People of Bermondsey : Meet Rick and Emma, owners of Manzes Pie and Mash
Please introduce yourself and your business
Hello, my name is Emma Harrington, I’m the fourth generation of the Manze family. My dad Rick Poole and my husband Tom Harrington are all involved with the family-run business.
Manze’s Pie and Mash was established in 1902 by Michele Manze and has since been passed down through the generations and for the past 40 years the founder's grandson, Rick, has been with the business. In 2019 Rick’s daughter, Emma along with her husband, Tom joined the business to push it forward and ensure the business’s future on the High Street.
Tell us how your Bermondsey story began for Manzes
Rick Poole: My Bermondsey story began when I was about 14 and I moved across from our Peckham shop where I worked with my eldest brother Graham on Saturdays to help out on the weekends.
When I was 15 I started full time at Tower Bridge Rd leaving school at an early age so I could help run the family business with my other brother Geoff.
The usual progression of jobs in a pie shop is clearing tables in the shop then washing up, unloading pies from the dumb waiter to serving. Then when you're old and strong enough you would work in the kitchen cleaning pie dishes, scraping trays and then on to the real work of making pies and pastry and cooking the mash and liquor on the hotplate.
I am so proud of the fantastic legacy that my family has built over the past 119 years. I feel so privileged and honoured to play a part in the future of the business.
Michele Manze
He arrived in Britain from a picturesque hillside village called Ravello in Southern Italy. His family made the long trek over in 1878, when Michele was just 3 years old.
The Manze family settled in Bermondsey and began trading as ice-merchants, turning later to ice-cream makers. Realising the need for more substantial food in post-Victorian London, Michele branched out into the pie, mash & eels trade.
What should everyone order when visiting Manzes?
From a long standing customer
“Order a double double at Manzes you won’t regret it and it will change your life”
This is a photo of a single pie, mash and liquor
Please share with us some of your most memorable moments at Manzes
Rick: Some of my most memorable moments at Manzes would have been 33 years ago when I met my future wife who worked in the shop serving the pies that I would have made in the kitchen. And then just as important a few years ago when my daughter Emma joined the company and would bounce into the shop ready to give us her new ideas that we could merge into a 120 year old business.
Emma:
Being surprised by Linda Robson and the production team at ITV with an award for The Heritage Food and Drinks Award in January 2020 was a fantastic moment and one I will never forget.
What’s a typical working day like at Manzes?
A typical day at Manzes would start around 5.30am. The meat from Smithfield market would arrive and then the eels from Billingsgate. This would all have to be prepared and ready for a busy day. Ovens lit and pastry made we could then move on to the main event, making the pies. Once the hotplates have been set up with huge pots of potatoes and liquor we could then concentrate on getting the pies cooked and sent up to the shop ready for the ladies to start serving. This goes on until we have either run out of pies or its closing time.
Then we need to clean everything ready for the next day which can often take as long as making all the pies.
How do you feel about the changes to Bermondsey over recent years?
There have been many changes to Bermondsey over the years like all the stalls disappearing which is a crying shame as they would bring many people to the area and always gave the road a buzz and air of excitement, and when they went I feel a lot of the old Bermondsey folk went too.
There are very few businesses surviving from when I first started and all the pubs have closed down. These have been replaced with a new wave of shops and bars selling anything from Wine and cheese to Tapas.
Because the changes have been slow I haven`t resented them too much and I enjoy this newer Bermondsey life as much as the old one.
What’s your Bermondsey secret & a must-do for any visitor?
Next door to us, Lechevalier Wine Bar and Shop sells delicious out of this world cheese!
Describe what Bermondsey to you in one sentence
The Bermondsey community is like one big family, always supportive and encouraging to one another.
📍 87 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 4TW
