M & S Fishermans Pie issue

[GeorgeA12]

Bought a M & S Fishermans Pie tonight and was really looking forward to it. Got myself all set up, TV, drink and on the couch after a long week. To my utter astonishment there were only pieces of white fish in there. Checked the box and its true, they have only put cod in. So its basically cod, sauce and mash.

To my mind, Fisherman's Pie must contain at least smoked haddock, succulent prawns and chunks of cod all in a nice sauce. So, am i being unreasonable? Must a Fishermans Pie contain more than one type of fish or is this another case of food outlets trying to completely reduce the cost of ingredients and hope we dont notice? I feel conned!

Did it at least have boiled eggs?

Presumably the ingredients list itemises what’s included.

Nope just cod! Not heard of eggs in a Fisgermans Pie before.

Yes but I didnt check, its not a Fishermans Pie for me if its only got one type of fish.

Better check next time then. Or make it yourself. For a ready made one, the Cook or Charlie Bighams ones are nice.

While in theory I agree with you, it should at least have salmon as well, it very clearly describes itself as cod in mornay sauce. So you should have seen that and avoided it if it wasn't what you wanted

And I bet it cost about £12 too.

They are a shower of bastards altogether...

Right - ill try a Charlie one but wouldnt think to check ingredients, hence my question on the definition of a fishermans pie!

Is fisherman’s pie the same as fish pie? I agree more than one type of fish is needed, and prawns should also be there, but I don’t really like smoked haddock in a fish pie as it overpowers the more delicate fish. So, no you are not being unreasonable but, for me, for the wrong reasons ☺️

@Greggsit no it was definetly Fishermans Pie, not Cod in mornay sauce. I saw that one there too

Was it marketed as fisherman's pie or fish pie? Fisherman's I would expect more than one type of fish

Personally I’d expect a fish pie to have the usual 2/3 types of fish plus prawns.The use of the term Fishermen’s pie would make me think it might have different ingredients.

What fish are you putting in then? I forgot salmon could go in too.

Yes it was called fishermans pie.

Is ‘fisherman’s pie’ a different thing to ‘fish pie’, like the difference between ‘orange drink’ and ‘orange juice’?

Here it is but i got the bigger one

https://www.marksandspencer.com/food/fishermans-pie/p/fdp20001941

I’ll bet it wasn’t made by a fisherman either.

Exactly!

TBH I’ve never seen the need for hard boiled eggs in a fish pie.
Mine has white fish, smoked haddock and prawns. A good sauce with a dash of white wine, a little cheese and parsley, plenty of mash with more grated cheese on top.

I used to buy this in the 80s. It contained 2 types of fish and prawns, mash had a crispy cheese crust.

That sounds more like it :-)! So we are in agreement - M & S are pulling the wool over our eyes with their Fishermans Pie.

To me fish pie and fisherman's pie are
Inter-changeable and I would only expect white fish, white sauce and mash. Beyond that though there is a lot of variation so I would always check. For example, I dont like salmon and i think prawns and mussels etc go a bit tough.
With something so variable I'm not sure why you wouldn't check it was what you wanted.

YANBU, as i do think it should contain several fish ingredients, but having followed your link, the packaging really clearly says, (literally underneath the word Fisherman's Pie in fairly decent sized font), that it is Cod in Mornay sauce.

So I think M&S are being pretty open about it - it's not as if you have to venture to the ingredients underneath the packet to see this. But yes, would be better if they just called it a Cod Fish Pie to be super clear.

The one you liked to clearly saying cod in sauce right under the name, so you don’t need to check the ingredients to see that!

@Greggsit yes it does say only cod on the top but i looked at the title only on the side as it is stacked. The issue is if it says its Fishermans Pie then it cant only have one type of fish in it, which others agree on