Lobby (food)

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Lobby is a traditional dish of North Staffordshire. It was originally eaten by potters who were poor and didn't always have enough money for fresh ingredients.^[1]

Lobby has no official recipe because it is known as a "throw-in" or "chuck in" recipe.^[2] The traditional lobby contained left over meat, some animal bones, diced onion and other vegetables lobbed in to maximize the flavor all boiled in a pot.

It shares it's name with a similar dish that originates from Leigh, made from corned beef and vegetables, with optional extras including dumplings, beetroot or pickled red cabbage. The dish earned the nickname "Lobby Gobblers" for inhabitants of the town, in contrast to the "Pie Eaters" of neighbouring Wigan, although that particular nickname was originally coined in response to the Miners Strike rather than for any particular culinary reasons.