School dinners
- Thread starter Ian H
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Electric_Andy
Heavy Metal Fan
I loved school dinners, but maybe I'm wearing nostalgia-soaked glasses. Burgers were cheap horrible fatty things but the chips and beans were ok. Can't remember much in the way of vegetables, maybe tinned carrots, peas and sweet corn. Chocolate cake was devine, often served with pink custard or conventional yellow. The mint cake was my favorite, I still make it for my birthday albeit gluten and dairy free.
I had a mate who was a fussy eater and would only eat grated cheese and chips. Oh and the joghurt they mixed with lemonade to make it go further but it always just tasted off.
I had a mate who was a fussy eater and would only eat grated cheese and chips. Oh and the joghurt they mixed with lemonade to make it go further but it always just tasted off.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
You must be younger than me (61) as we never saw burgers chips or beans and definitely no pizzas, chilli, curry and such stuff. Meat (usually in the form of a huge sliced up minced steak pie) and two veg' plus those horrible boiled spuds and that was mainly it.🧐
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Reynard
Guru
The jam or lemon curd tart with a shortcrust base...
If you got the middle, you were laughing.
If you got an edge, you needed to soak things in custard prior to eating.
But if you were unlucky enough to get the corner*, one wrong move putting the spoon in, and the whole bloody thing would go wanging across the dining hall like a frisbee.
*usually the corner was the plum portion as it tended to be the biggest, though not in this case.
If you got the middle, you were laughing.
If you got an edge, you needed to soak things in custard prior to eating.
But if you were unlucky enough to get the corner*, one wrong move putting the spoon in, and the whole bloody thing would go wanging across the dining hall like a frisbee.
*usually the corner was the plum portion as it tended to be the biggest, though not in this case.
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
In my last couple of years at school I took a 'packed lunch' as they call it now, but it's still mostly called a butty box 'up north'!
It saved me having to queue up 15 minutes waiting for a school dinner.
Do they still have those thick paper, cinema type tickets for dinner tickets? 🤔 Silly question I suppose as they probably show 'an app' on their phones these days.
It saved me having to queue up 15 minutes waiting for a school dinner.Do they still have those thick paper, cinema type tickets for dinner tickets? 🤔 Silly question I suppose as they probably show 'an app' on their phones these days.
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Low Gear Guy
Veteran
An app! Keep up at the back.In my last couple of years at school I took a 'packed lunch' as they call it now, but it's still mostly called a butty box 'up north'!
Do they still have those thick paper, cinema type tickets for dinner tickets? 🤔 Silly question I suppose as they probably show 'an app' on their phones these days.
They are using fingerprint readers now.
Julia9054
Legendary Member
Generally, the best thing about school dinners was the puddings. As a teacher - and where I work the dinners are very good - I can confirm that the puddings are still excellent. Who has the time to do proper steamed puddings at home these days?
As someone who also went to school in Lancashire, I can confirm @Accy cyclist recollection of the giant meat pie - though we had ours with lumpy mash.
I also recall the bashed about metal water jugs and that all the water glasses had France stamped on the bottom. This used to puzzle us at primary school as the head dinner lady was called Mrs France
As someone who also went to school in Lancashire, I can confirm @Accy cyclist recollection of the giant meat pie - though we had ours with lumpy mash.
I also recall the bashed about metal water jugs and that all the water glasses had France stamped on the bottom. This used to puzzle us at primary school as the head dinner lady was called Mrs France
Dirk
If 6 Was 9
I used to love school dinners.
My mum was a school dinner lady at my junior school around 1962 - 66. I usually managed extra helpings and quite often we had left over school dinners at home in the evening. I was never underfed!
When I went to grammar school some of the lads would sell on their lunch tickets for half price at a tanner (6d - 2 1/5p) a piece. I quite often had 2 lunches a day at school, got home and had dinner, went out in the evening and bought fish & chips on the way home. Never put on any excessive weight - we were very active back then.
