School dinners

[Richard1978]

Re: School dinners

One of the primary's I went to in the 1980s had s ploughmans lunch as an option once a week, but you had to put your name down for them.

I never did because it's not the sort of thing I like.

[Arran]

Re: School dinners

One of the primary's I went to in the 1980s had s ploughmans lunch as an option once a week, but you had to put your name down for them.

Interesting...

My mother suspected that there was some legislation or LEA policy back in the 1970s that all food had to be served above ambient temperature because her school would always serve hot meals even on stifling hot summer days. This would explain the absence of salad. Another possible explanation was the tendency for salads in the 1970s to be a work of knife art so were viewed as adult food to be served at buffets or parties rather than to kids at school.

[Pinney68]

Re: School dinners

At my primary school in the 70's, if you were vegetarian or allergic to any food, the option was to bring in sandwiches - that was it.
We used to have salad once a week and it had grated carrot, cubes of beetroot, wilted lettuce, raw, sliced mushrooms and half a tomato. I've never eaten salad since!

[zabadak]

Re: School dinners

Lumpy spuds!!!

[darren]

Re: School dinners

Sounds nice to me.

We often had roast spuds and normal spuds champ yummy stuff.

Wed have chips once a week if i remember right sometimes cauliflower.

Spuds and beans as well.

Definitely my prmary school dinners where fsr better than secondary school.

But at my last school we had a well known chef doing the dinners.

at my primary school in the 70's, if you were vegetarian or allergic to any food, the option was to bring in sandwiches - that was it.
We used to have salad once a week and it had grated carrot, cubes of beetroot, wilted lettuce, raw, sliced mushrooms and half a tomato. I've never eaten salad since!

[zabadak]

Re: School dinners

Mash with hard grey bits...

[Arran]

Re: School dinners

At my primary school in the 70's, if you were vegetarian or allergic to any food, the option was to bring in sandwiches - that was it.

It was before my time but I'm somewhat aware of conflicts over school dinners erupting in several towns during the early 1980s as a result of Maggie Thatcher's swingeing cutbacks. A certain faction, mostly consisting of British people who's kids had no special dietary requirements, who campaigned for and defended the provision of traditional school dinners clashed with another faction, mostly consisting of vegetarians or kids with religious or other complex dietary requirements, who were pleased to see the traditional largely meat based school dinners go. In some towns there was a low take up of free school dinners by kids who were eligible because a high proportion had religious dietary requirements that could not be met, and they shared much of the blame if LEAs decided to axe traditional school dinner services. Quite a few people have informed me that Thatcher's cutbacks actually paved the way towards schools offering a vegetarian option and special diets this side of 1990.

[Richard1978]

Re: School dinners

Some lucky pupils at the first primary I went to were allowed to go home for dinner due to dietry reasons, I tryed asking for my Mum to do this but was refused!

My 2nd primary was a lot more modern, with choices most days if you weren't the last class called in.

Hot half Scotch eggs were nice, but went with the samonella scare in 1988/9.

[marc]

Re: School dinners

When did primary schools start serving salad? My mother cannot recall salad once being served when she was in primary back in the 1970s but it was regularly available at my primary school in the 1990s?

Was there a vegetarian option available or special diets catered for in the 1970s and 80s because nobody seems to have mentioned these anywhere on the internet yet they are a defining feature of school dinners after 1990.

I remember salad being served for dinner in the infants school, 1970/1. There was always potatoes with it. Cucumber slice with its skin still on. Beetroot diced into small pieces. There was the obligatory joke, by some fool, that if you found a slug in the lettuce, you would turn into one the following day!!

[darren]

Re: School dinners

I did sometimes go to my aunts for dinner as she lived so close.
You say u had 2 primary schools i guess u must have moved house at some time.

Which primary school had better food.
More choice does not always mean better food tho.

Cant complain my primary school always had nice food roast spuds and normal spuds cauliflower turnip etc.
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some lucky pupils at the first primary i went to were allowed to go home for dinner due to dietry reasons, i tryed asking for my mum to do this but was refused!

My 2nd primary was a lot more modern, with choices most days if you weren't the last class called in.

Hot half scotch eggs were nice, but went with the samonella scare in 1988/9.

[Trickyvee]

Re: School dinners

When did primary schools start serving salad? My mother cannot recall salad once being served when she was in primary back in the 1970s but it was regularly available at my primary school in the 1990s?

Was there a vegetarian option available or special diets catered for in the 1970s and 80s because nobody seems to have mentioned these anywhere on the internet yet they are a defining feature of school dinners after 1990.

i can't remember having salads per se, but we were served 'cold' meals on occasion. It would be something like a slice of cold meat and there was always shredded beetroot with it. Unfortunately I can't remember what else made up the meal. I'm assuming something salady.

[Arran]

Re: School dinners

I cannot once recall my school serving liver or any other offal.

Out of interest, would anybody object to their own kids eating halal meat at school? The meat served by an inceasing number of schools nowadays is halal but there has been opposition from non-Muslims.

[Big Tim]

Re: School dinners

At my primary school, I remember that there was not a choice (unless you had registered as a vegetarian), and whatever was on the menu that day was your only option, and you had to have it. On the whole, the food was pretty much ok, the puddings were nearly always the highlight - I don't seem to recall too many dodgy milk puddings, but definitely remember pink / mint / chocolate custard (each table of 8 got a steel jug, some people would almost fight over the skin, whilst others avoided it like the plague).

I remember on a Monday morning, we had to take our "dinner money" to be counted and recorded by our class teacher each week. I think it was around about £1.15 or something back in 1988/89. Around about this time, there was a big campaign on dental health - our school used to serve bowls of cheese or carrot slices AFTER dessert - the idea being this would clean or freshen up your teeth after eating. I don't know if this was only the case in York/North Yorkshire, or if it was a nationwide drive. It was fronted up by a character called "Herbie The Carrot"!

Secondary school was a canteen affair - buy and spend whatever you like. With 1500 pupils, there was a big dining room, and plenty of choice. However, during my time there, (1991 - 1996), many chose to go out to the local chippy/shops to eat. I believe this was banned after I left, and only those who had parental permission to leave the school grounds to eat at home were allowed to leave the school grounds.

[Arran]

Re: School dinners

Pink custard is made with cornflour. Custard powder is cornflour with a yellow colouring and a vanilla flavouring.

Did your school ever make trifles for desert?

[Jedi Knight]

Re: School dinners

Some classics here. My School dinners were in the 80's so...

Domes of mash because it was served with an ice-cream scoop, and everything the food was stored in or served from were like an army mess tin (but much bigger).

Sponge pudding (the one with the strawberry jam and desiccated coconut on top) and custard, aluminium jugs of water served into emerald-green plastic cups. Those odd half-tables which made one large hexagonal table when two were joined together.

Banana tart, chocolate tart, horrible boiled cabbage, that strange pie type thing that tasted a bit like bacon inside it but you were never quite sure?

Massive trays of pie or sponge cake basically cut crosswise both ways, and you would be served a "square" of it.

Good times