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{{short description|Cornish dish made of baked fish}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Stargazy pie
| image            = StargazyPie.jpg
| image_size       = 225px
| caption          = A stargazy pie, ready to serve
| country          = [[England]]
| region           = [[Cornwall]]
| creator          = 
| course           = Main
| served           = Hot
| main_ingredient  = [[Sardines as food|Pilchards]]
| cookbook         = Stargazy Pie
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Stargazy pie''' (also '''starry-gazy pie''', '''starry-gaze pie''')<ref>{{Cite OED|stargazy pie|7345324720}}</ref> is a [[Cuisine of Cornwall|Cornish dish]] made of baked [[Sardines as food|pilchards]] (sardines), along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a [[pastry]] crust. Although there are a few variations using other types of fish, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads (and sometimes tails) protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing to the stars.

The dish originates from the village of [[Mousehole]] in [[Cornwall]] and is traditionally eaten during the festival of [[Tom Bawcock's Eve]] to celebrate his heroic catch during a very stormy winter. According to the modern festival, which is combined with the Mousehole village illuminations, the entire catch was baked into a huge stargazy pie, encompassing seven types of fish and saving the village from starvation. The story of Bawcock was popularised by [[Antonia Barber]]'s children's book ''[[The Mousehole Cat]]'', which featured the stargazy pie. In 2007 contestant Mark Hix won the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Great British Menu]]'' with a variant of the dish.

==Description==
{{Quote box
 | quote = <poem>A merry plaas you may believe
woz Mowsel pon Tom Bawcock's Eve.
To be theer then oo wudn wesh
To sup o sibm soorts o fesh!

Wen morgee brath ad cleard tha path
Comed lances for a fry,
An then us had a bet o scad
an starry gazee py.

Nex cumd fermaads, braa thustee jaads
As maad ar oozles dry,
An ling an haak, enough to maak
a raunen shark to sy!

A aech wed clunk as ealth wer drunk
En bumpers bremmen y,
An wen up caam Tom Bawcock's naam
We praesed un to tha sky.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooksinfo.com/tom-bawcocks-eve |title=Tom Bawcock's Eve |publisher=CooksInfo.com |date=11 June 2009 |access-date=15 November 2017 }}</ref>
</poem>
 | source =  [[Robert Morton Nance]] (1873–1959) ({{circa|1930}})
 | width = 
 | align = left
}}

Stargazy pie is a [[pastry]]-based [[fish pie]] which, by tradition, is filled with whole [[Sardines as food|pilchards]]. It is critical that the pilchards retain their heads, so they poke through the pastry top. The appearance of the fish heads makes them look like they are "gazing at the stars", hence the name. The position of the fish allows the oil that is released during cooking to drain into the pie, adding a fuller flavour and ensuring the pie is moist.<ref name="foodtrust">{{cite web|title=Stargazey pie|url=http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipebook/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=1015|publisher=The British Food Trust|access-date=7 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318182702/http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk:80/recipebook/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=1015}}</ref> The celebrity chef [[Rick Stein]] suggested also poking the pilchards' tails through the pie crust to give the effect of leaping through water.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stein|first=Rick|author-link=Rick Stein|title=Rick Stein's Food Heroes|year=2005|publisher=[[BBC Books]]|isbn=0-563-52175-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ricksteinsfoodhe0000stei}}</ref>

In spite of the fact that the British Food Trust describes the dish as being fun as well as amusing to children,<ref name="foodtrust"/> it has been listed in "Yuck! Disgusting things people eat", a lifestyle feature by the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' based upon the book by an American author, Neil Setchfield.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yuck! disgusting things people eat (number 9)|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/galleries/yuck_disgusting_things_people_eat/yuck_disgusting_things_people_eat.html|access-date=7 January 2011|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=24 August 2010|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026131701/http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/galleries/yuck_disgusting_things_people_eat/yuck_disgusting_things_people_eat.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Setchfield|first=Neil|title=Yuck! The things people eat|year=2010|publisher=Merrell|isbn=978-1-85894-524-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/yuckthingspeople0000setc}}</ref> On [[Tom Bawcock's Eve]] it is served in The Ship Inn, the only [[public house|pub]] in [[Mousehole]], sometimes after a re-enactment of the legend.<ref>{{cite book|title=Devon, Cornwall & South West England|year=2008|publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]|isbn=978-1-74104-873-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tqpP0B-Hg7IC&q=stargazy+pie&pg=PA244|author=Berry, Oliver|author2=Dixon, Belinda |access-date=7 January 2011|page=48}}</ref>

