Stodge has always been considered a dirty word, laden with guilt, designed to sting our conscience. Referring to heavy, filling fare, typically with a thick or doughy consistency, more often than not, it’s used as a weapon to reinforce the traps of negative calorie culture. Nevertheless, for many of those who allow themselves the odd indulgence, the word stodge can be steeped in joy, a representation of the type of comfort food that leaves you feeling full and, crucially, satisfied.
Typically, here in Britain, the dishes that spring to mind when we consider what’s stodgy are the old fashioned ones — pies, puddings and bakes hailing from a time when sustenance was most likely fuel to get through the day, rather than something to show off about on Instagram.
Now, however, in our post-Ozempic city, the ‘modern British’ cuisine we’ve become so accustomed to is shimmying aside in favour of the old school, with chefs resurrecting stodgy stalwarts in the name of satisfying hungry Londoners and their media feeds.
Yes, of course long-standing institutions such Rules, Wilton’s and St John have always embraced the British classics, serving suet puddings and old fashioned sponge cakes since their inception, while more recently, Humble Crumble’s namesake and Cafe Cecilia’s deep fried bread and butter pudding have enjoyed much success over the last year or two.
This year, though, many more chefs are joining in, elevating and modernising traditional dishes with new techniques, premium ingredients and creative presentations. At Hawksmoor, Matthew Brown has concocted a beefsteak pudding made with braised short rib, red wine, Somerset Cider Brandy and winter vegetables in a steamed, traditional suet pastry crust, which is inspired by a character in Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens, who said ‘In the whole catalogue of cookery, there is nothing I should like so much as a beef-steak pudding!’
Similarly, Sally Abe of The Pem has perfected a wild mushroom and truffle suet pudding, made with buttered Savoy cabbage, braised hazelnuts and madeira, while at The Stafford you’ll find a trusty take on the classic steak and ale iteration. Meanwhile, on 7th April, reservations and events platform Sera are bringing together chefs Calum Franklin and Ivan Tisdall-Downes for a pop-up at iconic pie institution M.Manze, where they’ll be reimagining classic flavours including stargazy and beef and oyster.
Elsewhere, Anna Higham is shining a spotlight on brown butter buns and tattie scones at her new bakery, Quince, and likewise, at Rick Stein’s eponymous restaurant you’ll find a smoked salmon-spiked variation of the latter, accompanied by a beetroot, radish and fennel salad.
Some (myself included) would argue that the very best stodge comes paired with ice cream or custard, and thankfully countless chefs are coming up with the goods. At Fallow, the sustainably crafted caramelised bread and butter pudding is built from all the bread trimmings accumulated in the restaurant and served with vanilla soft serve and strawberries, while around the corner in Soho, Tom Cenci is dishing up Treacle Sponge at Nessa and Oliver Gladwin at Sussex is proud to serve spotted dick. And it’s not just out at restaurants that we’re indulging in such comforts. New sales data from Ocado has revealed that classic puddings such as Arctic Roll and Jam Roly Poly are making a comeback, with sales of Arctic Roll up 143% and jam roly poly up 59% year on year.
But what exactly is driving the resurgence of stodge? For the founder of Sera, Justin Landsberger, it’s about preserving history. ‘Alongside Ivan and Calum, we feel it’s important to get pie & mash shops back front and centre in people’s minds. If we’re able to do that, and can help preserve this institution [M.Manze] in some small way, then we would deem it a huge success.’ Meanwhile, pastry chef Higham is keen to use the advancements in pastry techniques to improve and showcase the ‘old fashioned and unusual’, she says. ‘There is a huge amount of baking tradition in the UK, but there’s a lot of scope to explore and play around with. A lot of the bakeries as the boom has happened have been very influenced by Europe, by France, and all the exciting things that are happening in Copenhagen and America, so I think there’s real space to take all of that learning and apply it to our baking traditions.’
For Gladwin, he believes diners want to ‘strip it back’ and return to familiarity due to overstimulation. ‘We’re spoiled for choice when we dine out now. We’re so lucky, we have access to anything we want – any cuisine and a vast number of ingredients and cooking techniques. Life is so busy that we crave a moment to pause and enjoy simplicity. We can do this with what we eat. Food is so emotive. For me, it’s the nostalgia of enjoying spotted dick on a Sunday afternoon around the dinner table, fighting over the custard jug with my brothers. Good memories transport you right back. It’s so powerful and we want to do the same for our customers.’
So with innovation, preservation, popularity and taste onside, can we scrub stodge of its negative connotations? That’s for you to decide. Though there is one thing I know for certain: in a world where social media continues to prioritise style over substance, there'll always be something undeniably sexy about a big, unapologetic plate, bowl or bag of beige.
