Eating since the 1980s

Over the last 20 years the variety of food available to consumers has increased dramatically and as a result our eating habits have changed.
While to look back the changes may seem dramatic, the transition has been relatively gradual. Cultural factors also had a significant impact on why people began to eat in different ways.

For a start, there was a growth in the number of women who worked outside the home and with mothers of young children going out to earn a wage they had to find ways of putting food on the table that did not involve slaving over a hot stove after a hard day's work.

However, things were not all about down-sizing in the kitchen during this period of change. TV chefs like Madhur Jaffrey were encouraging viewers to stock up their our spice racks with exotic flavours.

Furthermore, during this period of culinary enlightenment people became more health conscious and it was during the 1980s that pasta took off. High in carbohydrates but low in fat, people loved that it was a good source of energy.

But it was not all good news. With the invention of the microwave came five-minute food, which in turn facilitated the rise of the processed food industry, better known as ready meals. With hot meals at our fingertips in three minutes, some saw the 80s as the decade of the demise of delicate nouvelle cuisine.

During this period supermarkets began selling an ever-increasing range of ready-cooked frozen meals, which eased the pressure on hard working families.

Marks & Spencer was a pioneer in this sector, introducing cook-chill technology, which made it possible to buy fresh dishes in the supermarket and reheat them at home.

As consumers were given more choice in the way they cooked and stored food they were also presented with a wider range of products to buy.
Sainsbury's product range increased from 7,000 in 1980 to 17,000 in 1993 and as a result supermarkets became larger in size. As this happened, they swallowed up smaller companies around the country, sounding the death knell for local grocers as a staple part of British life, leaving these retailers to assume a more niche position.

It was at this time that people began to buy ready-made sandwiches from supermarkets and Marks & Spencer started to sell its now much-loved range. Essentially, supermarkets were also transforming themselves into fast-food outlets.