School Dinners in the 1960's

I love stuffed hearts. Reminds me, I've some in my freezer

When I was seven, I remember hearing my mam having a conversation with a neighbour about how I would only eat hard-boiled eggs and rice pudding and the neighbour suggested that she make me have school dinners, as I wouldn’t dare refuse the food there. I loved them and, in the fifth year at school, a pupil used to get the chance to help the dinner ladies serve up.

I loved the stew and always loved the apple crumble. I can’t actually remember anything that I didn’t like and, though we didn’t get a choice of menus, the food was always good.

I must have been lucky with the schools I went to In the Altrincham area in the 60's and early 70's- 2 choices of main course with veg/salad and 2 choices of dessert - always hot and well prepared and lots of variety over the weeks. Great dinner ladies and kitchen staff. People went up for seconds if there were leftovers. Must admit I still like tapioca though but like many DH can't stand it.

My School dinners where also nice , Manchester tart , chocolate pudding and custard , stewed fruit and carnation . The only thing I wasn`t keen on was liver , we had no choice but to eat it as we couldn`t leave the table until our plates were empty . Children get far too much choice these days about what they will or won`t eat , I get so annoyed by pickiness about food . In the 50`s we regularly had just mashed potatoes or jam butties for our tea when my Dad was out of work ( he was a lagger so had to go where the work was and often had weeks where there was nothing) Maybe that is why I remember school dinners fondly !

I ate everything years later met my old dinner lady in the supermarket she told my wife I always asked for seconds

I remember Toffee cream tart being a favourite, and mmm chocolate sponge and chocolate custard. No idea what the dinners were.

We were told that if we really didn't like any food our mothers should write to the school about it and we wouldn't have to eat it. I never did find out why my mother didn't write to the school and left me being forced to eat endless hideous milk puddings. I can only think that she must have believed it would be character forming!

I would run a mile too.

Soz, wrong page.

I went to several schools and loved school dinners in all of them.

I have fond memories of school dinners which, for the most part, were delicious. We had no choice but to eat what was provided. If it was something you didn't like, you still had to have a 'small' helping. The only thing I never learned to love was semolina pudding.

At primary school I remember being asked to bring in a cup full of blackberries on a Monday morning. Everyone did the same and by lunch time a delicious, freshly made blackberry and apple pie, crumble or summer pudding would appear for dessert.

All the food was prepared every day on the premises by our wonderful dinner ladies who were under the control of our formidable 'domestic bursar'. We were all petrified of her, but she was extremely good at her job. I saw her at a school reunion when, aged in her 90's, she did not seem scary at all, and was thrilled when I told her how fondly I recalled her school meals.

We also had to help with clearing and fetching food to the table which would then be served by one of our teachers who would eat with us, and I can't remember anyone being overweight. What has gone wrong, I wonder?

As far as I recall, we had fairly edible meals that included things like goulash, chops and apples and cheese rolls for pudding. After all these years I can't really remember and don't really care.

I would have had school dinners from 1967 (when I was 5) as my mum worked. I can remember huge hexagonal folding tables and a jug of water in the middle . A teacher would pour the water . The food was almost always pretty good with the exception of soggy, overlooked vegetables and bland watery custard. I loved the school curry and rice (it seemed very exotic and had loads of sultanas in it) and the delicious Manchester tart. Heaven if you could get the corner bit.

It might seem like a rather trivial thing to discuss but the point is, I think, that in those days there were proper kitchens, properly staffed and with fresh food being cooked daily from scratch. I think, following Jamie Oliver's campaign to reveal the ghastly state of school dinners, there has been a move towards less convenience-type food and more freshly cooked, healthier food but I don't know whether the changes have been susbtantial or fairly superficial.

I agree with your post Eloethan - except that I don't think it is trivial, and you go on to say that the the food in those days was freshly cooked from scratch; some schools do manage to achieve this today, but with the rush to provide free school dinners many schools have to 'bus' them in from elsewhere. I do hope they are improving on the rubbish that my DC were offered in the 1980s and 1990s. I used to send them with a packed lunch but they used to look longingly at the chips, chips, chips and burgers etc and ask if they could have them one or two days a week, like some of their friends.

I don't think school cooks had heard of curry when I was at school gillybob although DM used to make one with leftover Sunday roast!