The New Dawn of British Gastronomy

Although we are beginning to learn that food produced in its most natural state is not only more healthy, but tastes better, it does not lead to an automatic connection between the progress of the domestic larder and the advance of an eating-out culture in Britain. Historical hang-ups aside, a major part of the problem is price because good eating out in this country is still beyond the reach of most people. It is a situation which is both tragic and unnecessary. Outside the home, cheap eating means mostly fast food, and most fast foods are unnourishing, technologically reprocessed junk yards which have devastated the palates of a predominantly young and impressionable mass market. Tastes acquired in youth affect our attitudes to food, if not for life, for a very long time unless we are fortunate enough to be weaned off a bad habit or preconception. I hated school food – dishes such as steak and kidney pie and bread and butter pudding revolted me. It took me 15 years to learn just how good these dishes were when they were cooked properly. How much more difficult is it, therefore, if a young person likes junk food, to be persuaded to pay the same or a little more for the pleasure of honest-to-goodness fresh food?