1990s

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0:00:03 > 0:00:04Meet the Robshaws...

0:00:04 > 0:00:08Brandon, Rochelle, Miranda, Roz and Fred.

0:00:11 > 0:00:12Let's go!

0:00:12 > 0:00:14For one summer, this food-loving family

0:00:14 > 0:00:18is embarking on an extraordinary, time-travelling adventure,

0:00:18 > 0:00:21to discover how a post-war revolution in what we eat

0:00:21 > 0:00:23has transformed the way we live.

0:00:25 > 0:00:28That is just amazing. Look at them!

0:00:28 > 0:00:30Britain has gone from meagre rations

0:00:30 > 0:00:32to ready meals at the touch of a button in just 50 years.

0:00:32 > 0:00:34Blub, blub, blub, blub, blub.

0:00:34 > 0:00:36But how has this changed our health...

0:00:36 > 0:00:38We've got a pull-out larder!

0:00:38 > 0:00:40..our homes and our family dynamics?

0:00:40 > 0:00:43Can't do it any more. This is what would make a woman break.

0:00:44 > 0:00:48To find out, the Robshaws are going to shop, cook and eat

0:00:48 > 0:00:49their way through history.

0:00:49 > 0:00:52It's 1974.

0:00:52 > 0:00:53Whoa!

0:00:55 > 0:00:58- I think that is enough sugar now. - No, I haven't put hardly any on!

0:00:58 > 0:01:02Starting in 1950, their own home will be their time machine...

0:01:02 > 0:01:04Oh, my goodness!

0:01:05 > 0:01:07This carpet hurts my eyes. Who designed that?

0:01:07 > 0:01:10Somebody who was colour-blind.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13..fast-forwarding them through a new year every day,

0:01:13 > 0:01:15as they experience first-hand

0:01:15 > 0:01:19the culinary fads, fashions and gadgets of each age.

0:01:19 > 0:01:20GADGET WHIRS

0:01:22 > 0:01:26Over that time, they've seen a total transformation in their diet.

0:01:27 > 0:01:31From the austere '50s to the space-age '60s,

0:01:31 > 0:01:34synthetic '70s and time-pressured '80s.

0:01:34 > 0:01:35I'd never do it again.

0:01:35 > 0:01:38This week, the Robshaws enter the '90s,

0:01:38 > 0:01:41a decade of cheap and plentiful food...

0:01:41 > 0:01:43There's all different varieties of cheese. It's a wall of cheese.

0:01:43 > 0:01:46The Great Wall of Cheese. It's probably visible from space.

0:01:46 > 0:01:47..with the nasty aftertaste.

0:01:47 > 0:01:51- Is that beef we're eating? - Yeah. Bit of a gamble, isn't it?

0:02:01 > 0:02:05It's the final stage of our time-travelling experiment

0:02:05 > 0:02:07and to set the scene for 1990,

0:02:07 > 0:02:09we've transformed the Robshaws' brash '80s house

0:02:09 > 0:02:12into a vision of calm tranquillity,

0:02:12 > 0:02:14with a lick of magnolia paint, feature wall

0:02:14 > 0:02:16and the ubiquitous potpourri.

0:02:20 > 0:02:24In the kitchen, the arrival of warm wood, nostalgic details and a sofa

0:02:24 > 0:02:27mark the transition from dining to living room.

0:02:29 > 0:02:32Food historian Dr Polly Russell and I are back

0:02:32 > 0:02:35to see what the '90s has in store for the Robshaws.

0:02:36 > 0:02:39- Wow, it's quite nice. - It is, isn't it?

0:02:39 > 0:02:41It's definitely an improvement on the 1980s

0:02:41 > 0:02:45and the sofa, much more casual than they were in the decades before.

0:02:45 > 0:02:49- Really ramming home the message about it's a family room.- Yeah.

0:02:49 > 0:02:51They can all sit and watch Rochelle cooking,

0:02:51 > 0:02:53because it was the decade when people watched people cooking

0:02:53 > 0:02:55more than they actually cooked.

0:02:55 > 0:02:56Let's see what's in the fridge.

0:02:56 > 0:02:58Wow, the abundance of food.

0:02:58 > 0:03:01Just a huge, huge amount and it's not directed towards particularly

0:03:01 > 0:03:03making some amazing meals.

0:03:03 > 0:03:06You could go in here and just pull your lunch out of it at any time.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09It's a huge contrast to the sparseness they began with.

0:03:09 > 0:03:11Which means, following the experiment's rules

0:03:11 > 0:03:13to eat only food available at the time,

0:03:13 > 0:03:15shouldn't be a problem for the Robshaws.

0:03:15 > 0:03:18They've got more vegetables than there have been salad things before,

0:03:18 > 0:03:20but all semi-prepped.

0:03:20 > 0:03:23This is sort of food for people who are time-poor.

0:03:23 > 0:03:26And when you think about the amount of food that's in this kitchen,

0:03:26 > 0:03:29you know, you've got a good supply for a week or two.

0:03:29 > 0:03:32And as I shut the fridge, it disappears.

0:03:32 > 0:03:34- Everything's integrated. - Yeah, the appliances have all gone.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37Whereas, before, they were always on display.

0:03:37 > 0:03:39They were something of significance.

0:03:39 > 0:03:42But once everybody's got a fridge, once everybody's got a microwave,

0:03:42 > 0:03:43it doesn't become something to...

0:03:43 > 0:03:45The chance of someone going,

0:03:45 > 0:03:48"My, the Robshaws have got a fridge!" is quite small.

0:03:50 > 0:03:52I've been using the National Food Survey

0:03:52 > 0:03:56to guide the Robshaws' diet during their time-travelling experience.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59Every year, from 1940 to 1999,

0:03:59 > 0:04:02thousands of households diligently noted the food they bought

0:04:02 > 0:04:04and the meals they cooked over the course of a week,

0:04:04 > 0:04:06providing an extraordinary insight

0:04:06 > 0:04:09into the culinary tastes of a nation.

0:04:10 > 0:04:14But by the beginning of the '90s, we were showing signs of dissent.

0:04:14 > 0:04:17Whereas in the 1950s, '60s, '70s,

0:04:17 > 0:04:19people were really happy to fill out the survey,

0:04:19 > 0:04:22in the 1990s, increasingly, people are fed up with it

0:04:22 > 0:04:23and refusing to do so.

0:04:23 > 0:04:27"HW," which is the housewife, "kept the shopping list,

0:04:27 > 0:04:29"but it's difficult to get all the information.

0:04:29 > 0:04:31"Most of the interviews were done sat on the garden wall.

0:04:31 > 0:04:34"HOH," head of house, "would not have anything to do with survey."

0:04:34 > 0:04:36It's quite different from the previous decades,

0:04:36 > 0:04:38where they were more complicit in the whole thing.

0:04:38 > 0:04:41People are just increasingly concerned with their privacy.

0:04:41 > 0:04:42Despite these problems,

0:04:42 > 0:04:44the National Food Survey still offers useful clues

0:04:44 > 0:04:46about how families were eating

0:04:46 > 0:04:49and shows a noticeable shift from the 1980s.

0:04:50 > 0:04:51There are more fresh vegetables,

0:04:51 > 0:04:54fruit being sourced from around the world,

0:04:54 > 0:04:56prepared food, which is chilled, not just frozen.

0:04:56 > 0:04:59And people were really time-poor in this decade

0:04:59 > 0:05:02and so they're spending much less time cooking,

0:05:02 > 0:05:04much more time buying prepared food.

0:05:09 > 0:05:11The longest working hours in Europe

0:05:11 > 0:05:14were just one of the squeezes on family life in 1990.

0:05:14 > 0:05:18By the end of the year, the country had slipped into recession

0:05:18 > 0:05:23and the ERM crisis of 1992 saw interest rates soar to 15%.

0:05:23 > 0:05:25The subsequent property crash

0:05:25 > 0:05:28meant many families had to tighten their belts.

0:05:28 > 0:05:29And it's millions of people in this country

0:05:29 > 0:05:31who are going to pay the price for these mistakes.

0:05:31 > 0:05:36# Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you. #

0:05:37 > 0:05:40It's all a distant memory for Brandon and Rochelle,

0:05:40 > 0:05:43who were in their 20s in 1990.

0:05:43 > 0:05:45While the children weren't even born.

0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's 24 years ago, like, 1990.

0:05:47 > 0:05:49- The beginning, yeah, 24 years ago. - It's like a long...

0:05:49 > 0:05:51- That is a long time.- ..long time ago.

0:05:51 > 0:05:53The funny thing is, I can remember quite a lot

0:05:53 > 0:05:55about things like the music of the '90s

0:05:55 > 0:05:57and, of course, I can remember meeting you.

0:05:57 > 0:05:59And I can remember the birth of these lovely children.

0:05:59 > 0:06:02- But I can't remember much about the food.- Fish.

0:06:02 > 0:06:03I've been longing for fish.

0:06:03 > 0:06:06But I'd like to grow gills by the end of the '90s!

0:06:06 > 0:06:08It's the last time in the experiment

0:06:08 > 0:06:11that the Robshaws will see their house transformed.

0:06:11 > 0:06:13Oh...!

0:06:13 > 0:06:14Oooh.

0:06:14 > 0:06:16Ah, this is really nice.

0:06:16 > 0:06:19That's inviting you to sit down, isn't it?

0:06:19 > 0:06:23I think it's absolutely lovely to have a big family space like this.

0:06:23 > 0:06:25- Oh!- What?

0:06:25 > 0:06:26Pop-Tarts.

0:06:26 > 0:06:28Oh, my God!

0:06:28 > 0:06:29How about that, look?

0:06:29 > 0:06:31Pop-Tarts! Got Pop-Tarts!

0:06:31 > 0:06:32Oh, my God.

0:06:34 > 0:06:37- Mum, look! - Look! We've got a pull-out larder!

0:06:38 > 0:06:40See, before, right, you'd open the cupboard

0:06:40 > 0:06:44and there'd be, I don't know, like, five items in there.

0:06:44 > 0:06:45Now, there's 500.

0:06:45 > 0:06:49That's a lovely fridge. And it's got wine in it, as well.

0:06:49 > 0:06:51It's the drinking decade, isn't it, really?

0:06:51 > 0:06:53That's why people couldn't be bothered to cook,

0:06:53 > 0:06:55because they were too drunk.

0:06:55 > 0:06:57Was it the drinking decade?

0:06:57 > 0:07:00I think a lot of people took to drinking, including myself.

0:07:00 > 0:07:02- We used to drink a lot in the '90s, didn't we?- We did.

0:07:02 > 0:07:05- And we didn't really think it was very bad for us, did we?- No. No.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08In fact, we used to sort of, like, think it was rather good for us.

0:07:08 > 0:07:12- We thought it was quite healthy, didn't we?- Yeah, we did!- What?

