07.08.03
Tapioca
tops Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Good Food magazine's 'most hated' school dinners survey
Tapioca
is the most hated school food of all time reveals new survey results
from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Good Food magazine readers and users of the Friends Reunited
website.
Cabbage,
overcooked vegetables, lumpy mashed potato and lumpy custard closely
followed in the survey. Surprisingly, Brussel sprouts came bottom
(No. 20) of the most hated list. Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes remembers
these small green squidgy devils with horror:
"My
worst memory is being forced to eat totally overcooked yellowy,
brown Brussel sprouts. Subsequently I was sick onto the plate."
Over
half of those questioned in the survey (51%) said they have been
so scarred by school dinners that the experience still affects their
everyday eating habits. 53% claimed that they were forced to eat
school dinners and agonised over every mouthful.
The
survey also discovered the top ten nicknames for school foods. 'Frogspawn'
topped the list as a nickname for tapioca. In second place came
'bullets' as a popular description of peas, followed by 'worms'
for spaghetti.
One
in three said that they had found clever ways to dispose of their
lunch while the dinner ladies weren't watching - the most popular
ruses were squashing the food between stacking plates, putting it
on to someone else's plate when they weren't looking, wrapping it
in a hankie or dropping it on the floor.
And
71% of those who have children at school think the quality of today's
school dinners is only 'average' at the very most.
The
full results are published in the September issue of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Good Food
magazine, on sale 6 August. A selection of our favourite TV chefs
also gave their opinions on the delights of school dinners:
"The
watery, overcooked, rank-smelling grey cauliflower they served up
in the lumpy wallpaper paste that masqueraded as cheese sauce was
(and still is) my idea of lunchtime torture!" Sophie Grigson
"I
particularly hated tapioca, because I was forced to eat it. My mission
to get people to buy good quality meat is partly the result of my
experiences at school where overcooked, bland, disgusting meat was
common." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
However,
it does seem that we remember our school puddings with more favourable
passion. The top five favourite school dinners in order are fish
and chips, ice-cream, sponge pudding, jam roly poly and jelly.
Full
survey results:
The
Top 20 hate list
1.
Tapioca
2. Cabbage
3. Overcooked veg
4. Lumpy mash
5. Lumpy custard
6. Liver
7. Semolina
8. Fatty or grisly meat
9. Blancmange
10. Beetroot
11. Spam fritters
12. Gravy
13. Macaroni
14. Butterbeans
15. Mince
16. Fish
17. Peas
18. Stew
19. Carrots
20. Sprouts
The
Top 10 nicknames
1.
Frogspawn - Tapioca
2. Bullets - Peas
3. Worms - Spaghetti
4. Dead Man's Log - Jam Roly Poly
5. Fly Cemetery - Spotted Dick or Eccles Cake
6. Eyeballs - Sprouts
7. Baby's Bottom - Pink Blancmange
8. Cat Sick - Custard
9. Horsemeat - Meat
10. Septic Spots - Fried Eggs
Notes
to editors:
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Magazines is a division of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide Ltd, the commercial consumer
arm of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. It is the UK's third largest consumer magazines
publisher, with a portfolio of more than 30 regular titles for adults,
teenagers and children and a combined circulation of 4.2 million
(ABC: July to December 2002). The second half of last year saw circulation
increase overall by 5.4% period on period and 2.2% year on year.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide does not use licence fee income for its activities
and re-invests in public service programming. In 2001/2002 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide
returned Β£123 million to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Good Food Magazine is the UK's biggest-selling food magazine, with
monthly sales of 323,764 (ABC: Jan to Jun 2002).
is the website that reunites old friends. Currently, new visitors
are invited to find their schools, work places or clubs and add
their name and email address to the list of people already registered.
With over 9 million registered users, thousands of reunions have
taken place with users being reunited with their friends and family
members.
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