Lancashire Hotpot - Cultural References

Cultural References

• Coronation Street character Betty Turpin (portrayed by Betty Driver) was famous for her version of the dish which was served in the fictional Rovers Return Inn. A frozen food range has been endorsed by Betty. In 2008, British food retailer Tesco called Lancashire hotpot one of the most endangered recipes in British cuisine.
• It is available as a meal in the 24-hour field ration pack used by the British Army.
• The dish is referred to in the Wallace and Gromit film A Grand Day Out: "Hold tight, lad, and think of Lancashire hotpot!"
• It is also referred to in the Michael Caine film Alfie about one of his "birds" who can cook, but her only dishes are "Lancashire hotpot and steak and kidney pie."
• In Dean Spanley, Peter O'Toole's character (Horatio Fisk) persistently requests hotpot for dinner, to the chagrin of his housekeeper.
• In Jeffrey Archer's novel First Among Equals, the character Joyce Gould cooks herself a Lancashire hotpot "but only pick at it" while waiting to hear the outcome of an important committee vote.
• The 1958 novel "Runway Zero-Eight" by Arthur Hailey and John Castle includes a British character, a passenger on the flight, who goes by the nickname "'Otpot", which he explains is a reference to "Lancashire 'Otpot".