0:07:12 > 0:07:15So, it looks as if we're ready for a bit of a booze-up, doesn't it?

0:07:15 > 0:07:18I've left the Robshaws the '90s manual,

0:07:18 > 0:07:20offering guidance on food, leisure activities

0:07:20 > 0:07:23and their roles during the decade.

0:07:24 > 0:07:25In their contemporary life,

0:07:25 > 0:07:27Brandon does the lion's share of the cooking.

0:07:27 > 0:07:29- Bye, Rochelle.- Bye, Brandon.

0:07:29 > 0:07:32But throughout the experiment, he's gone out to work,

0:07:32 > 0:07:34while Rochelle has been in sole charge of the kitchen.

0:07:35 > 0:07:38Brandon's got absolutely no idea what it's like

0:07:38 > 0:07:41to be in the kitchen for the whole day.

0:07:42 > 0:07:44But in 1990, change is afoot.

0:07:44 > 0:07:48"Brandon, you are now free to be a proud 1990s new man."

0:07:48 > 0:07:49That's good.

0:07:49 > 0:07:50"Taking responsibility

0:07:50 > 0:07:53"for much of the cooking duties without ridicule."

0:07:53 > 0:07:55- I wasn't laughing.- You were.

0:07:55 > 0:07:56I wasn't laughing.

0:07:56 > 0:07:57"You'll be working from home

0:07:57 > 0:08:00"and it's perfectly acceptable for you to be in charge of the kitchen."

0:08:00 > 0:08:02That's OK, then.

0:08:02 > 0:08:05So, in the National Food Survey,

0:08:05 > 0:08:09there's some sort of braising steak

0:08:09 > 0:08:11and beefburgers.

0:08:11 > 0:08:12A lot of steak still.

0:08:12 > 0:08:14Steak and kidney pie, steak pie,

0:08:14 > 0:08:15meatballs and chips.

0:08:15 > 0:08:17A lot of meat.

0:08:17 > 0:08:19There's a lot more meat being eaten.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21I don't think an ordinary family would have had steak for supper,

0:08:21 > 0:08:24you know, back in the earlier decades.

0:08:24 > 0:08:26The cost of food, relative to wages,

0:08:26 > 0:08:28has come progressively down over the decades.

0:08:28 > 0:08:31In 1950, the average family would have spent

0:08:31 > 0:08:33one third of its income on food.

0:08:33 > 0:08:36By 1990, it was down to barely a tenth.

0:08:37 > 0:08:39Oh, my...!

0:08:40 > 0:08:42- Oh, my God, what is that? - Oh, goodness me.

0:08:42 > 0:08:45- That's like a feature wall, isn't it?- Yeah.

0:08:45 > 0:08:47- Look at this!- Look at that telly! - Oh...!

0:08:47 > 0:08:49Look at the size of it!

0:08:49 > 0:08:51Look at this stupid board game called Supermarket.

0:08:51 > 0:08:54- Supermarket Sweep, that is. - Oh, that is a fantastic game.

0:08:54 > 0:08:56You know, supermarkets were obviously big enough

0:08:56 > 0:09:00- for trolleys to be wheeled around at high speed.- Yeah.

0:09:00 > 0:09:03In the corner is Brandon's home office...

0:09:03 > 0:09:04Look at that!

0:09:04 > 0:09:06So, this is like the work bit of the room.

0:09:06 > 0:09:08..while Rochelle will go out to work.

0:09:08 > 0:09:09By the end of the decade,

0:09:09 > 0:09:12there would be more women than men in the workplace.

0:09:13 > 0:09:14- Oh...!- What you got?

0:09:14 > 0:09:18Ah! It's not a normal Nintendo. It's a Super Nintendo.

0:09:18 > 0:09:21Now you can get really fat sitting on the sofa.

0:09:21 > 0:09:22Yeah, while eating...

0:09:22 > 0:09:25..Pop-Tarts for the whole of the decade.

0:09:27 > 0:09:31The Robshaws immediately embrace a quintessential '90s pastime.

0:09:34 > 0:09:35It's the first MasterChef!

0:09:35 > 0:09:38It's the British Grand Prix for amateur chefs.

0:09:38 > 0:09:40I didn't know it had been going this long.

0:09:41 > 0:09:45The '90s saw an explosion of food programmes on the box.

0:09:45 > 0:09:47A multitude of new series launched,

0:09:47 > 0:09:51introducing many household names to an enthusiastic public.

0:09:51 > 0:09:53Food as entertainment was booming.

0:09:53 > 0:09:57Each week, our three competitors face a simple challenge -

0:09:57 > 0:10:01prepare a championship-quality three-course meal for four people

0:10:01 > 0:10:03and do it in just 2½ hours.

0:10:03 > 0:10:05First course I'm starting with

0:10:05 > 0:10:07filo pastries of goat's cheese with a salad.

0:10:07 > 0:10:10- I'd forgotten about the filo parcel. - It's all coming back.

0:10:10 > 0:10:12Very, very well put together.

0:10:12 > 0:10:15Very. Extremely well. Extremely well put together.

0:10:15 > 0:10:16For home, very ambitious.

0:10:16 > 0:10:19But it's MasterChef, not MasterCook, isn't it?

0:10:19 > 0:10:22- It's like it's chefy restaurant food, isn't it?- Yes, that's true.

0:10:22 > 0:10:23It's not home cooking, is it?

0:10:23 > 0:10:26It seemed to be so fiddly that people just thought,

0:10:26 > 0:10:27"I'm not even going to try that."

0:10:27 > 0:10:30But some people were willing to try it.

0:10:30 > 0:10:32The MasterChef cookbook encouraged viewers to have a go.

0:10:32 > 0:10:34Oh, yeah, here's the onions. How many onions?

0:10:34 > 0:10:37Brandon is up for the challenge and I've come to give him a hand.

0:10:39 > 0:10:42This is a really seriously complex recipe.

0:10:42 > 0:10:46- God, you've got to de-vein the spinach.- Yeah, yeah.

0:10:46 > 0:10:48Well, that doesn't... Where is the spinach?

0:10:48 > 0:10:50The nutmeg comes in at the end. The spinach is...

0:10:50 > 0:10:52It's not like de-veining a leg of lamb!

0:10:52 > 0:10:54I think I'm going to get out of the kitchen.

0:10:54 > 0:10:58God, there's just an awful lot of preparation here, isn't it?

0:10:59 > 0:11:03An urgent enquiry into BSE, the so-called mad cow disease,

0:11:03 > 0:11:05has been welcomed.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08But will it allay public concern or prolong the worry in some quarters

0:11:08 > 0:11:12that the so-called mad cow disease may pose a threat to humans?

0:11:12 > 0:11:16Fears surrounding BSE overshadowed much of the early '90s.

0:11:16 > 0:11:19A degenerative brain disease found in cows,

0:11:19 > 0:11:21it's likely cause was giving cattle feed

0:11:21 > 0:11:24that contained the carcasses of other diseased animals.

0:11:24 > 0:11:26That's right. They gave...

0:11:27 > 0:11:30..meat to animals, who would not eat meat.

0:11:30 > 0:11:33- That's disgusting! - Isn't that disgusting?

0:11:33 > 0:11:35The government was adamant

0:11:35 > 0:11:37that humans could not catch BSE from eating beef.

0:11:37 > 0:11:40The government continues to say that beef is safe.

0:11:40 > 0:11:42The Agricultural Food Minister, John Gummer,

0:11:42 > 0:11:44was happy to chomp his way through a beefburger,

0:11:44 > 0:11:48although his four-year-old daughter, Cordelia, was less enthusiastic.

0:11:48 > 0:11:50Right, it goes... It's hot! It's too hot!

0:11:50 > 0:11:52Why did you go like that?

0:11:52 > 0:11:54Because he's giving his kid that burger.

0:11:54 > 0:11:56I mean, that's really shocking at the time.

0:11:56 > 0:11:59She didn't eat it. She said it was too hot.

0:11:59 > 0:12:00Thank God!

0:12:02 > 0:12:05"Cut the fillet of beef down the centre line.

0:12:05 > 0:12:07"Tie each piece of..."

0:12:07 > 0:12:10- I don't really know what it's talking about.- Let's have a look.

0:12:10 > 0:12:12I have no idea what you're meant to do there.

0:12:12 > 0:12:16After saying, "cut the fillet," it does refer to "each piece".

0:12:16 > 0:12:18Are they making beef?

0:12:18 > 0:12:19I'm not sure if they're cooking beef.

0:12:19 > 0:12:21I think they might be cooking beef today.

0:12:21 > 0:12:23Oh! Maybe it's an experiment.

0:12:24 > 0:12:26- Is that beef we're eating?- Yeah.

0:12:26 > 0:12:28This is fillet of beef.

0:12:28 > 0:12:33I've just been watching about the beef scandal, mad cow disease.

0:12:33 > 0:12:36- Oh, my God.- That's why it was cheap! That's why it was cheap!

0:12:36 > 0:12:39That's why we could afford it. So, it's a bit of a gamble, isn't it?

0:12:39 > 0:12:41It's fine, because John Gummer

0:12:41 > 0:12:43- fed a beefburger to his child, so it's OK.- Right.

0:12:43 > 0:12:45Yeah, actually, when mad cow disease came along,

0:12:45 > 0:12:47I went vegetarian for about a month.

0:12:47 > 0:12:50- For a month? - Yeah, and then I had a burger.

0:12:50 > 0:12:53That is funny, because I actually went vegetarian for about five years.

0:12:53 > 0:12:55- Really? Same idea.- Yeah. Same idea.

0:12:55 > 0:12:57So, what are you doing with that?

0:12:57 > 0:12:59We're going to slice it finely

0:12:59 > 0:13:02and we're going to put it in this tian,

0:13:02 > 0:13:05which will be layers of spinach, mushroom, tomato and beef.

0:13:05 > 0:13:07That's quite a lot of work, isn't it?

0:13:07 > 0:13:08And each one will be placed

0:13:08 > 0:13:10on top of a little glistening pond of garlic.

0:13:12 > 0:13:13More, more, more, more.

0:13:13 > 0:13:14Yes!

0:13:14 > 0:13:16Christ Almighty!

0:13:16 > 0:13:18Good job I was standing back or I'd have lost my eyebrows.

0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's a good job I was standing behind you or I'd ruin my shirt.

0:13:21 > 0:13:24Rochelle's attempts to make dessert are being sidelined.

0:13:24 > 0:13:27I need to get to the cooker, that's what I need to do.

0:13:27 > 0:13:28We'll just do this stock.

0:13:28 > 0:13:30Here you are, Giles. Do you want a little sip?

0:13:30 > 0:13:33Do you feel this is a kind of testosterone-fuelled environment now?

0:13:33 > 0:13:35Yeah, it's hot and sweaty.

