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It would be easy to imagine that in the past pubs were serving nutritious, home-cooked food. Not like the pre-prepared muck sold in today's pub chains. Well, you'd be very disappointed.

Advances in food technology in the 1960s were taking the pain out of pub catering. The aim seemingly to remove all actual cooking from the process. It all sounds wonderful.
Basic essentials. An essential consideration is cost that doesn't add value — cost of marketing, preparation, wastage and cooking. To which may be added possible overwork for a licensee's wife or, if the call for food is high, the problems associated with a kitchen staff. Fortunately, advances in food processing by forward-looking manufacturers have eliminated all previous barriers to pub meals. There are now no foods that cannot be obtained in oven-ready and convenience pack form-from snacks to full haute cuisine meals.These prepared foods may be in chilled or deep-frozen form, accelerated freeze or air dried, canned and otherwise packaged: in convenience packs properly apportioned to suit the formula of the meal and the number of persons served. Preparation is simple and quick. Explanatory instructions are given by the manufacturers who also are only too pleased to render assistance in the planning of meals.Of equal importance is minimal kitchen equipment. Basic requirements are for a low temperature storage cabinet; a refrigerator for short-term storage of perishable foods; a cooker with boiling rings, a micro-wave oven, a deep fat frier; equipment for hot snacks; a washing and drying machine. Some of these must be available, whilst others are needed according to the products handled.
Brewers' Guardian, Volume 99, May 1970, page 58.
Note the assumption that the landlord's wife would have to do the cooking. A bit of casual sexism for you there.


Quite a bit of kit was still needed. Though no more than you would find in most kitchens today. Not sure why they called a freezer a "low temperature storage cabinet". Because I'm certain that's what they meant.

What sort of food was being prepared? A full three-course meal could be assembled from processed foods. With no processing more complicated than boiling water required.
There are 15 flavours in the Heinz-Erin range of air-dried soups, including all the favourites. They are simply added to the water, brought to the boil and simmered for 15 to 20 minutes with an occasional stir. The equipment needed is a gas or electric range for preparation service bain-marie on the counter for service.For main-courses, Heinz-Erin market five casserole-type dishes in ten-portion packs. They are smoked fish, vegetable and prawn curry, chicken curry, savoury beef with vegetables and beef curry. Preparation of each is the same as for the soup mixes, as is also keeping in a bain-marie for service. Each may be served with Heinz-Erin patna rice and one of the vegetables from this concern’s range of air-dried or canned vegetables.Also produced is the means for making Pizza pie, unique by virtue of the fact that for the first time this attractive snack may be prepared quickly and economically from a packet. The product is a complete pizza pie containing tomatoes, anchovies, capers, oragana, herbs and spices. Tailored to suit the British palate, this full savoury is ready to eat in twenty minutes. Each carton contains a can of pizza sauce and a sachet of powdered dough mix.
Brewers' Guardian, Volume 99, May 1970, page 60.
Tinned and packet food. That's exactly what I want when I go out for a meal. "Tailored to suit the British palate" doesn't bode well for the authenticity of the pizza.
There was another big reason pubs would go for this approach. In addition to the convenience. Cost.
Economics are indicated by typical menus taken from the Heinz catering range. A snack comprising a bowl of soup, slice of Pizza pie and coffee has a selling price of about 4s. 9d., for a materials cost of approximately 1s. 7d. A light meal comprising a bowl of soup or fruit juice, a casserole type dish served with rice and one vegetable, and coffee could sell at a minimum price of 6s. 9d. The materials cost here is approximately 2s. 8d. Labour and heating costs are not accounted, but these should not make great inroads into the high margin of profit available.
Brewers' Guardian, Volume 99, May 1970, page 60.
Those are huge markups: 19d (1s. 7d.) to 57d (4s. 9d) and 32d (2s. 8d.) to 81d (6s. 9d.). Which must have been very attractive to a landlord. AS well as the lack of cooking needed.



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