Takeaway / fast food general discussion

[Raymond Lin]

There is no way to have a reasoned debate on this because if anyone dares to suggest that people on benefits or those that are complaining are ******* money up the wall all hell breaks loose.

The truth is, as always, complicated. I can be fairly certain that we spend less than 90% of people in a similar situation to ourselves (2 people living together) and between us we earn well over £100k/year. I see the vast majority of people, even those who are very much poor and have no money spending it on booze and takeaways.

The argument that its too expensive to cook at home or people don't know how doesn't even hold up to the most basic of scrutiny. I would bet that you could name any food from anywhere in the world and I would be able to make an approximation of it in the UK. The only difficulty would be some of the ingredients. How would I achieve this miracle? About 30s on the internet.

I quite often make a pasta sauce from scratch which consists of onion, garlic, chilli flakes, salt, tomatoes and a tiny bit of sugar. The whole meal for 2 of us comes to a grand total of probably about £1. If we add a pack of sausages it will do us two meals and cost £4 so £1 per portion and thats with fancy sausages.

The cheapest I can feed the two of us via a takeaway is probably about £15 vs £2 for home cooked. People shouldn't be in a position where they cannot feed themselves and I think that come next winter there will be a lot of people genuinely in that position. Currently though, many people who claim poverty are simply ******* awful with their money management.

There is a lot of this and I think the typical British taste palette is so limited that they just don’t know what can be done cheap and good. The range of food I see people eat day in day out is so boring at times, no wonder they get takeaway (full of salt) to spice things up.

They don’t think beyond Cheese and Ham sandwich to Beans on Toast at home. That’s as far as their cooking skill goes and some people I know have difficulty boiling an egg.

I made congee the other week. Literally things I have round the house and the freezer. It’s meant to be a cheap meal, to stretch out the rice during famine times so it’s a simple meal but 99% of people here have never heard of it. I told someone at work and she thinks it’s strange to eat rice porridge, but oats is perfectly fine!



I also made beef and potato croquette, I think for about £2 of ingredients I made like 14 of them, gave half of it away as it’s not as nice the next day.



A lot of people here who don’t live in London or the big cities and are not travelled are not exposed to other foods from other cultures (which is not as privileged than the UK) which can be made easily and cheaply (like the Korean Army Stew or Congee, things that are created due to lack of food). In their mind there are only Beans on Toast that can be eaten cheaply (which these days, will set you back about 80p a portion if yo get Heinz beans with Hovis. Together with the lack of cooking skills, laziness to google and to top of all off, picky eaters !!! it means it is easier to open an app instead.

 

[jpaul]

The argument that its too expensive to cook at home or people don't know how doesn't even hold up to the most basic of scrutiny.

I think the stronger argument is, the time meal prep takes, some don't have that with two parents at work, or people may not realise you need to prioritize it (..your health/nutrition lol) above socializing/binge watching tv... ? traditionally, which cuisines aren't based on a women at home multi-tasking the meal prep, it's the antithesis of fast food.
most of my family currently spend 60-90mins a day on prep, plus bits of batch prep at the weekend say.

Did you see the pic of the food? Just pale slop, half a ton of pasta and some dodgy brown chicken gloop.

yes Anderson should acknowledge the limitations of his meal cooking experience .. the dishes nutrition/taste & hidden expenses -
hopefully the media will, yet, dissect that, jamie oliver could put himself out there, say, with an opinion,
my recollection of the school meals JO did, was that the budget itself was more in the 50p range.(w/o energy)

 

[the shadow]

Jamie Oliver threatens Johnson with ‘Eton Mess’ protest over anti-obesity U-turn

The celebrity chef called on the public to gather outside Downing Street on Friday with bowls of the dessert to demonstrate against the U-turns.

www.standard.co.uk

 

[fez]

I think the stronger argument is, the time meal prep takes, some don't have that with two parents at work, or people may not realise you need to prioritize it (..your health/nutrition lol) above socializing/binge watching tv... ? traditionally, which cuisines aren't based on a women at home multi-tasking the meal prep, it's the antithesis of fast food.
most of my family currently spend 60-90mins a day on prep, plus bits of batch prep at the weekend say.

What on earth are they cooking. I made a chicken curry last night and it took about 45 minutes start to finish and 20 minutes+ of that was checking on it occasionally as it reduced a little. I want to come around to yours for dinner because I assume you are eating goooood.