0:13:35 > 0:13:38And when I was in the kitchen, it was hot, but it wasn't sweaty.

0:13:42 > 0:13:45I've got to say, cut down the line of the beef,

0:13:45 > 0:13:46it wasn't particularly obvious.

0:13:46 > 0:13:49I mean, with the grain? Did they mean with the centre line?

0:13:49 > 0:13:51It is about show

0:13:51 > 0:13:56and I think that's what happens as men start to come into the kitchen.

0:13:56 > 0:13:57Erm...

0:13:57 > 0:13:59I think three's a crowd.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02- Isn't it? Three's a crowd. - I suppose it is.

0:14:02 > 0:14:03They don't want to do it quietly.

0:14:03 > 0:14:08They want to do it with a bit of a bang of steel and a clash of pots.

0:14:10 > 0:14:11Moment of truth...

0:14:12 > 0:14:13Not bad!

0:14:13 > 0:14:15Who's skipping? Oh, because Roz...

0:14:15 > 0:14:16No, she's not skipping.

0:14:16 > 0:14:19- One, two, three, four, five. Is it...?- Where's the other one?

0:14:19 > 0:14:21No, well, we've only made five.

0:14:22 > 0:14:25- Quick! Another plate. We can make one out of this.- We've got this.

0:14:28 > 0:14:33It's taken two hours to prepare a fancy version of meat and three veg.

0:14:34 > 0:14:36Tell you what, see if you can identify what's in it.

0:14:36 > 0:14:38- Is there mushrooms?- Maybe.

0:14:38 > 0:14:39Yes, in fact, there are.

0:14:39 > 0:14:41But what's on the top?

0:14:41 > 0:14:42- Well, beef, obviously.- Good.

0:14:42 > 0:14:45Now we're all going to get mad cow disease, though.

0:14:45 > 0:14:48- Don't worry, we'll be all right. - I think I've got it already.

0:14:48 > 0:14:50What do you think, Fred? Are you a bit grumpy about your small portion?

0:14:50 > 0:14:52Well, you're lucky you got a portion.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55So, how did it go for you, the first day of the '90s,

0:14:55 > 0:14:58the long-awaited liberation decade?

0:14:58 > 0:15:00Well, I actually felt...

0:15:02 > 0:15:04..ousted from the kitchen.

0:15:04 > 0:15:06I found it a fight to the cooker.

0:15:06 > 0:15:07I had liberation...

0:15:08 > 0:15:10..but I needed my land back.

0:15:22 > 0:15:24- Bye!- Bye! Have a good day.

0:15:25 > 0:15:27It's a new day, signalling a new year for the Robshaws.

0:15:27 > 0:15:31And I'm here to accompany them on a typically '90s excursion.

0:15:32 > 0:15:34- Giles, good morning. - Good morning.- Come in.

0:15:34 > 0:15:36- Come through.- Yeah.

0:15:38 > 0:15:40- Rochelle, hello.- Hi.

0:15:40 > 0:15:41Have you got a hangover from last night?

0:15:41 > 0:15:44No, not at all. I'm fine, thank you very much.

0:15:44 > 0:15:46- Finally managed the washing-up? - Yes, I did.

0:15:46 > 0:15:48- The bit they never show on MasterChef.- Yeah, yeah.

0:15:48 > 0:15:51- I always wondered who did it.- Yeah, it turns out it was you.- Yeah.

0:15:51 > 0:15:54We are going on an exciting expedition

0:15:54 > 0:15:56- to a massive superstore...- Wow.

0:15:56 > 0:15:58..in a massive, great, big people carrier.

0:15:58 > 0:16:00According to the National Food Survey,

0:16:00 > 0:16:02and we'll be shopping to an actual shopping list

0:16:02 > 0:16:04from an actual housewife from the National Food Survey,

0:16:04 > 0:16:08- which is three pages of ingredients for 92 quid, because...- Wow.

0:16:08 > 0:16:10..you know, food - really, really cheap.

0:16:10 > 0:16:13And by this time, in the whole experiment, at this point,

0:16:13 > 0:16:16it's the lowest percentage of the household income that goes on food.

0:16:16 > 0:16:18So, you'll just walk down these massive, brightly-lit aisles

0:16:18 > 0:16:22and wow at the range of fizzy drinks you can buy, basically.

0:16:22 > 0:16:24- Hoorah!- Well, come on, then. Let's go!- Wa-hey!

0:16:26 > 0:16:28I've never driven one of these before.

0:16:28 > 0:16:32- Get a few hundred people in here, couldn't you?- It's a people carrier.

0:16:32 > 0:16:35- What's that wire, Brandon? - Don't distract me, darling.

0:16:37 > 0:16:39Crunch, crunch, crunch...

0:16:39 > 0:16:42Speeded through that narrow gap there. Good start.

0:16:42 > 0:16:46Five years earlier, there were 50 out-of-town supermarkets in Britain.

0:16:46 > 0:16:49By 1991, there were 250

0:16:49 > 0:16:51and most people drove to them,

0:16:51 > 0:16:53possibly with more finesse than Brandon.

0:16:53 > 0:16:56- No, you want to go that way! - Well, that's right, isn't it?

0:16:56 > 0:16:59Yes. So, why is your indicator pointing left?

0:16:59 > 0:17:00It's all right, we're going.

0:17:02 > 0:17:03Hand-brake off...

0:17:04 > 0:17:06Meeeoooow!

0:17:06 > 0:17:09A relaxation in planning laws in the late '80s

0:17:09 > 0:17:12saw out-of-town sites snapped up by supermarket chains

0:17:12 > 0:17:14and the floor space of the average store more than doubled.

0:17:16 > 0:17:19But as supermarket chains get bigger in size and fewer in number,

0:17:19 > 0:17:22is it necessarily good news for the consumer?

0:17:22 > 0:17:24This is the first time in the experiment

0:17:24 > 0:17:26that the Robshaws have visited a shop

0:17:26 > 0:17:29anything like the size of this 1991-built superstore.

0:17:31 > 0:17:32I'm seeing this with new eyes,

0:17:32 > 0:17:34when I'm just looking back to the other shops

0:17:34 > 0:17:36we've been to in this experiment.

0:17:36 > 0:17:39This is just on a different scale altogether, isn't it?

0:17:39 > 0:17:42This is like the Land Of The Giants. Look at it!

0:17:42 > 0:17:44The sheer scale of the new stores

0:17:44 > 0:17:47meant the number of products on offer could be massively increased.

0:17:47 > 0:17:51In 1970, the typical supermarket stocked around 5,000 lines.

0:17:51 > 0:17:53By the early '90s, it was up to 15,000.

0:17:55 > 0:17:57I do think this is amazing.

0:17:57 > 0:18:01This whole aisle, which must be about sort of like 20 meters long,

0:18:01 > 0:18:03is all different varieties of cheese. But even just the cheddar,

0:18:03 > 0:18:05- it is a wall of cheese. - The Great Wall of Cheese.

0:18:05 > 0:18:07It's probably visible from space.

0:18:07 > 0:18:09What's down here?

0:18:09 > 0:18:10Do we need any meat?

0:18:10 > 0:18:12It says here three pounds of chicken quarters.

0:18:12 > 0:18:14There was almost no free-range chicken

0:18:14 > 0:18:16in supermarkets in those days.

0:18:16 > 0:18:18Armed with their 1991 shopping list,

0:18:18 > 0:18:21the Robshaws are discovering the perils of too much choice.

0:18:21 > 0:18:23Pasta bake and microwave chips.

0:18:23 > 0:18:26It's supposed to be in that aisle. I think we might have missed it.

0:18:26 > 0:18:29- Celery.- There was some celery. They wanted Cos lettuce.

0:18:29 > 0:18:31They mixed up the cabbage with the lettuce.

0:18:31 > 0:18:34There's probably a whole lettuce aisle somewhere.

0:18:34 > 0:18:36- Yeah, there must be. - This shop's too big!

0:18:36 > 0:18:39- All you want is a small greengrocer which sells lettuces.- It is too big.

0:18:42 > 0:18:44- It's all water. - I know. I know, it's amazing.

0:18:44 > 0:18:46- Incredible. It's just water. - It's a lot, isn't it?

0:18:46 > 0:18:50We evolved to be the kind of animals that had to snatch food

0:18:50 > 0:18:51whenever we could get it.

0:18:51 > 0:18:54So, it's difficult, actually, to walk through a supermarket

0:18:54 > 0:18:56and restrain yourself from grabbing things

0:18:56 > 0:18:58and putting them on the trolley.

0:18:59 > 0:19:01I'm starting to feel we've embarked on a marathon.

0:19:01 > 0:19:03Well, I feel like I've been sort of, erm...

0:19:03 > 0:19:04round the world.

0:19:08 > 0:19:10Now, I'm quite fussy about packing.

0:19:10 > 0:19:12- So, shall I go down the end and pack?- Yeah.

0:19:12 > 0:19:15I'll start with all the frozen stuff. So, we'll have a frozen bag.

0:19:15 > 0:19:19The era of cheap and plentiful food has well and truly arrived,

0:19:19 > 0:19:21a consequence of the total transformation

0:19:21 > 0:19:24in the way food is produced since the Second World War.

0:19:27 > 0:19:29After the lean years of rationing,

0:19:29 > 0:19:31the government had encouraged farmers to do all they could

0:19:31 > 0:19:35to increase their yields so that Britain would never go hungry again.

0:19:38 > 0:19:41Their response included chemical fertilizers, growth hormones

0:19:41 > 0:19:44and industrial-scale factory farming...

0:19:45 > 0:19:48..bringing down the costs of bread, cereals, dairy, eggs and meat.

0:19:49 > 0:19:52I suppose we have been driven this way to produce food

0:19:52 > 0:19:55and I think the public have been very fortunate

0:19:55 > 0:19:57that we've been able to produce it and that they have plenty.

0:19:58 > 0:20:01Meanwhile, increasingly mechanized food production

0:20:01 > 0:20:02and the use of air freighting

0:20:02 > 0:20:04to fly new ingredients in from around the globe,

0:20:04 > 0:20:08had all helped to massively extend the range available.

0:20:10 > 0:20:13And prices were lower than ever, with five supermarket chains

0:20:13 > 0:20:16controlling 60% of the grocery market by 1990,

0:20:16 > 0:20:17they were in a strong position

0:20:17 > 0:20:19to negotiate lower prices from their suppliers -

0:20:19 > 0:20:21savings they passed on to customers.

0:20:23 > 0:20:24Consumers were starting to take

0:20:24 > 0:20:27cheap and plentiful food for granted.

0:20:27 > 0:20:30Well, my own memories of the '90s were actually feeling pleased

0:20:30 > 0:20:34at seeing all these new ingredients that were appearing in supermarkets.

