[Food] What was your favourite school dinner?

[Dick Swiveller]

Surprised no-one has mentioned this.



Not had the, err, pleasure myself (can't imagine anything worse tbh) but a seedy middle aged guy in our local in the early 90s used to regale us with stories of his trips. Basically a London restaurant where you are served school dinners by women dressed as school girls. I am fairly sure spanking was involved as well. Always thought he was seedy then but looking back now, I would be surprised if he wasn't on some kind of register at some stage. Travelling salesman who leered after girls 30+ years his junior - what is the worst that could have happened?

 

[m@goo]

I’m not sure what it was called, but the chicken in white sauce with bits of toast on the top was my favourite.

Wasn't that Chicken Supreme? Good shout.

Also I just loved school chips. Thin and soggy from the beans. With fish fingers ideally...

I was more of a puddings man anyway. Butterscotch tart, cornflake tart. My mum used to be a dinner lady in the 80's so often she'd bring home left overs

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

And. . . . back on topic....

Toad in the hole, gravy, beans and mash, followed by spotted dick and custard at HGSB in 1974.

 

[zefarelly]

Fish Fingers, Chips and Baked Beans, it was during one of these meals I was introduced to the concept of salad cream on chips in 1980, and the rest they say is history, obviously I’ve upgraded to mayo now.

Good call . . .I still indulge in a fish finger sandwich with salad cream from time to time, a triple decker (10 fish fingers) and a fried egg or two is a culinary treat to behold.

 

[Bakero]

I don't remember a favourite but do recall an extraordinary array of multicoloured custards being served up at primary school. In particular a greenish yellow one that tasted faintly of soap.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I don't remember a favourite but do recall an extraordinary array of multicoloured custards being served up at primary school. In particular a greenish yellow one that tasted faintly of soap.

The custard at HCGFG was disgusting. I'm not sure how they made it, maybe with sterilised milk, but it had a horrible tang to it, that ruined any pudding it was added to,

 

[Cpt. Spavil]

When I was 6 or 7 it was chocolate cake with chocolate custard.

I am the same, it always looked really nice

 

[Chicken Run]

When I was 6 or 7 it was chocolate cake with chocolate custard.

When I was 15 it was ten B&H

When you were 48 it was painful chest infection and long term cough. [emoji23]

 

[Chicken Run]

Good call . . .I still indulge in a fish finger sandwich with salad cream from time to time, a triple decker (10 fish fingers) and a fried egg or two is a culinary treat to behold.

Stop it I’m starving

 

[Uh_huh_him]

As mentioned above Spam Fritters were delicious.
But toad in the hole was probably my favourite.



off topic, At Thomas a Beckett circa 1976. Miss Andrews (head dinner lady) was the most fearsome human being I have ever met. Her trademark growl of "Boy!" or "Girl!" brought the whole dinner hall out in a cold sweat.

 

[Guinness Boy]

When you were 48 it was painful chest infection and long term cough. [emoji23]

I'm glad you find that hilarious. Any other Covid victims you want to take the piss out of or is it just me?

 

[fly high]

Sussex Pond & custard, loved it.

 

[zefarelly]

Stop it I’m starving

Sorry, me too. 92 minutes until lunch . . .not that I'm counting

I absolutely love toad in the hole and mash potato . . . . I don't remember TiH at school, but they used to serve mash with one of those ice cream scoops with a little geared lever on the side to release it, I was always fascinated by that.

you'd never guess I'm an engineer.

 

[Mr H]

Béchamel Moussaka

 

[Barrow Boy]

In the 1950's - none! It was awful 'food' that you had to sit and eat before being allowed to leave the canteen. 60+ years later I still cannot stomach swede, turnip, parsnip or beetroot.

Sounds like you dipped out at your school, my experience was the exact opposite, the school dinners I had at my Infants/Junior school between 1958 to 1964 were fantastic. When I look at what kids are offered these days it makes me realise how good they really were. Mum was an excellent cook and having lived through the War was so good at conjuring up great food with next to nothing, but I never told her I used to eat food at school which I would flatly refuse to eat at home.
We used to get mashed swede but don't ever remember getting turnips or parsnips and we only ever got beetroot cold and with a salad.
Here are some of the things I remember,

Roast dinners (with either Beef, Pork, Lamb, Ham, chicken)
Lancashire Hotpot
Cheese Pie
Steak Pie
Fish & Chips (chips were a treat, we didn't get them often)
Liver & Bacon
Beef Stew with dumplings
Fish Fingers
Cold meat salad in the summer
Steak & Kidney pudding
Toad in the hole
Vegetables included, Roast/boiled/mashed potatoes (chips were a treat), cabbage, peas, carrots, swede, sprouts, cauliflower, tinned tomatoes

Chocolate sponge pudding with Chocolate custard
Treacle sponge pudding with custard
Apple pie
Semolina with Jam
Rice pudding with prunes or Apricots
Tapioca with jam or prunes
Tinned peaches with custard
Coconut & Jam sponge with pink custard
Spotted dick with (you guessed it, custard)

As you can see, custard featured heavily but the puddings were great.
It's making me hungry listing all this!


Senior school wasn't quite as good but still not bad.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Happy memories of school dinners at Lancing College in the 80s.

Started with Ken Shearwood’s menu prediction of Prawn Cocktail, Fillet Steak, etc during a morning lesson (after sending a boy to collect some copies of “Whistle The Wind” from his Lamborghini...[emoji23]).

Less happy memories of Aldrington C of E in the 70s. Mainly disgusting fare and being forced to finish it. Rice pudding was the worst - torture only relieved by realisation that it could be tipped down the back of a radiator... (sorry to whoever cleaned it up).

 

[Dick Swiveller]

When you were 48 it was painful chest infection and long term cough. [emoji23]

You really are thoroughly unpleasant, aren't you?

 

[Chickenlittle]

I went to grammar school in Kent, so Gypsy Tart, Gypsy Tart and Gypsy Tart all the way.

Basically brown sugar, evaporated milk and more brown sugar whipped up into a cream and baked in pastry. It can probably make all your teeth fall out from 50 paces, but when you are 12 with a sweet tooth it was the best thing ever.


Strangely not that many people outside of Kent seem to know of it.

Mmmm, me too....you’re probably right about the tooth rot but absolutely LOVED Gypsy tart!





Which school? Was it Mick Jagger’s alma mater?

 

[AlastairWatts]

In the 1950's - none! It was awful 'food' that you had to sit and eat before being allowed to leave the canteen. 60+ years later I still cannot stomach swede, turnip, parsnip or beetroot.

Yup, me too. The food at the boarding school I attended from '56 was nauseating. At one stage the pupils thretended to strike in protest, but this was defused by an offer of (overcooked) boiled eggs on Sundays. Worst of all was some kind of pink custard which wasn't custard and tasted of cheap bubblegum. Their catering staff were nearly all ex-Polish military who, not unreasonably, decided not to return to Poland (and who could blame them for that) but who clearly had left their culinary skills on a battlefield somewhere.

Funnily enough I returned for a reunion a couple of years back (another one crossed off the bucket list!) and was treated to an excellent lunch. But then the world's changed..

Delving even deeper into my fading memory I seem to remember that the lunches at Hove College, which was by the King Alfred, were pretty good. It is over 65 years since I was a pupil there but I only have happy memories of the place.

 

[studio150]

The term or so that the kitchens were being refurbished, so it was sandwiches and fruit pie