On Friday the 15th of August South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership hosted a local food heritage talk in the Community Room on Platform 5 at Bolton Station. Titled ‘Fingers in Many Pies’, the talk was led by part-time Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield and focused on the fascinating food history along our lines, complete with a complimentary local taster buffet for attendees.
The two-hour event was a fitting precursor to Bolton’s iconic annual Food and Drink Festival, which typically takes place over the August Bank Holiday. ‘Fingers in Many Pies’ explored Lancashire’s rich culinary history and how it has been shaped by social, environmental and economic change, with the railway of course playing a key part.
Topics included the surprising popularity of oats before wheat (especially when used in bread), the significance of pig-keeping in early Lancashire and factors behind the popularity of pies, puddings and pastries – hence the name of the talk. Noteable mentions of food and place included Rag Pudding from Rochdale, Warburton’s Bread and Carr’s Pasties from Bolton and a discussion of the term ‘Pie Eaters’ used in Wigan.
The taster buffet had been carefully chosen to reflect the past, as well as the present and future of what we might consider ‘local food’, incorporating the likes of Galloway’s Pies (from Wigan), cooked meats and Lancashire Cheese (from Walsh’s Traditional Foods stall in Bolton Market) and Fiddler’s Lancashire Crisps. Samples were passed round during the talk and were available to enjoy afterwards, with the interactive nature of the event leading to lively discussion and plenty of audience participation, with stories of local delicacies shared (as well as the train journeys taken to reach them!).
Emily reflected on her talk and the connection between local food and community:
“It was fantastic to deliver the ‘Fingers in Many Pies’ local food heritage talk in the Comunity Room at Bolton Station. Food fundamentally connects all of us – we all have to eat – and in turn, we all have something to contribute to a discussion about it. I really enjoyed the receptive nature of the audience, and some great points were raised about food often being a symbol of social inclusion and welcoming, across cultures. Food really can be a fascinating medium to explore a people’s history and civic pride.
“It is also fantastic that our very varied food history can be enjoyed by train – and we (SELCRP) have another project in the pipeline we can’t wait to share with you!”