0:20:34 > 0:20:36You could get it all under one roof.

0:20:36 > 0:20:40And I actually do remember thinking in the '90s, you know, this is great.

0:20:41 > 0:20:43I haven't been into a big supermarket

0:20:43 > 0:20:46the whole time during this experiment.

0:20:47 > 0:20:51Showing the extraordinary range of produce...

0:20:51 > 0:20:53Everything is available.

0:20:53 > 0:20:56It's come from every part of the world.

0:20:56 > 0:20:58So, in that way, that's good.

0:20:59 > 0:21:01See, so much of this stuff is perishable, we'll have to...

0:21:01 > 0:21:04If we don't eat it soon, we'll have to just chuck it out.

0:21:04 > 0:21:07You are going to end up eating more, simply by the fact that it is here.

0:21:13 > 0:21:15It's 1992.

0:21:15 > 0:21:16And while the nation speculates about

0:21:16 > 0:21:18Fergie's French holiday antics...

0:21:18 > 0:21:22TV: 'The Duchess topless and Mr Bryan apparently kissing her foot.'

0:21:22 > 0:21:24..the Robshaws are enjoying a French affair of their own...

0:21:24 > 0:21:26All right, these are nicely warm.

0:21:26 > 0:21:27..a continental breakfast.

0:21:29 > 0:21:34Cafetiere. I do remember having my first one of these.

0:21:34 > 0:21:36And I remember getting mixed up a few times

0:21:36 > 0:21:39as to whether you put the coffee in before you put the plunger down.

0:21:39 > 0:21:44Do you know what? I suppose it's funny that it's taken us so long

0:21:44 > 0:21:46to have this kind of continental sort of breakfast.

0:21:46 > 0:21:49I mean, everyone had it on holiday, hadn't they?

0:21:49 > 0:21:51It is saying,

0:21:51 > 0:21:54- "OK, we'd like to be French, because you're cool."- Yeah.

0:21:54 > 0:21:57Well, I haven't used the juicer before, but...

0:21:57 > 0:21:59A juicer? Is it that thing there?

0:21:59 > 0:22:00Not this, surely?

0:22:01 > 0:22:03We're not talking about using this?

0:22:03 > 0:22:05That doesn't look exactly sort of very cutting edge, does it?

0:22:07 > 0:22:10- Fred? Do you want to come and do some juicing for us?- No!

0:22:10 > 0:22:12Just come and do it, would you?

0:22:14 > 0:22:16Look, you see that?

0:22:16 > 0:22:19Oh, that's quite good, actually. Look, it's working.

0:22:19 > 0:22:24Once relatively expensive, oranges were now a cheap, everyday staple.

0:22:24 > 0:22:26Orange juice consumption had tripled over the '80s

0:22:26 > 0:22:29and by the early '90s, fresh juice was de rigueur,

0:22:29 > 0:22:31if you could be bothered to squeeze it.

0:22:31 > 0:22:35Bet that's really lovely. But that is the juice of three big oranges.

0:22:35 > 0:22:38So, it's a lot of work to get that amount of juice, isn't it?

0:22:38 > 0:22:40You don't want to be late, Roz.

0:22:40 > 0:22:41I'm not going to be late!

0:22:41 > 0:22:43- You know what the French say?- No.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48They say, "Il ne faut pas etre en retard."

0:22:48 > 0:22:49It's very important.

0:22:49 > 0:22:51- What does that mean? - It means, you mustn't be late.

0:22:57 > 0:23:00With the rest of the family off to school and work,

0:23:00 > 0:23:02Brandon's about to embrace another European sensation

0:23:02 > 0:23:04that was sweeping the nation.

0:23:04 > 0:23:09'IKEA fitted kitchens come in a wide range of finishes.

0:23:09 > 0:23:11'Every component has been rigorously tested

0:23:11 > 0:23:14'and the most modern production techniques are used

0:23:14 > 0:23:15'to keep down costs.

0:23:15 > 0:23:18'So, after buying one,

0:23:18 > 0:23:20'you can still afford to eat.

0:23:21 > 0:23:24'IKEA, the furnishing store from Sweden.'

0:23:25 > 0:23:26KNOCKING ON DOOR

0:23:28 > 0:23:30- Morning.- I have a delivery from Giles.- Oh, what we got?

0:23:31 > 0:23:34I wonder what I spent my money on.

0:23:34 > 0:23:36With Rochelle at work, Brandon takes the opportunity

0:23:36 > 0:23:40to customise the family kitchen to his own unique specifications.

0:23:40 > 0:23:41Bookcase.

0:23:41 > 0:23:43It's the BILLY bookcase.

0:23:43 > 0:23:46If only he can understand the instructions...

0:23:46 > 0:23:47Seems right.

0:23:47 > 0:23:49Is that right?

0:23:49 > 0:23:52I don't like the way that's sticking out. Is that supposed to do that?

0:23:53 > 0:23:56Rochelle returns to her worst kitchen nightmare.

0:23:56 > 0:23:57So...

0:23:58 > 0:24:00- ..you've done it. - I've done it. What do you think?

0:24:00 > 0:24:02- You know what it is, Brandon?- Yeah?

0:24:02 > 0:24:04- It's since you've been in the kitchen...- Yeah?

0:24:04 > 0:24:06- ..all my sort of lady things... - Yeah.

0:24:06 > 0:24:09- It does look more masculine now. - ..feminine things.

0:24:09 > 0:24:12- All my grassy bits... - Yeah, yeah, yeah.- ..have been moved.

0:24:12 > 0:24:15This looks like a professional kitchen that means business.

0:24:15 > 0:24:18It's all kind of gleaming stainless steel.

0:24:18 > 0:24:20I think it makes it look like a proper chef's kitchen.

0:24:20 > 0:24:22- And where's the proper chef?- Me!

0:24:22 > 0:24:23Oh, yeah, sorry...

0:24:23 > 0:24:27Rochelle's not very pleased about it because she can't see the point.

0:24:27 > 0:24:31And I think we had a bit of a disagreement about the GRUNDTAL.

0:24:32 > 0:24:36To make things up with Rochelle, Brandon's taking her out for lunch.

0:24:39 > 0:24:41So far in the experiment,

0:24:41 > 0:24:43eating out has been reserved for special occasions.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46From fine dining at motorway services in the '60s...

0:24:46 > 0:24:48- Cheers, everybody.- Cheers.

0:24:48 > 0:24:50..to nouvelle cuisine in the 1980s.

0:24:50 > 0:24:52- Oh...- Oh, gosh. Wow!

0:24:53 > 0:24:57But over the '90s, restaurants became increasingly informal,

0:24:57 > 0:24:59kick-started, in part, by establishments like The Eagle,

0:24:59 > 0:25:02the country's first gastro-pub.

0:25:03 > 0:25:06We served restaurant-quality food in a scruffy pub

0:25:06 > 0:25:09and that was the concept, if you'd like to call it that.

0:25:09 > 0:25:13We opened it because we were working in restaurants

0:25:13 > 0:25:14and we couldn't afford to go to them.

0:25:14 > 0:25:17There's something about this kind of informal spirit of it

0:25:17 > 0:25:20that just seems really '90s, doesn't it? I mean, it sums up the '90s.

0:25:20 > 0:25:23The informality is crucial.

0:25:23 > 0:25:24People like that.

0:25:24 > 0:25:26They don't like to go into a space

0:25:26 > 0:25:29and have some stuffy maitre d' look down his nose at him

0:25:29 > 0:25:31and say, "Have you booked a table?"

0:25:31 > 0:25:33and, you know, "Would you like an aperitif?"

0:25:33 > 0:25:35They don't really want any of that.

0:25:35 > 0:25:37That menu, that is very eclectic, isn't it?

0:25:37 > 0:25:40It's from all over the place and it's from all over the place

0:25:40 > 0:25:42because the chefs are from all over the place.

0:25:45 > 0:25:46Yes, please.

0:25:46 > 0:25:48- That's the chicken.- Thank you.

0:25:48 > 0:25:50- Lovely.- That looks delicious.

0:25:50 > 0:25:53The Eagle's relaxed style proved popular with customers

0:25:53 > 0:25:56and the formula was swiftly imitated across the country.

0:25:56 > 0:25:59This chicken is just beautiful.

0:25:59 > 0:26:02It's just falling away from the bone, melting.

0:26:02 > 0:26:04It is absolutely delicious.

0:26:04 > 0:26:07It's really, really fresh and it's really herby.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10I would be happy to eat this for the next 20 years.

0:26:12 > 0:26:13I think we should drink to Giles,

0:26:13 > 0:26:16because he sent us to this excellent establishment.

0:26:16 > 0:26:18- To Giles!- To Giles!

0:26:18 > 0:26:21And to Michael for inventing the gastro-pub.

0:26:21 > 0:26:22It set out the template

0:26:22 > 0:26:25for what this kind of establishment was going to be like.

0:26:25 > 0:26:27The...

0:26:27 > 0:26:30You know, the stripped, scrubbed surfaces, the lack of carpet,

0:26:30 > 0:26:32the lack of curtains.

0:26:32 > 0:26:34The casual, informal atmosphere.

0:26:34 > 0:26:38Those are innovations that... They've really stood the test of time.

0:26:45 > 0:26:47While we became increasingly interested

0:26:47 > 0:26:49in trying new foods and flavours outside the home,

0:26:49 > 0:26:52we were spending less time than ever actually cooking.

0:26:55 > 0:26:58The National Food Survey shows an increasing reliance

0:26:58 > 0:27:00on pre-prepared convenience food in the '90s

0:27:00 > 0:27:02and the average time taken to prepare a meal

0:27:02 > 0:27:04shrank to just 33 minutes,

0:27:04 > 0:27:07compared to an hour in the '80s and 100 minutes in 1960.

0:27:08 > 0:27:09Be careful.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13Oh, my God, they're burning!

0:27:13 > 0:27:14Oh, Mum and Dad!

0:27:14 > 0:27:16Oh, it's... They're burnt!

0:27:16 > 0:27:19Only we could burn fish and chips!

0:27:28 > 0:27:30'93.

0:27:31 > 0:27:34It's 1993 and the Robshaws are getting their hands

0:27:34 > 0:27:37on the hot new taste sensation that British kids were clamouring for.

0:27:38 > 0:27:39What is it?

0:27:40 > 0:27:41Pop-Tarts!

0:27:41 > 0:27:44They used to come with a warning, didn't they?

0:27:44 > 0:27:47Because, like, the filling got so hot, people's mouths got burnt.

0:27:47 > 0:27:51No, seriously, these are, like, really dangerous. Don't touch.

0:27:51 > 0:27:52"So hot, they're cool."

0:27:52 > 0:27:55# Kellogg's Pop-Tarts

0:27:55 > 0:27:56# So hot, they're cool. #

0:27:58 > 0:28:00You need an asbestos glove to eat that!

