Stargazy pie 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. The original pie in the legend included sand eels, horse mackerel, pilchards, herring, dogfish and ling along with a seventh fish. In a traditional pie, the primary ingredient is the pilchard (sardine), although mackerel or herring is used as a substitute. Richard Stevenson, chef at The Ship Inn in Mousehole, suggests that any
Fish pie mashed potatoes (sometimes with cheese or vegetables such as onions and leeks added) is used to cover the fish during baking. The dish is sometimes referred to as "fisherman's pie" because the topping is similar to that of shepherd's pie, in that it uses mashed potatoes. The royal seafood tradition of England started in the time of Henry I, crowned in 1100, when cooks rolled crust over an annual Christmas lamprey pie. A separate tradition of Lenten fish pie required Yarmouth cooks to send the king two dozen pies containing 100 herrings. The customary gifts of fish in crust prevailed