My mum was a school dinner lady at my junior school around 1962 - 66. I usually managed extra helpings and quite often we had left over school dinners at home in the evening. I was never underfed!
When I went to grammar school some of the lads would sell on their lunch tickets for half price at a tanner (6d - 2 1/5p) a piece. I quite often had 2 lunches a day at school, got home and had dinner, went out in the evening and bought fish & chips on the way home. Never put on any excessive weight - we were very active back then.
Dave7
Legendary Member
You were lucky. I was a 50s kid. Now that REALLY was sh*te.
Electric_Andy
Heavy Metal Fan
85-92 so yes I'm a touch younger than you. Now I think of it, we had a huge traybake meat pie that was quite nice. Awful mashed potatoes, and jacket potatoes with margarine that tasted like engine oil
oldwheels
Legendary Member
I liked school dinners. This was mostly during and just after the war so burgers, pizza and that sort of thing had not been invented. We sometimes also had soup I think.
I got well fed at home but I was often up for a second helping. No self service either but since I was skinny in those days I suppose they thought I could do with more feeding.😊
I got well fed at home but I was often up for a second helping. No self service either but since I was skinny in those days I suppose they thought I could do with more feeding.😊
raleighnut
Legendary Member
I used to get 'free food' at school, the dining area at Lutterworth Grammar School was the Hall so the tables and chairs had to be stacked away. A mate who was a year above me put me onto this scam...if you helped the dinnerladies stack them up you got free rein on the uneaten food freeing up the dinnermoney for 10 fags. Sometimes there wasn't much and other times loads left, on one memorable day there were loads of battered fish*.................I had 4 or 5 and then felt quite ill in the afternoon
* not those 'preprocessed' things, proper size Cod fillets.
* not those 'preprocessed' things, proper size Cod fillets.
byegad
Legendary Member
I have two stories about School Meals. Both from my days at the chalk face.
1. We used to get the usual, for the 70s, range of meals. Friday was horrendous, always the same, none too fresh grey fish, steamed. The kids, and us staff, used to refuse having it on the plate. So the Friday pig swill bins were always full, of grey fish. The County got a new Nutritionist.
As I was on the Union Committee liaising with the County on meals. She called a meeting, because she was appalled by the wasted food, particularly on Fridays. We met and one of the rep's, from another Union mentioned the unpalatable fish. She launched into a prepared statement on the nutritional value of including fish in the diet. I'd had enough and and stood up and said, 'The nutritional value of uneaten food is zero.'
To her credit she went away and the menus improved. Which brings me to........
2. The new menus were launched, with weekly published menus, that looked good. One day even had pizza!
Pizza day arrived and the kids excitedly queued up. I was on lunch duty. The doors into the Kitchen opened and the first kids went through holding their plates, on went mashed potato, runny mushy peas and a mini pizza. The dinner lady apologised for their being no gravy, because the nutritionist hadn't included gravy on the menu.
I laughed out loud.
1. We used to get the usual, for the 70s, range of meals. Friday was horrendous, always the same, none too fresh grey fish, steamed. The kids, and us staff, used to refuse having it on the plate. So the Friday pig swill bins were always full, of grey fish. The County got a new Nutritionist.
As I was on the Union Committee liaising with the County on meals. She called a meeting, because she was appalled by the wasted food, particularly on Fridays. We met and one of the rep's, from another Union mentioned the unpalatable fish. She launched into a prepared statement on the nutritional value of including fish in the diet. I'd had enough and and stood up and said, 'The nutritional value of uneaten food is zero.'
To her credit she went away and the menus improved. Which brings me to........
2. The new menus were launched, with weekly published menus, that looked good. One day even had pizza!
Pizza day arrived and the kids excitedly queued up. I was on lunch duty. The doors into the Kitchen opened and the first kids went through holding their plates, on went mashed potato, runny mushy peas and a mini pizza. The dinner lady apologised for their being no gravy, because the nutritionist hadn't included gravy on the menu.
I laughed out loud.