0:28:00 > 0:28:02Sit down and put a mitten on.

0:28:03 > 0:28:06I still find it weird it is a breakfast, though.

0:28:06 > 0:28:09They've got icing and sprinkles all over them.

0:28:09 > 0:28:11They're really horrible.

0:28:11 > 0:28:14Right, I'll just have a bit of coffee, then I'll go.

0:28:14 > 0:28:16Well, look, you better go or you're going to be late.

0:28:16 > 0:28:18- I'm already late.- Rush off, go on!

0:28:18 > 0:28:20I'm rushing!

0:28:22 > 0:28:24The breakfast table wasn't the only place for innovation.

0:28:27 > 0:28:28For the evening's dinner,

0:28:28 > 0:28:31food historian Polly Russell is bringing some products

0:28:31 > 0:28:34that transformed our definition of convenience in the early '90s.

0:28:34 > 0:28:35- Have a delve in there.- OK.

0:28:36 > 0:28:41The '90s saw an explosion of pre-prepared salads.

0:28:41 > 0:28:43So, instead of just having to buy heads of lettuce

0:28:43 > 0:28:45and much more limited supply,

0:28:45 > 0:28:49where you just had iceberg or roundhead, maybe little gems,

0:28:49 > 0:28:51you start to see new varieties of leaves,

0:28:51 > 0:28:53- which hadn't previously been available.- Right.

0:28:53 > 0:28:57In the '50s, I wouldn't have known about rocket, unless I grew it.

0:28:57 > 0:28:58Yeah, exactly.

0:28:58 > 0:29:01These sort of cushioned bags

0:29:01 > 0:29:05remove the oxygen and put in additional carbon dioxide

0:29:05 > 0:29:08and that adds life to these products of about sort of 50%.

0:29:08 > 0:29:09So, they're really, really convenient

0:29:09 > 0:29:11and they're not going to go off quickly.

0:29:11 > 0:29:14So, the cherry tomato and then mangetout...

0:29:14 > 0:29:16Mangetout.

0:29:16 > 0:29:19You know, what was exciting was that you could get this variety,

0:29:19 > 0:29:21that you could get it year-round, that it was all available.

0:29:23 > 0:29:25This is fresh tortellini

0:29:25 > 0:29:29and a jar of bolognese sauce.

0:29:30 > 0:29:34Ready-made sauces emphasised authentic ingredients

0:29:34 > 0:29:37and suggested a home-made quality to time-pressed cooks.

0:29:37 > 0:29:40'Made with the finest ingredients, like fresh dairy cream

0:29:40 > 0:29:42'in country French chicken

0:29:42 > 0:29:45'or juicy tomatoes and peppers in Spanish chicken,

0:29:45 > 0:29:47'you get a whole lot more with Chicken Tonight.'

0:29:47 > 0:29:49# I feel like Chicken Tonight

0:29:49 > 0:29:51# Like Chicken Tonight... #

0:29:52 > 0:29:54'More sauce, masses of taste!'

0:29:54 > 0:29:56# Chicken Tonight. #

0:29:56 > 0:29:59So, this is sort of prepared food of the 1990s.

0:29:59 > 0:30:04This is the perfect thing to appeal to sort of a working housewife.

0:30:04 > 0:30:07So, shall we put this all together and make a meal?

0:30:07 > 0:30:10Yeah, great. Cheers! Here's to the '90s.

0:30:11 > 0:30:12Mm... Brilliant.

0:30:13 > 0:30:17- What are you cooking, anyway? - Tortellini.- Oh, that's posh.

0:30:17 > 0:30:21- Fresh tortellini...- Yeah. - ..with a pre-bagged salad.

0:30:21 > 0:30:23It just got tipped out of a bag.

0:30:23 > 0:30:24- Mm.- So simple.

0:30:24 > 0:30:26- Very simple.- Yeah.- Fantastic.

0:30:26 > 0:30:27I mean, this is processed

0:30:27 > 0:30:30but, somehow, it just feels better, doesn't it?

0:30:30 > 0:30:31It feels more like real food.

0:30:31 > 0:30:34I think the '90s was this tipping point of where

0:30:34 > 0:30:37more pre-prepared food was chilled, not frozen

0:30:37 > 0:30:39and it's just outsourced the work

0:30:39 > 0:30:43of washing the lettuce and chopping the lettuce and making the dressing.

0:30:43 > 0:30:48It's, like, seconds, in comparison to the other meals that we've done.

0:30:48 > 0:30:50You can cook for a family in ten minutes here, can't you?

0:30:50 > 0:30:54Working longer hours, children out at school for longer

0:30:54 > 0:30:55at after-school clubs...

0:30:55 > 0:30:58Yeah, being able to come home and produce

0:30:58 > 0:31:01sort of freshly-prepared ready food,

0:31:01 > 0:31:04- I imagine it would have been a real help.- Yeah.

0:31:04 > 0:31:06It would explain why it exploded at that time, I think.

0:31:08 > 0:31:09You wouldn't have had...

0:31:09 > 0:31:12These things didn't exist, did they, in the '50s?

0:31:20 > 0:31:22How does this meal rate,

0:31:22 > 0:31:25compared to the other pre-prepared meals that you've had?

0:31:25 > 0:31:27Before, we had either a ready meal,

0:31:27 > 0:31:28so the whole thing was made,

0:31:28 > 0:31:30or we had, like, everything was from scratch.

0:31:30 > 0:31:32But this is, like, a nice mix, you know?

0:31:32 > 0:31:34Pasta and the sauce is processed,

0:31:34 > 0:31:36but you've got a fresh green vegetable that's not processed.

0:31:36 > 0:31:40It has come over from Kenya and it has had its...

0:31:40 > 0:31:43- Me and Rochelle didn't have to top and tail it...- No, no, OK.

0:31:43 > 0:31:46..so it has been processed in that way.

0:31:46 > 0:31:48It's been treated and refrigerated.

0:31:48 > 0:31:50But I think this is a home-cooked meal.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52Oh, it's home-cooked, but not home-made. That's what it is.

0:31:52 > 0:31:56The interesting thing for me is that I haven't actually touched anything.

0:31:56 > 0:31:58So, the salad has been tipped out.

0:31:58 > 0:32:03I haven't, you know, rinsed it of any grit, I haven't put it in water,

0:32:03 > 0:32:06haven't picked it out, haven't spun it, it's just come out of a packet.

0:32:14 > 0:32:17'So, in the true spirit of the '90s,

0:32:17 > 0:32:21'the meanest, tiddliest, most tight-fisted prices possible.

0:32:21 > 0:32:22'Every little helps.'

0:32:23 > 0:32:26By 1994, two of Britain's major supermarkets

0:32:26 > 0:32:28had upped the cheap food ante,

0:32:28 > 0:32:30slashing prices and launching value brands

0:32:30 > 0:32:33as they competed for market share.

0:32:33 > 0:32:36So, though the supermarket giants deny there's a price war,

0:32:36 > 0:32:38there's clearly intense competitive pressure.

0:32:40 > 0:32:44There were even TV shows dedicated to cooking with cheap ingredients.

0:32:48 > 0:32:50Fern Britton... Is that Fern Britton?

0:32:50 > 0:32:51Fearne Cotton, Fern Britton.

0:32:51 > 0:32:53What's she called? Fern Britton.

0:32:53 > 0:32:57Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Ready Steady Cook.

0:32:57 > 0:32:59Launched in 1994,

0:32:59 > 0:33:02the show saw TV chefs help contestants create meals

0:33:02 > 0:33:04for the studio audience to vote on,

0:33:04 > 0:33:06from a price-limited bag of ingredients.

0:33:06 > 0:33:09It was a runaway smash and ran for an incredible 15 years.

0:33:10 > 0:33:13What are your first thoughts over here, please, Brian?

0:33:13 > 0:33:16I'm quite lucky, because it strikes me as being a fairly classical dish.

0:33:16 > 0:33:19Stuffed chicken breast with bacon and mushrooms.

0:33:21 > 0:33:24I've sent Ready Steady Cook regular Brian Turner

0:33:24 > 0:33:26to re-enact the show in the Robshaws' kitchen.

0:33:26 > 0:33:30They'll be competing to cook a delicious two-course meal

0:33:30 > 0:33:32with ingredients costing just £3.50.

0:33:32 > 0:33:34Can't see what it is.

0:33:34 > 0:33:36It's sort of bananas surrounded by pineapples

0:33:36 > 0:33:38with a kind of cream sauce thing.

0:33:38 > 0:33:40But I don't like the look of that.

0:33:40 > 0:33:42- They like the look of it.- They love it.- They think it looks great.

0:33:48 > 0:33:50- Hello!- Hello, how are you? - I'm all right, thank you.

0:33:50 > 0:33:53- You must be Rochelle. - I am. And it's Brian, isn't it?

0:33:53 > 0:33:55I've been sent to see you.

0:33:55 > 0:33:57Great. You'd better come in, then.

0:33:57 > 0:33:59Let me put that there for you.

0:33:59 > 0:34:01I haven't had a look.

0:34:01 > 0:34:04And then we'll shake hands and say, "Hello, how are you?"

0:34:04 > 0:34:07- It's great to meet you.- And you, too. How's it going?- How do you do?

0:34:09 > 0:34:11It's a budget bag, is this.

0:34:11 > 0:34:14It all came together for less than £3.50.

0:34:15 > 0:34:18I'm interested to see the minced beef, which is...

0:34:18 > 0:34:21- How much does it say? I haven't got my glasses on.- £1.81. Best Price.

0:34:21 > 0:34:24Despite concerns around its safety,

0:34:24 > 0:34:26beef was still very much on the menu.

0:34:26 > 0:34:28And with prices this low, who could blame us?

0:34:30 > 0:34:31Sir?

0:34:31 > 0:34:34Well, I'm thinking this is kind of just asking me

0:34:34 > 0:34:37to make a chicken curry, isn't it? With a crispy vegetable side dish.

0:34:37 > 0:34:40- Right. I think we should give you at least half an hour.- OK.

0:34:40 > 0:34:41Ready,

0:34:41 > 0:34:42steady,

0:34:42 > 0:34:43cook!

0:34:43 > 0:34:45Off you go!

0:34:45 > 0:34:48- Nerve-racking, isn't it, eh? - Paralysed with fear.

0:34:48 > 0:34:49See if it works.

0:34:49 > 0:34:51So, 200's a kind of moderate.

0:34:51 > 0:34:54Now, remember you can always put some more in if there's not enough.

0:34:54 > 0:34:57- But you can't take it out... - You can't take it out.- ..too easily.

0:34:57 > 0:34:59I'm going to taste this now...

0:35:05 > 0:35:08That sauce is a bit... It is a bit vinegary.

0:35:08 > 0:35:11You could put a little hint of sugar in there, if it is too vinegary.