==Origins==
[[File:Baked stargazy pie.jpg|thumb|right|The pilchards must retain their heads]]
[[File:Stary gazy pie.jpg|thumb|right|A star gazy pie served at the Old Coastguard Hotel in Mousehole]]

The pie originates from the fishing village of [[Mousehole]] in [[Cornwall]]. As with many parts of Cornish heritage, a legend has appeared about its origins. In this case, the pie is served to celebrate the bravery of [[Tom Bawcock]], a local fisherman in the 16th century. The legend explains that one winter had been particularly stormy, meaning that none of the fishing boats had been able to leave the harbour. As Christmas approached, the villagers, who relied on fish as their primary source of food, were facing starvation.<ref name="BBC Tom">{{cite news|title=The Story of Tom Bawcock|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8390000/8390344.stm|access-date=7 January 2011|work=BBC News|date=2 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Alan M. |title=The festivals of Cornwall: ritual, revival, reinvention |date=2018 |publisher=Redcliffe |isbn=978-1-911408-26-0 |location=Bristol |pages=323-325}}</ref>

On 23 December, Tom Bawcock decided to brave the storms and went out in his fishing boat. Despite the stormy weather and the difficult seas, he managed to catch enough fish to feed the entire village. The entire catch (including seven types of fish) was baked into a pie, which had the fish heads poking through to prove that there were fish inside. Ever since then, the [[Tom Bawcock's Eve]] festival is held on 23 December in Mousehole. The celebration and memorial to the efforts of Tom Bawcock sees the villagers parading a huge stargazy pie during the evening with a procession of handmade lanterns, before eating the pie itself.<ref name="BBC Tom"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Michael|title=Cornwall from the Coast Path|year=2008|publisher=Alison Hodge Publishers|isbn=978-0-906720-68-4|page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Gourmet Cornwall|year=2005|publisher=Alison Hodge Publishers|isbn=0-906720-39-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swU53UBC1LEC&q=stargazy+pie|author=Trewin, Carol|author2=Woolfitt, Adam |page=16}}</ref>

An older feast, held by the fishermen towards the end of December, included a pie cooked with different fish to represent the variety of catches the men hoped to achieve in the coming year. There is a possibility that Tom Bawcock's Eve is an evolution of this festival.<ref>{{cite book|last=Paston-Williams|first=Sara|title=Fish: Recipes from a Busy Island|year=2006|publisher=[[National Trust Books]]|isbn=1-905400-07-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJoDxN4T-eEC&q=starry+gazey+pie&pg=PA21|access-date=7 January 2011|page=21}}</ref> Since 1963, the festival has been run against the backdrop of the Mousehole village illuminations, where the entire harbour is lit up, along with many other displays.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mousehole village illuminations|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8345000/8345297.stm|access-date=7 January 2011|work=BBC News|date=12 November 2009}}</ref> One set of lights even represents the pie itself, showing fish heads and tails protruding from a pie dish underneath six stars.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mousehole comes to life with light|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/art/artists/mousehole_lights/mousehole_lights.shtml|publisher=BBC|access-date=7 January 2011}}</ref>

There was a rumour that the entire festival was a fabrication by the landlord of The Ship Inn in the 1950s. However, festivities had been recorded by [[Robert Morton Nance|Morton Nance]], an author on the [[Cornish language]], in 1927 in the magazine ''Old Cornwall''. His description was regarding the festivities prior to 1900, though he doubted the reality of Tom Bawcock, suggesting it was in fact "Beau Coc". He also went on to confirm that the origins of the festival dated back to pre-Christian times, though it is unclear at what time the stargazy pie became part of the festivities. Morton Nance went on to restore the traditional song sung on Tom Bawcock's Eve, played to the local tune "wedding March".<ref>{{cite book|title=The folklore of Cornwall|year=1975|publisher=[[Batsford Books|Batsford]]|isbn=0-7134-3037-0|author= Deane, Troy|author2=Shaw, Tony }}</ref>

A legend surrounding stargazy pie, along with the other unusual pies of Cornwall, is that they were the reason that the [[Devil]] never came to Cornwall. In his book ''Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The drolls, traditions, and superstitions of old Cornwall'', a collection of Cornish traditions, [[Robert Hunt (scientist)|Robert Hunt]] explains that the Devil crossed the [[River Tamar]] to [[Torpoint]]. The chapter, entitled "The Devil's Coits, etc", reasons that the Devil discovered the Cornish would put anything in a pie and decided to leave before they took a fancy to a "devilly" pie, returning to [[Devon]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hunt|first=Robert|title=Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The drolls, traditions, and superstitions of old Cornwall|year=1871|location=London|publisher=John Camden Hotten|pages=185–186}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Croxford|first=Bob|title=From Cornwall with love|year=1993|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=0-9521850-0-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JX8yGL1Soi4C&q=pie&pg=PT11}}</ref>

