The story
Banoffee pie was invented at the Hungry Monk, a restaurant in the Sussex village of Jevington, by owner Nigel Mackenzie and chef Ian Dowding in the early 1970s. They adapted an American coffee toffee pie made with condensed milk boiled in its can until it turned to soft toffee, and after trying apples and other fruit they settled on bananas. Mackenzie coined the name 'banoffi'. The recipe appeared in the restaurant's 1974 cookbook and soon spread to menus and supermarkets across Britain. A blue plaque now marks the old restaurant, which closed in 2012.
Also known as banoffi pie, banoffee, banana toffee pie.
On the Meridish menu
Banoffee pie was the dessert course on menu No. 4 on October 4, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Banana and toffee on a biscuit base, invented in the early 1970s at a village restaurant called The Hungry Monk.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- bognor.co.uk/news/county-news-sussex-inventor-of-banoffi-pie-dies-883314
- atlasobscura.com/places/the-birthplace-of-banoffi-pie-england
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banoffee_pie
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