0:35:11 > 0:35:14- Do you think that would take the edge off the vinegar?- I'm not...

0:35:14 > 0:35:16- I'm saying it's a possibility. - Possibility, OK.

0:35:18 > 0:35:21Instead of sugar, if I put a bit of sliced banana in there,

0:35:21 > 0:35:23- could that work?- Perfect.- Great.

0:35:25 > 0:35:28He's clearly full of confidence now, isn't he?

0:35:28 > 0:35:29I know. I know.

0:35:29 > 0:35:31It's erm...putting me off a bit.

0:35:40 > 0:35:41Are you happy with that?

0:35:41 > 0:35:44As happy as I'm going to be with it, yeah.

0:35:46 > 0:35:48I think the curry looks very appetising.

0:35:48 > 0:35:52I made a kind of arctic roll, so a home-made arctic roll.

0:35:52 > 0:35:53Oh, you've made an arctic roll!

0:35:56 > 0:35:59- Fred.- Fred? I can remember that. Sit yourself there.

0:35:59 > 0:36:01The kids, like the Ready Steady Cook audience,

0:36:01 > 0:36:04will vote on the best meal, without tasting.

0:36:04 > 0:36:06So, this is your mum's.

0:36:07 > 0:36:08OK?

0:36:09 > 0:36:13It is a bit meatball-ish. There's some fried onion in there, as well.

0:36:16 > 0:36:18Could have done with a bit of salt in there.

0:36:18 > 0:36:20Right, let's see what your dad did, shall we?

0:36:20 > 0:36:23I've called it Chicken Maryland Bon Marche.

0:36:23 > 0:36:26And I called it that because Chicken Maryland, I think,

0:36:26 > 0:36:29- they put bananas in with the chicken, is that right?- They do, yes, they do.

0:36:29 > 0:36:30You put bananas in it?

0:36:30 > 0:36:33There's a few bananas in there and it's called Bon Marche,

0:36:33 > 0:36:36which is French for cheap, because they were value ingredients.

0:36:37 > 0:36:38Did you make any dessert?

0:36:38 > 0:36:39Mm-hm.

0:36:39 > 0:36:42Rice is a little bit claggy, is that.

0:36:42 > 0:36:44And the dessert...

0:36:44 > 0:36:45Is some Swiss roll...

0:36:46 > 0:36:49..with some lemon juice soaked into it

0:36:49 > 0:36:52and on top we've got some yoghurt and it's gone into the freezer

0:36:52 > 0:36:55and it's frozen to make a lovely arctic dessert.

0:36:55 > 0:36:56So, it's just yoghurt on cake?

0:36:58 > 0:37:01Right, now then, come and stand by me, you two.

0:37:02 > 0:37:04Are you ready? So...

0:37:04 > 0:37:07Ready Steady Cook, let's see who's the winner...

0:37:08 > 0:37:11Oh, it's a draw! One each!

0:37:11 > 0:37:15So, that gives me the wonderful opportunity to declare the winner...

0:37:16 > 0:37:17..your mum.

0:37:19 > 0:37:20Sorry, Brandon.

0:37:20 > 0:37:22After all that, hey?

0:37:22 > 0:37:25Yeah, I'm completely chuffed. I hope it wasn't a sympathy vote, but...

0:37:25 > 0:37:28But it is quite amazing, when you look at it,

0:37:28 > 0:37:31the amount of stuff on the table for £7

0:37:31 > 0:37:34and so much stuff left over there, as well.

0:37:34 > 0:37:35And that's 70p each.

0:37:37 > 0:37:40But, like Brandon, some were starting to recognise

0:37:40 > 0:37:43that an abundance of ever-cheaper food came at a cost.

0:37:55 > 0:38:00In 1995, the first Brit died from vCJD -

0:38:00 > 0:38:03the human equivalent of mad cow disease.

0:38:03 > 0:38:06While the government had taken firm steps to eradicate BSE in cattle,

0:38:06 > 0:38:10they were still denying that eating beef posed a risk to humans.

0:38:11 > 0:38:13Others were not so sure.

0:38:13 > 0:38:16If the human disease,

0:38:16 > 0:38:17CJD, most cases...

0:38:19 > 0:38:22..if they don't come from cattle, where do they come from?

0:38:22 > 0:38:25For God's sake, puts you off a bit, doesn't it?

0:38:25 > 0:38:29You wouldn't feel happy giving Fred a load of beef

0:38:29 > 0:38:31knowing that there is not... How safe that beef is.

0:38:32 > 0:38:35How would you possibly feel safe giving it to him?

0:38:35 > 0:38:38Well, I don't like it. I don't like those farming methods.

0:38:38 > 0:38:41The fact is, we know that...

0:38:43 > 0:38:47..the food chain is violated at various points.

0:38:48 > 0:38:51'The central dilemma is that people want very cheap food,

0:38:51 > 0:38:54'and there's no way to produce that cheap food that doesn't involve

0:38:54 > 0:38:57'the intensification of those animals and birds.'

0:38:57 > 0:38:59'When you do that, you're getting into circumstances

0:38:59 > 0:39:01'where diseases can spread very rapidly.'

0:39:06 > 0:39:09It's 1996 and I'm sending the Robshaws on a road trip.

0:39:10 > 0:39:13# When I'm not with you I lose my mind

0:39:13 > 0:39:17# Give me a sign

0:39:17 > 0:39:19# Hit me, baby, one more time. #

0:39:23 > 0:39:25This was the year the government finally acknowledged

0:39:25 > 0:39:28that British beef may pose a health risk to humans.

0:39:28 > 0:39:31The government has admitted there could be a connection

0:39:31 > 0:39:34between BSE and its human form, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

0:39:34 > 0:39:37The lead story in the Daily Mirror, saying that, you know,

0:39:37 > 0:39:41it's official, as they put it, that mad cow disease can kill you.

0:39:41 > 0:39:46Anyone who caught the new CJD, did so by eating contaminated beef.

0:39:47 > 0:39:49Why is it called mad cow disease?

0:39:49 > 0:39:50And we're going to die!

0:39:50 > 0:39:54Well, because it's a disease that affects cows' brains.

0:39:54 > 0:39:56- Does it make them go mad?- Yeah.

0:39:56 > 0:39:57100% mad?

0:39:57 > 0:39:59Total mad. But there's...

0:39:59 > 0:40:01- What do they do when they're mad? - Oh, I don't know.

0:40:01 > 0:40:05Perhaps they caper about or fall over, I don't know.

0:40:06 > 0:40:09Perhaps, unsurprisingly, sales of British beef plummeted by 90%

0:40:09 > 0:40:11to an all-time low.

0:40:11 > 0:40:14But if you're thinking about it, like, now,

0:40:14 > 0:40:18like, you've just heard that news, would it put you off eating meat?

0:40:18 > 0:40:19- Yes.- Like, say we're in the '90s,

0:40:19 > 0:40:23would we actually now not want to eat meat now?

0:40:23 > 0:40:26I would not want to eat meat, actually. I wouldn't want to eat it.

0:40:28 > 0:40:30One consequence of the scare

0:40:30 > 0:40:32was a boom in sales of organic fruit and veg,

0:40:32 > 0:40:36which increased 20 to 30% every year of the 1990s.

0:40:38 > 0:40:41'The Riverford is one of the biggest organic farms in the country.

0:40:41 > 0:40:44'Its 800 acres are almost entirely made over

0:40:44 > 0:40:46'to the production of organic vegetables.

0:40:46 > 0:40:49'It's become a business with a £1,000,000 turnover

0:40:49 > 0:40:52'and 2,000 customers, as people's demand for naturally-grown products

0:40:52 > 0:40:53'has increased.'

0:40:53 > 0:40:55Do you think you'll finish it today?

0:40:55 > 0:40:57Probably not today, no.

0:40:57 > 0:41:01The Robshaws are getting a tour of the farm from owner Guy Watson.

0:41:03 > 0:41:05There was a kind of innate...

0:41:06 > 0:41:11..desire for people to know more about where their food came from

0:41:11 > 0:41:12and who grew it

0:41:12 > 0:41:16and a sort of growing suspicion of the food industry,

0:41:16 > 0:41:19- food processing, additives in food. - Yeah.

0:41:19 > 0:41:23You know, abuse of animals, the sort of thing that led to BSE.

0:41:23 > 0:41:28All associated with what I would call abuses of our food system.

0:41:28 > 0:41:31I mean, feeding a cow, a herbivorous animal,

0:41:31 > 0:41:34ground up bits of sheep and beef,

0:41:34 > 0:41:37you know, intuitively, you just know that that's all wrong.

0:41:37 > 0:41:39Spurred on by food scares,

0:41:39 > 0:41:43Guy launched one of the early doorstep organic veggie box schemes.

0:41:44 > 0:41:48- OK, so, we're going to jump out and look at some lettuces.- Great.

0:41:48 > 0:41:50- So, that's a Cos lettuce. - That is fantastic, isn't it?

0:41:50 > 0:41:52It's really, really beautiful.

0:41:52 > 0:41:55They just don't look as kind of full and open and glowing as that.

0:41:55 > 0:41:58I don't think I've ever seen anything...

0:42:00 > 0:42:02Oh, don't overdo it! It's a lettuce!

0:42:03 > 0:42:07The outer leaves are the most nutritious, where it's green.

0:42:07 > 0:42:09It's really got flavour.

0:42:09 > 0:42:12It makes me feel like I've never properly tasted a lettuce before.

0:42:12 > 0:42:14So, we cut them this morning

0:42:14 > 0:42:17and they'd be packed today,

0:42:17 > 0:42:18delivered the day after.

0:42:21 > 0:42:23This is a handsome crop of leeks, though I say it myself.

0:42:23 > 0:42:24So, you're doing...

0:42:24 > 0:42:26Oh, yeah, very good! Give him a job!

0:42:26 > 0:42:28Nice one.

0:42:28 > 0:42:29That was perfect, Fred.

0:42:29 > 0:42:31Take off the leaf.

0:42:32 > 0:42:35Strip off a couple of outer leaves, ready to go.

0:42:35 > 0:42:38So, these are our tomatoes, cherry tomatoes.

0:42:38 > 0:42:41I've never had such a nice tomato.

0:42:41 > 0:42:43Oh, my God!

0:42:43 > 0:42:45You could just sort of rub it all over yourself.

0:42:45 > 0:42:47You could, if you're that way inclined!

0:42:48 > 0:42:50Between 1993 and 2000,

0:42:50 > 0:42:53the number of vegetarians in the country doubled.

0:42:53 > 0:42:56Just... All the vegetables

0:42:56 > 0:42:58were just so much different to what I'm used to.

0:42:58 > 0:43:02Oh, my God, it was amazing. I want to live there.

0:43:02 > 0:43:04I want to be there. I want to work there.