You can even watch something on the iPad if your own company is that abhorrent!

I know we are all guilty of the old "I don't have time" but there is no such thing for 99% of the population. I would wager that almost everyone does the square root of FA for at least 2 hours an evening. Sitting in front of the TV, mindlessly scrolling on social media etc.

As you say, its about prioritisation and how much you want something. Its much easier to sit in front of the TV, order a takeaway and then claim you have no time and no money when someone asks.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I’ve stopped buying takeaway for the time being. Partly for health, mainly to save some cash. I can’t justify spending most of the newly inflated prices.

 

[GlitterBalls]

There is a lot of this and I think the typical British taste palette is so limited that they just don’t know what can be done cheap and good. The range of food I see people eat day in day out is so boring at times, no wonder they get takeaway (full of salt) to spice things up.

They don’t think beyond Cheese and Ham sandwich to Beans on Toast at home. That’s as far as their cooking skill goes and some people I know have difficulty boiling an egg.

I made congee the other week. Literally things I have round the house and the freezer. It’s meant to be a cheap meal, to stretch out the rice during famine times so it’s a simple meal but 99% of people here have never heard of it. I told someone at work and she thinks it’s strange to eat rice porridge, but oats is perfectly fine!



I also made beef and potato croquette, I think for about £2 of ingredients I made like 14 of them, gave half of it away as it’s not as nice the next day.



A lot of people here who don’t live in London or the big cities and are not travelled are not exposed to other foods from other cultures (which is not as privileged than the UK) which can be made easily and cheaply (like the Korean Army Stew or Congee, things that are created due to lack of food). In their mind there are only Beans on Toast that can be eaten cheaply (which these days, will set you back about 80p a portion if yo get Heinz beans with Hovis. Together with the lack of cooking skills, laziness to google and to top of all off, picky eaters !!! it means it is easier to open an app instead.

Bold of you to assume most British only seem to think of beans on toast.. me, along with my immediate family have a wide range of food staples we eat. I am a Maltese descendent mind you (grandad), but born in Britain. I presume you're Asian/British?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Bold of you to assume most British only seem to think of beans on toast.. me, along with my immediate family have a wide range of food staples we eat. I am a Maltese descendent mind you (grandad), but born in Britain. I presume you're Asian/British?

You have pretty much proven my point. Your background means you are exposed to other cultures and food.

Most brits that i know, if you ask them for a cheap meal to save money...what is the first thing that comes to mind? Beans on Toast.

It's in part a tongue-in-cheek answer but it's also true in my experience, bold? Yes, but I think it would be very accurate if you ask 1000 brit on the street, I do know that the answer won't be congee.

 

[BUDFORCE]

I love a good kebab.

Best take away/fast food in my opinion.

But the quality varies vastly and some of the bad ones are pretty bad, that grey "meat paste" elephant leg stuff a lot of places do.

I used to live in North London years ago and miss the kebabs there, some of the takeaways the lamb donors are sliced lamb marinated, same with chicken, and the shish are cooked over charcoal, so much better quality and only marginally more expensive, although that was going back 15 odd years. Served with plenty of fresh salad, Bulger etc, such good food.

Second to that is fried chicken, cheap and good fried chicken is great.

I think Pizza is massively overrated and expensive for what it is, the likes of Pizza hut and Domino's pizza are vile.

Five guys mentioned earlier in this thread I only had once, never again, literally no idea why it is so expensive.

I don't mind Chinese take, but the quality can vary a lot and it's expensive.

Fish and chips is meh, I get a hankering for one every few years, than have one, and am then reminded why I only have on every couple of years.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Fish and chips is meh, I get a hankering for one every few years, than have one, and am then reminded why I only have on every couple of years.

This is so true!

I eat it and then I wonder why did I want something so bland and greasy. Then I do it again a year later.

 

[Surveyor]

I was taught the basics to cook from school, my mum and grandmother. Picked up tips from other relatives, tv shows, YouTube clips etc. Most of my cooking is experimental.

Have you experimented cooking 150 meals for 30p each?

 

[GlitterBalls]

It's in part a tongue-in-cheek answer but it's also true in my experience, bold? Yes, but I think it would be very accurate if you ask 1000 brit on the street, I do know that the answer won't be congee.

