PAUL KONCHESKY was capped by England and played nearly 350 Premier League games for Liverpool, West Ham, Charlton, Fulham and Tottenham.
Yet on a grey Tuesday in Brentwood, the now-West Ham women's manager sat in one of Essex’s finest pie ‘n’ mash shops and told SunSport of his love for the East End delicacy.
The Dagenham boy has actually owned ‘Konch’s Kafe’ for seven years and his mum Carol runs it with aplomb.
With its rave reviews and four-and-a-half Tripadvisor stars, SunSport had to go down and check it out.
We arrived to find the walls adorned with memorabilia and memories from Konchesky’s decorated career.
A signed Pablo Fornals shirt takes pride of place alongside a ‘Konchesky 3’ jersey from West Ham’s famous run to the 2006 FA Cup final – a defeat to Liverpool in which the former skinhead put his beloved Hammers 3-2 up before missing a penalty in the shootout.
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And the opposite wall features shots of the friendly EastEnder posing alongside his childhood heroes Julian Dicks and Paolo Di Canio.
When we arrived, Carol and her friendly staff were beavering away in the open plan kitchen preparing mountains of pies for the roomful of Sun-reading regulars.
And after helping his mum dish out SunSport’s steaming portions of single beef and onion pie, single mash and liquor (cameraman Kieran Benn had gravy instead – much to the whole Kafe’s disgust), this is what the twice-capped England left-back had to say…
“When I first took over the Kafe I used to always pop in but now I am a manager it’s harder.
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“But I come in when I can to see my mum and the customers.
“I don’t really like to too much though as mum gets me working which I do NOT like.
“I was in here last week and it was busy so she wanted me to start serving stuff to the tables which isn’t my game.
“But pie ‘n’ mash used to be my diet!
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“I went to Eastbrook School in Dagenham and there was a pie ‘n’ mash shop round the corner called The Brook.
“I used to have it every other day at school. I was about 15 and I was playing then but luckily I used to burn it off.
“My normal order is double pie, double mash and liquor. But I have to have loads of salt and pepper and chilli vinegar.
“I love it.
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“My mum used to work in catering so towards the back end of my career it became something I wanted to get into.
“I took it over so mum could run her own business and not have to work for somebody else. It keeps it in the family and it’s what she’s good at.”
SunSport ratings:
SERVICE: 5 STARS (Out of 5). Our server delivered our lunch with astonishing accuracy and also happened to have two England caps and nearly 350 Premier League appearances. The manager Carol was chatty and welcoming and remained down to earth despite revealing she once had dinner with David Beckham!
FOOD: 5 STARS. The pies were cooked to perfection, crusty on the outside, well filled and piping hot on the inside. The mashed potatoes were light and the liquor the perfect temperature and consistency. SunSport camera man Kieran Benn (born in Bristol, not London!) had gravy instead of liquor which he insisted was much nicer.
VALUE: 5 STARS. A top drawer hearty lunch and a drink for less than a tenner. Plus the staff have some amazing stories about playing on football’s biggest stage.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE: 5 STARS.
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