0:43:04 > 0:43:09When you taste a lettuce in the field, or you look at a leek,

0:43:09 > 0:43:14it just makes you think, why on earth are we eating...

0:43:15 > 0:43:16..processed food?

0:43:18 > 0:43:23# Things can only get better

0:43:24 > 0:43:28# Can only get, can only get

0:43:28 > 0:43:30# They get on from me, you know?

0:43:30 > 0:43:34# I know that things can only get better. #

0:43:35 > 0:43:37It's a new day.

0:43:37 > 0:43:40But while 1997 saw the birth of a new era,

0:43:40 > 0:43:43it also sounded the death knell for the family breakfast.

0:43:45 > 0:43:46Since the start of the experiment,

0:43:46 > 0:43:49the Robshaws have sat down together to eat each morning,

0:43:49 > 0:43:52be that bread and dripping in the early '50s,

0:43:52 > 0:43:53breakfast cereals in the '60s...

0:43:53 > 0:43:56- That's enough, Fred. - He's on his second bowl.

0:43:56 > 0:43:58..or healthy grapefruit in the 1980s.

0:43:59 > 0:44:01Oh, gosh...

0:44:01 > 0:44:05But in the '90s, manufacturers replaced the sit-down breakfast

0:44:05 > 0:44:07with products that could be eaten on the go.

0:44:07 > 0:44:11"Whole-wheat, wholegrain, oats and fruit."

0:44:11 > 0:44:12Well, I need to go!

0:44:16 > 0:44:19Today, over 40% of us grab breakfast on the way to work.

0:44:22 > 0:44:25This wasn't the only meal where quick and easy food was in demand.

0:44:26 > 0:44:27By the end of the '90s,

0:44:27 > 0:44:3130% of our spending on food and drink was outside the home.

0:44:34 > 0:44:35Rochelle and her colleague

0:44:35 > 0:44:38are investigating the latest fast-food import.

0:44:41 > 0:44:43Now available in any supermarket,

0:44:43 > 0:44:46the idea of eating raw fish would have been totally alien

0:44:46 > 0:44:48at the start of the experiment.

0:44:48 > 0:44:49I hardly had any fish

0:44:49 > 0:44:52and it's either been battered or fish fingered

0:44:52 > 0:44:55and I've been wanting fish for, like, 50 years!

0:44:56 > 0:44:57Now you can finally get it.

0:44:57 > 0:44:59Loads of it, raw.

0:44:59 > 0:45:01It's like that is really...

0:45:01 > 0:45:03I don't know what I think of that.

0:45:03 > 0:45:05It's gone from one extreme to the other.

0:45:05 > 0:45:09Sushi first surfaced as a canape at city lunches in the early '80s,

0:45:09 > 0:45:12reflecting Britain's growing business links with Japan.

0:45:13 > 0:45:16A decade later, it had transferred to the high street.

0:45:17 > 0:45:20In Japan, there are 2,500 of these and I'm constantly amazed

0:45:20 > 0:45:23that nobody's really done it on a big scale before.

0:45:24 > 0:45:27Just sit here for the whole time, watching it come round and round.

0:45:27 > 0:45:29It'd be a whole hour lunch break.

0:45:29 > 0:45:31- It kind of sends me into a trance. - Yeah.

0:45:37 > 0:45:39Back at home, Brandon's cooking dinner

0:45:39 > 0:45:41and I've sent wine writer Malcolm Gluck round

0:45:41 > 0:45:44to help with his '90s wine choice.

0:45:50 > 0:45:51Hello.

0:45:51 > 0:45:53Hello, you must be Brandon.

0:45:53 > 0:45:55- I'm Brandon.- Malcolm Gluck.

0:45:55 > 0:45:58Oh, Malcolm Gluck! Do you know what, I've read your column many times.

0:45:58 > 0:46:00- No, no.- Yes, I have. Yes, I have.

0:46:03 > 0:46:05Gluck helped '90s consumers make sense

0:46:05 > 0:46:08of the dizzying variety of wine now available in supermarkets...

0:46:09 > 0:46:12..with selections three times bigger than they had been in the 1980s.

0:46:13 > 0:46:19In that decade, we stopped, in the UK, being the beer islands.

0:46:19 > 0:46:21Right, yeah.

0:46:21 > 0:46:23We became, for the first time, a wine island,

0:46:23 > 0:46:27in the sense that white wine became the number-one drink

0:46:27 > 0:46:30that most people, 70% of us,

0:46:30 > 0:46:32were taking home and drinking regularly.

0:46:32 > 0:46:34This is the 100% Chardonnay.

0:46:35 > 0:46:36Oh...

0:46:36 > 0:46:38Oh!

0:46:38 > 0:46:39It's a zinger. It's vibrant.

0:46:39 > 0:46:41We're going to get some frying action going.

0:46:41 > 0:46:46And so, suddenly, in the '90s, it all came together.

0:46:46 > 0:46:49The supermarkets were actually staffed

0:46:49 > 0:46:52by mostly female wine buyers,

0:46:52 > 0:46:54who were tremendously knowledgeable and enthusiastic

0:46:54 > 0:46:56and open to all sorts of ideas.

0:46:56 > 0:47:02Best of all, those wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

0:47:02 > 0:47:04came along, South America.

0:47:04 > 0:47:09They went... All of the new cuisines that we were experimenting with,

0:47:09 > 0:47:12these wines were just perfect for.

0:47:13 > 0:47:16Right on cue, they're cooking up a '90s classic -

0:47:16 > 0:47:18Thai green chicken curry.

0:47:18 > 0:47:20Let's get some taste in this one.

0:47:20 > 0:47:22- Thai chicken curry.- Yeah, I like it.

0:47:22 > 0:47:24Everyone likes it. They eat it in restaurants.

0:47:24 > 0:47:27But how many people do it at home? It is so simple.

0:47:27 > 0:47:30With exotic ingredients available in many supermarkets,

0:47:30 > 0:47:33you could now cook your way around the world with ease.

0:47:35 > 0:47:39The Thai curry was very easy to do, actually. It was very simple.

0:47:39 > 0:47:41It was slightly cheating,

0:47:41 > 0:47:44because it did involve a jar of Thai green curry paste.

0:47:45 > 0:47:48This is a very different dish from what I cooked Rochelle

0:47:48 > 0:47:50when first we started going out.

0:47:50 > 0:47:52- The first time I invited her round for dinner...- Oh, I see.

0:47:52 > 0:47:56..I cooked her tofu in Guinness, which was er...

0:47:58 > 0:47:59You're kidding?!

0:47:59 > 0:48:02This would have been better. I see that with hindsight now.

0:48:02 > 0:48:03Perhaps he was drunk.

0:48:05 > 0:48:06- Oh, hi.- Hi.

0:48:06 > 0:48:08Did you have a good day at the office, dear?

0:48:08 > 0:48:11And I had a visitor today and he told me all about wine.

0:48:11 > 0:48:12- Did he?- We did a little tasting.

0:48:12 > 0:48:15Just have a little swoosh around and then sniff it.

0:48:17 > 0:48:18You swirl it...

0:48:18 > 0:48:21- I can swirl it and smell it already. - You can smell it already, can't you?

0:48:21 > 0:48:25Rochelle and I drank a lot of wine back in the '90s.

0:48:25 > 0:48:27And we sometimes thought that we were drinking too much,

0:48:27 > 0:48:31but it's interesting and reassuring, really,

0:48:31 > 0:48:32to learn that everybody was at it.

0:48:33 > 0:48:35Get out the posh cutlery.

0:48:36 > 0:48:39Put the Chardonnay on the table and off we go.

0:48:42 > 0:48:46I do feel that Brandon is getting much closer

0:48:46 > 0:48:50to his contemporary role in the kitchen.

0:48:50 > 0:48:52He's happy to be there.

0:48:52 > 0:48:54- I'll tell you what, that's really nice.- Is it? Oh, good.

0:48:54 > 0:48:55Really nice, yeah.

0:48:55 > 0:48:58No, I think this is the best meal you've cooked.

0:48:58 > 0:49:02Probably, it was a better choice than the tofu and Guinness.

0:49:02 > 0:49:06Although, having said that, you know, the tofu and Guinness...

0:49:07 > 0:49:09..went down quite well in '95.

0:49:09 > 0:49:12It was really simple. It's kind of cheaty, anybody could do it, but...

0:49:12 > 0:49:14- But you did it, Brandon. - ..nice, isn't it?

0:49:14 > 0:49:15But I did it.

0:49:15 > 0:49:19- You unscrewed the bottle!- I did, I did and I poured it in.- Yeah.

0:49:28 > 0:49:30- Oh, what is that? - It looks like a mangle.

0:49:30 > 0:49:33- If it is a mangle, I'm... - ..going to kill myself!

0:49:34 > 0:49:37After eight years of convenience food and eating out,

0:49:37 > 0:49:39the Robshaws are about to rediscover

0:49:39 > 0:49:40the joy of cooking from scratch.

0:49:40 > 0:49:42Oh, I know what it is! I know what it is!

0:49:42 > 0:49:45- It's a pasta machine.- Pasta machine. Pasta machine. Pasta machine.

0:49:45 > 0:49:47In the early years of the experiment,

0:49:47 > 0:49:50Rochelle prepared every meal from basic ingredients,

0:49:50 > 0:49:53chopping vegetables, whisking, creaming and stirring

0:49:53 > 0:49:55each meal by hand.

0:49:55 > 0:49:57As the decades moved on, new innovations in food technology

0:49:57 > 0:49:59made cooking easier.

0:50:00 > 0:50:02That's nice.

0:50:02 > 0:50:05In the '70s, as encouraged by Delia Smith's How To Cheat At Cooking,

0:50:05 > 0:50:09Rochelle prepared an entire dinner party using tins and packets.

0:50:09 > 0:50:12While the arrival of the microwave in the '80s

0:50:12 > 0:50:14made cooking dinner as easy as pressing a button.

0:50:15 > 0:50:18Here we go, look, Delia's How To Cook, Book One.

0:50:18 > 0:50:22- So, we're looking at classic fresh tomato sauce.- Nice.

0:50:22 > 0:50:25In 1998, Delia's back with another book,

0:50:25 > 0:50:27riding the crest of an emerging wave.

0:50:27 > 0:50:31This time, she wanted to teach people how to cook again.

0:50:31 > 0:50:33If you don't want to cook, you don't have to cook,

0:50:33 > 0:50:34because you can buy ready meals,

0:50:34 > 0:50:36ready-prepared vegetables and salads.

0:50:36 > 0:50:40But I think we might be in danger of losing something,

0:50:40 > 0:50:42and that's something very precious,

0:50:42 > 0:50:45a reverence for food in its simple form

0:50:45 > 0:50:48and all the joy and pleasure it can bring.