Well of course it won't be congee, congee isn't a British food staple...

Some of the best chefs in the world are British, all people need to do is follow recipe guides etc. The internet is wonderful.
I think most people are just lazy/and or too wary of change. So they keep to what they know.. I mean there is a huge variety of even British dishes to choose from and experiment with. Cooking is lots of fun and if people could see that and be more confident in it then they would be surprised at what they can achieve.
Take-aways are just convenience after a long day at work or as a treat at the weekend or after a few drinks etc, for me anyway.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Well of course it won't be congee, congee isn't a British food staple...

Which is MY point lol that the taste palette is limited, so don't know what else can be cooked cheaply vary their meals, thus if they want to switch it up, they end up spending a fortune on takeaways.

 

[the shadow]

Camilla reveals she has 'never followed a recipe in her life'

Describing her culinary style as 'nothing too mucked about, or fussy or fiddly', Camilla says she learnt to cook by watching her mother, Rosalind Shand, who made food the 'heart' of family life.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Feek]

Fish and chips is meh, I get a hankering for one every few years, than have one, and am then reminded why I only have on every couple of years.

I'm not a great fan of fish and chips, the last time I had it was in a pub, by the sea, where I know the fish was swimming around the sea just a few hours earlier. It was fantastic, really good. The freshness of the fish makes a huge difference.

 

[jpaul]

What on earth are they cooking. I made a chicken curry last night and it took about 45 minutes start to finish and 20 minutes+ of that was checking on it occasionally as it reduced a little. I want to come around to yours for dinner because I assume you are eating goooood.

well it was a quiche , on pastry done on a previous day, and bread&butter pudding last night - 90 mins is usually including washing up.
for curries / bolognaise ... they're exclusively prepared/cooked on the previous days, but I suppose I could marinade curry meat on previous days, but even then, they get together, better, on the following day - bay leaves/cardamom take time to do their stuff too.

 

[omnomnom]

What on earth are they cooking. I made a chicken curry last night and it took about 45 minutes start to finish and 20 minutes+ of that was checking on it occasionally as it reduced a little. I want to come around to yours for dinner because I assume you are eating goooood.

You can even watch something on the iPad if your own company is that abhorrent!

I know we are all guilty of the old "I don't have time" but there is no such thing for 99% of the population. I would wager that almost everyone does the square root of FA for at least 2 hours an evening. Sitting in front of the TV, mindlessly scrolling on social media etc.

As you say, its about prioritisation and how much you want something. Its much easier to sit in front of the TV, order a takeaway and then claim you have no time and no money when someone asks.

I can make a curry in 10 minutes if I need to. Garlic and ginger combined in a jar and it take no time at all.

 

[fez]

well it was a quiche , on pastry done on a previous day, and bread&butter pudding last night - 90 mins is usually including washing up.
for curries / bolognaise ... they're exclusively prepared/cooked on the previous days, but I suppose I could marinade curry meat on previous days, but even then, they get together, better, on the following day - bay leaves/cardamom take time to do their stuff too.

Lets be fair, most people don't go to those lengths. I'm sure it makes it 10% nicer but you could do without it. I would say the average amount of time I spend cooking every night is 30-40 minutes.

 

[tom_e]

Don't forget it's all well and good if you've got spare time in the day but for some and I imagine this affects the poorer areas of society more if you're pulling something like 12 hour shifts every day then you've got to get home, sort yourself out, sort your kids out, get some semi decent sleep and a bit of time to actually relax then I imagine cooking time is the bit that is going to get squeezed as there as ways to either eliminate it (take away) or cut it down to basically nothing (something you can bung in the oven or microwave).

Yes they could cut down on some of the small bit of relaxation time or spend their days off food prepping for a couple of hours but as with most things like this it's easy to say it especially if it doesn't affect you, not quite as easy to put into practise.

 

[GlitterBalls]

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[jpaul]

Most brits that i know, if you ask them for a cheap meal to save money...what is the first thing that comes to mind? Beans on Toast.

cheap&enjoyable meal - I'd go for corned beef hash or mac'n'cheese -
Gen X, I've never seen star wars bought/eaten beans at home, maybe a couple of times eaten them in youth hostels/scouts, probably a consequence of childhood diet/education.