find in a restaurant down here in the South, what has been people's reaction to them?

Matt: They're like Marmite, you either like them or you don't. It's the whole idea of taking the London Pie and Mash shop concept with jellied eels and we thought we'd give it a try, and we sell them. I think a lot of people perceive eels to be tough, chewy and they're not like that at all. They're really soft, melt in your mouth, almost like a trout taste and texture. If you didn't tell people what it was and they were blindfolded they would just say it was a nice piece of fish.

Q: What are your favourite fillings?

Paul: I think it changes because the pies are all so different so it can be a mood thing. You may want to have a really meaty one, but the spicy bean is a really good pie because it's the one with a bit of chilli in it. We also have Pie of the Day which currently is Chicken and Chorizo.

Matt: I'm a meat eater but I love the vegetarian pies because to make vegetarian food taste nice they've got to have good flavour.

Paul: A new one coming up now will be Venison and Chorizo for the winter which is really good."

Matt and Paul have just opened a Pie and Mash takeaway in Kinson, Bournemouth.