0:50:50 > 0:50:53- It's more like a nightie! - Who's going first?- I will.

0:50:54 > 0:50:56Beautiful.

0:50:56 > 0:50:58This is the first time for a long time,

0:50:58 > 0:50:59that we're actually touching food again.

0:50:59 > 0:51:02Being encouraged by TV cooks.

0:51:03 > 0:51:05Is it just me that finds it weird

0:51:05 > 0:51:08- how just, like, egg and flour makes, like...- It is weird.

0:51:08 > 0:51:10- It makes something completely different.- I don't understand it.

0:51:14 > 0:51:16Oh, this is getting silky.

0:51:16 > 0:51:19- Is it getting silky?- It's not silky, but it's getting silky.

0:51:19 > 0:51:21Makes a bit of a mess, doesn't it?

0:51:21 > 0:51:24Yeah, well, it's all about getting your hands dirty.

0:51:24 > 0:51:28Delia's cookbook was a publishing sensation, selling a million copies.

0:51:28 > 0:51:31Her classic tomato sauce needs to simmer for an hour and a half,

0:51:31 > 0:51:34leaving plenty of time to perfect their pasta-making technique.

0:51:34 > 0:51:35Is it coming? It's starting.

0:51:35 > 0:51:38That's an awfully long time. 42 times?

0:51:38 > 0:51:41We have to repeat this whole process for the other bits.

0:51:41 > 0:51:44So, that'll be 84 times rolling?

0:51:44 > 0:51:45Yeah, at least.

0:51:45 > 0:51:47Because that's not even half the dough.

0:51:47 > 0:51:49Can you see yourself doing this on a sort of daily basis?

0:51:49 > 0:51:52Yeah, it would be nice if you were, like, wanting to

0:51:52 > 0:51:55have, like, a party or something and you wanted to make pasta.

0:51:55 > 0:51:57- You could be, like, "I made this myself."- Yeah.

0:51:57 > 0:52:00With convenience food freeing households

0:52:00 > 0:52:02from the need to cook from scratch every day,

0:52:02 > 0:52:04cooking had become a leisure activity,

0:52:04 > 0:52:06reserved for the weekend or special occasions.

0:52:06 > 0:52:07Whoa!

0:52:07 > 0:52:09Oh, that's wonderful. Hang it up on the tree.

0:52:09 > 0:52:11Hang it on the tree, baby.

0:52:11 > 0:52:14What are you going to call it? You have to call pasta a name.

0:52:14 > 0:52:17That looks a bit like a doily, doesn't it? So, doilytella.

0:52:20 > 0:52:22That is gorgeous.

0:52:22 > 0:52:24Nice. Hang it up on the tree.

0:52:24 > 0:52:27- It's really good, isn't it?- Yeah.

0:52:27 > 0:52:30That looks good. That looks, like, from a shop.

0:52:30 > 0:52:33That's the ultimate praise, isn't it? "It looks like it's from a shop."

0:52:33 > 0:52:37Next time you make this, you get them all one length.

0:52:37 > 0:52:39How can I manage this?

0:52:39 > 0:52:40Thank you.

0:52:42 > 0:52:45Towards the end of the '90s, you've got this completely different style.

0:52:45 > 0:52:48It's sort of homely, rustic food,

0:52:48 > 0:52:52where the emphasis is more on quality ingredients than fussy preparation.

0:52:53 > 0:52:56Really nice. I think it's the best pasta I've ever had.

0:52:56 > 0:52:58Blimey!

0:52:58 > 0:52:59I think this is a really nice way to cook,

0:52:59 > 0:53:03with everybody sort of pitching in and all fresh ingredients.

0:53:03 > 0:53:05It's just nice, fresh pasta.

0:53:05 > 0:53:08And I guess it was, like, doubly-nice because we made it.

0:53:19 > 0:53:20Look at that. 1999.

0:53:21 > 0:53:23Millennium Dome.

0:53:24 > 0:53:26- What do you think of it? - I still like it.

0:53:26 > 0:53:28Whenever I drive past and see it, I think, wow.

0:53:29 > 0:53:31It's the final year of the millennium

0:53:31 > 0:53:33and after six weeks of eating in the past,

0:53:33 > 0:53:35the Robshaws have reached the last day

0:53:35 > 0:53:37of their time-travelling experiment.

0:53:37 > 0:53:39'As Britain's countdown to the millennium continues,

0:53:39 > 0:53:41'final preparations are now being made

0:53:41 > 0:53:43'for a night of unprecedented partying.'

0:53:46 > 0:53:49The Robshaws are getting ready for a celebration of their own,

0:53:49 > 0:53:51guided by the very latest TV chef.

0:53:53 > 0:53:54I like the way he uses these

0:53:54 > 0:53:57really sort of active, energetic sort of verbs.

0:53:57 > 0:54:00"Smash up the chilli," he says, "Rip the steaks in half."

0:54:00 > 0:54:01It's a bit violent, isn't it?

0:54:02 > 0:54:05Jamie Oliver couldn't have been more different to Delia,

0:54:05 > 0:54:07but he joined her in encouraging us

0:54:07 > 0:54:09to rediscover the joy of home cooking.

0:54:10 > 0:54:12Just squeeze that in there.

0:54:14 > 0:54:15Just mush it up in your hands.

0:54:15 > 0:54:18And the first thing I'm going to do

0:54:18 > 0:54:21is get a big handful and rub it all over the meat.

0:54:21 > 0:54:23So, straightaway, the skin's going to be tasty, lovely-jubbly.

0:54:23 > 0:54:25Chuck it all in the pestle and mortar.

0:54:25 > 0:54:27Just chuck it in, bish-bosh, in they go.

0:54:27 > 0:54:31Rip them, tear them, chuck them in, shove them in.

0:54:32 > 0:54:34Polly and I are invited to the party,

0:54:34 > 0:54:37ready to toast the end of the experiment.

0:54:37 > 0:54:38We set this up to talk about food,

0:54:38 > 0:54:40it's ended up talking about all sorts of other things.

0:54:40 > 0:54:43Well, I think that's what I'd hoped the experiment would do.

0:54:43 > 0:54:45Food can be a sort of lens

0:54:45 > 0:54:48on a whole set of other aspects of social life.

0:54:48 > 0:54:52Hi. Good to see you. Haven't seen you for ages. Come in.

0:54:52 > 0:54:55- Lovely to see you. - Hello, Giles. Good to see you.

0:54:55 > 0:54:57You could snap each one of those in half.

0:54:57 > 0:54:59- Would that be really helpful?- Yeah.

0:54:59 > 0:55:01So, how was the '90s for you this time around?

0:55:01 > 0:55:03It's so informal.

0:55:03 > 0:55:07The way that I'm doing, you know, a good deal of the cooking now,

0:55:07 > 0:55:09which didn't happen at all in the '50s.

0:55:09 > 0:55:11The whole layout of the house has changed,

0:55:11 > 0:55:12to make it sort of more open-plan

0:55:12 > 0:55:14and reflecting the way we live, I suppose.

0:55:14 > 0:55:15When the experiment started,

0:55:15 > 0:55:18I actually did want to get back into the kitchen,

0:55:18 > 0:55:20because it was a place I hadn't ever sort of really dominated.

0:55:20 > 0:55:22That domination will never come to pass.

0:55:22 > 0:55:27So, now the space is actually open for everybody.

0:55:27 > 0:55:32I actually feel better, now I've realised that and accepted that.

0:55:32 > 0:55:34In the '50s, you were thinking about food a lot in your '50s,

0:55:34 > 0:55:37- because you're in a food experiment. - Because we were bloody starving!

0:55:37 > 0:55:40But in the '50s, food wasn't fun, was it, for most people?

0:55:40 > 0:55:42- And then it's become a recreation. - That's right.

0:55:47 > 0:55:49It's time to raise a celebratory glass

0:55:49 > 0:55:52to the conclusion of the Robshaws' 50-year journey.

0:55:58 > 0:56:00To the '90s and the end of everything.

0:56:00 > 0:56:02Cheers! Cheers, everybody!

0:56:04 > 0:56:07'And now with fewer than three minutes to go

0:56:07 > 0:56:10'before the start of the new millennium,

0:56:10 > 0:56:14'in all parts of these islands, people are waiting in their own ways.

0:56:14 > 0:56:16'Here, outside Cardiff City Hall,

0:56:16 > 0:56:20'Belfast and in Birmingham Centenary Square.

0:56:20 > 0:56:24'We're watching as the last year of the last century

0:56:24 > 0:56:28'of the old millennium slouches off stage

0:56:28 > 0:56:31'to make way for the youthful entry of the new.'

0:56:31 > 0:56:35BIG BEN'S MIDNIGHT CHIMES BEGIN

0:56:35 > 0:56:40Five, four, three, two, one!

0:56:46 > 0:56:47Oooh!

0:56:49 > 0:56:52'Well, it is now 2000 today.

0:56:52 > 0:56:54'And to mark the birth of the new century,

0:56:54 > 0:56:58'the river of fire on the Thames, fireworks all over the country.'

0:57:01 > 0:57:05I have learnt that, as time has gone on,

0:57:05 > 0:57:08food has become less of something that you have to eat

0:57:08 > 0:57:09and more pleasure.

0:57:11 > 0:57:15During these past, you know, 50 years of time travel,

0:57:15 > 0:57:19I think I am more willing to try and eat things now.

0:57:19 > 0:57:21I think that's a good life skill to have.

0:57:23 > 0:57:26I definitely have enjoyed my time-travelling experience.

0:57:26 > 0:57:29I'll probably miss the most the excitement

0:57:29 > 0:57:31about new things coming in.

0:57:32 > 0:57:34I think the experiment, as a whole,

0:57:34 > 0:57:38has made me realise how important it is to eat together as a family

0:57:38 > 0:57:41and what fun it can be and how good that is for the family dynamic.

0:57:42 > 0:57:46I've realised we just don't sit still enough

0:57:46 > 0:57:50to really think about what it is we are eating

0:57:50 > 0:57:52and where it comes from

0:57:52 > 0:57:54and how it's grown.

0:57:54 > 0:57:58I even sort of think, what we've got, we are lucky to have.

0:57:59 > 0:58:02Just by changing the layout of a family's kitchen,

0:58:02 > 0:58:05by changing some of the things in their larder and the way they eat,

0:58:05 > 0:58:08you can change their whole experience of the world.

0:58:08 > 0:58:09You can change their whole life experience.

0:58:09 > 0:58:12Food is that central to who we are and what we do.

0:58:15 > 0:58:18Next week, I'll be giving the Robshaws a sneak preview

0:58:18 > 0:58:21of what the future might look like.

0:58:21 > 0:58:23The more fat there is in it,

0:58:23 > 0:58:25the more you're going to have to pay.

0:58:29 > 0:58:31I am kind of repulsed.