I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT BRITISH RESTAURANT FOR AGES! By price caps the cost for a meal was less than £2 in modern money, and that would be meat + two veg. What I think would be a good way to modernise them is to work with local food vendors to see what can be done on a similar concept - a very limited menu, but a meat + two veg capabilities.
Also the last British Restaurant closed in the early 70s because it was council by council. It wasn't just through war time.
My other suggestion is nationalise oddbox and riverford, by that I mean a system of working with farmers and ensuring there's less food waste by providing good quality food boxes to everyone without means testing. Much like how the health of the population was improved by rationing giving equal access to vegetables I think that we can do the same with vegetable boxes, or another method of giving everyone vegetables which bypasses the shops.
Possible interesting effects: more follow along recipes, more knowledge of seasonal harvests, big astroturf pushback from supermarkets 'big government wants to give you rotten cabbage', could also tie in allotments (too many courgettes problem etc), good for reducing food miles?, retrain deliveroo drivers for more stable position?, fairier prices for farmers?
As a person working in the public sector always ruminating on ideas for London centric food policy ideas, this is the most enjoyable read, for me personally, in a while! I will for sure be looking to contact some of the writers - well done Vittles team! 🫶
I believe food in our country and life in general could be improved by instigating a national society for people of every age, gender, means and background, in which they might share and express a love of food and cooking.
I envisage something along the lines of the society which exists for gardeners, the Royal Horticultural Society. An organisation which enables hundreds of thousands to actively share their enthusiasm.
It could increase knowledge, skill, health and sheer enjoyment if cooks came together and did some more social.
Local branches might takeover a closed pub.
As ideas for the National Food Society occur to me I post them on my Instagram account, @thecookeryclub25, and try to gather support for the idea.
I’m not saying this would be easy, but nor do I think it would be impossible.
Seems strange that nobody has proposed a revival of the British Restaurant model before now. It might be expensive and complicated as a practical strategy, but it's an infinitely better one than outsourcing food policy to Jamie Oliver.
"we need a curriculum of death, which unearths dying as part of the experience of living fully; which helps young people understand what it means to kill animals in order to eat them"
Absolutely this. I can't help but think the Disneyfication of animals, farmed or otherwise, has distorted perceptions about the morality and acceptability of death. And I don't think it's unfair to say these distortions has largely informed the vegan movement, however well meaning
This is a really depressing read. We know what happens when government takes an increased role in food production and distribution. Prices rise, and the poorest suffer.
Though on the upside there are, by a strange coincidence, lots of jobs created for the kind of people who have written these suggestions.
Rent caps! If we didn’t spend such a stupid amount on housing we might be more prepared to pay what good food actually costs
I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT BRITISH RESTAURANT FOR AGES! By price caps the cost for a meal was less than £2 in modern money, and that would be meat + two veg. What I think would be a good way to modernise them is to work with local food vendors to see what can be done on a similar concept - a very limited menu, but a meat + two veg capabilities.
Also the last British Restaurant closed in the early 70s because it was council by council. It wasn't just through war time.
My other suggestion is nationalise oddbox and riverford, by that I mean a system of working with farmers and ensuring there's less food waste by providing good quality food boxes to everyone without means testing. Much like how the health of the population was improved by rationing giving equal access to vegetables I think that we can do the same with vegetable boxes, or another method of giving everyone vegetables which bypasses the shops.
Possible interesting effects: more follow along recipes, more knowledge of seasonal harvests, big astroturf pushback from supermarkets 'big government wants to give you rotten cabbage', could also tie in allotments (too many courgettes problem etc), good for reducing food miles?, retrain deliveroo drivers for more stable position?, fairier prices for farmers?
As a person working in the public sector always ruminating on ideas for London centric food policy ideas, this is the most enjoyable read, for me personally, in a while! I will for sure be looking to contact some of the writers - well done Vittles team! 🫶
I have a comment.
I believe food in our country and life in general could be improved by instigating a national society for people of every age, gender, means and background, in which they might share and express a love of food and cooking.
I envisage something along the lines of the society which exists for gardeners, the Royal Horticultural Society. An organisation which enables hundreds of thousands to actively share their enthusiasm.
It could increase knowledge, skill, health and sheer enjoyment if cooks came together and did some more social.
Local branches might takeover a closed pub.
As ideas for the National Food Society occur to me I post them on my Instagram account, @thecookeryclub25, and try to gather support for the idea.
I’m not saying this would be easy, but nor do I think it would be impossible.
Mary Gibson
Seems strange that nobody has proposed a revival of the British Restaurant model before now. It might be expensive and complicated as a practical strategy, but it's an infinitely better one than outsourcing food policy to Jamie Oliver.
That's a great list of asks!
"we need a curriculum of death, which unearths dying as part of the experience of living fully; which helps young people understand what it means to kill animals in order to eat them"
Absolutely this. I can't help but think the Disneyfication of animals, farmed or otherwise, has distorted perceptions about the morality and acceptability of death. And I don't think it's unfair to say these distortions has largely informed the vegan movement, however well meaning
This is a really depressing read. We know what happens when government takes an increased role in food production and distribution. Prices rise, and the poorest suffer.
Though on the upside there are, by a strange coincidence, lots of jobs created for the kind of people who have written these suggestions.