==Recipes==
[[File:Stargazy pie prebake.jpg|thumb|left|Stargazy pie, with sardines looking upwards before it is baked in the oven|alt=A blue ceramic dish containing a stargazy pie, with six fish poking out of a shortcrust pastry lid, looking upwards]]
The original pie in the legend included [[sand eel]]s, [[horse mackerel]], pilchards, [[herring]], [[Scyliorhinus|dogfish]] and [[common ling|ling]] along with a seventh fish. In a traditional pie, the primary ingredient is the [[sardines as food|pilchard (sardine)]], although [[Mackerel as food|mackerel]] or [[Herring as food|herring]] is used as a substitute. Richard Stevenson, chef at The Ship Inn in [[Mousehole]], suggests that any white fish will work for the filling, while pilchards or herring can be added for the presentation. Prior to putting it in the pie the fish should be skinned and boned (except the head and tail) to make it easier to eat. Along with the fish, the other traditional ingredients are thickened [[milk]], eggs and [[potato|boiled potatoes]].<ref name="ship chef">{{cite book|title=Cornish Fishing and Seafood|year=2006|publisher=Alison Hodge Publishers|isbn=0-906720-42-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPnL8Hcix9MC&pg=PA243|author=Trewing, Carol|author2=Woolfitt, Adam|page=243}}</ref>

There are many recipe variations around the traditional ingredients, some of which include [[Boiled egg|hard-boiled eggs]], [[bacon]], [[onion]], [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]] or [[white wine]]. Other alternatives to the main fish can be [[Crayfish as food|crayfish]] and [[rabbit]] or [[mutton]]. The stargazy pie is always topped with a [[pastry]] lid, generally [[shortcrust pastry|shortcrust]] but sometimes [[puff pastry]], through which the fish heads and sometimes tails protrude.<ref name="ship chef"/>

For presentation, one suggestion is that the pilchards be arranged with their tails toward the centre of the pie and their heads poking up through the crust around the edge. As it includes potatoes and pastry, the pie can be served on its own or with crusty bread, sometimes with vegetables. Other suggested accompaniments are Cornish [[Yarg]] cheese, rhubarb chutney, poached eggs or a slice of lemon.<ref name="ship chef"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Stargazy pie|url=http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/food/britainsbestdish/recipes2009/stargazypie/default.html|work=[[Britain's Best Dish]]|publisher=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]|access-date=7 January 2011}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Cornish singer [[Brenda Wootton]] recorded an album ''Starry-Gazey Pie'' with Rob Bartlett in 1975 for Sentinel Records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/5167802-Brenda-Wootton-With-Robert-Bartlett-Starry-Gazey-Pie|title=Brenda Wootton With Robert Bartlett - Starry-Gazey Pie|via=www.discogs.com}}</ref> [[Nancy Kerr]] and [[James Fagan (musician)|James Fagan]] recorded an album and track ''Starry Gazy Pie'' in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mainlynorfolk.info/folk/records/kerrfagan.html|title=Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Kate Fagan, The Fagan Family|website=www.mainlynorfolk.info}}</ref><ref>{{youtube|1W4qfpAhzUQ|Starry Gazy Pie}}</ref> [[The Silver Seas]] recorded an album called ''[[Starry Gazey Pie]]'' in 2004. [[Jim Causley]] references "starry-gazey pie" on the track "My Young Man's a Cornishman" on his 2013 album ''Cyprus Well''. The song comes from a poem by his distant relative [[Charles Causley]] (1917–2003).

Stargazy pie features in the 2004 film ''[[Ladies in Lavender]]''.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Food|Cornwall}}
*[[Culture of Cornwall]]
*[[List of pies, tarts and flans]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/fish-recipe.htm Stargazy pie recipe and image]
*[http://londonfood.typepad.com/stuff/2007/02/some_industriou.html Stargazy pie, description, history, recipe and image]

{{Culture of Cornwall}}
{{British pies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stargazy Pie}}
[[Category:British pies]]
[[Category:British fish dishes]]
[[Category:Cornish cuisine]]
[[Category:Fish dishes]]
[[Category:Mousehole]]
[[Category:Potato dishes]]
[[Category:Savoury pies]]