A peek behind the curtain of London's Eel, Pie and Mash shops with Stuart Freedman

Against the backdrop of a constantly changing East London, documentary photographer and AP regular Stuart Freedman has been undertaking a passion project – capturing the traditional eel, pie and mash shops that he grew up with in something of a photographic love-letter.

“I grew up in East London in the 1970s, then a byword for poverty now a metaphor for gentrification,” Stuart explains. “The streets then were navigated by pubs, rough, cheap cafes – and eel, pie and mash shops. I’ve spent much of my 25 year career working in the developing world, and these places are a portal back to my own past… a way of examining the change that has taken place to the culture that I left.”

Stuart is now raising funds to publish the book based on the project, and we will be featuring him in AP soon. Make sure to check out his Kickstarter campaign and donate!