When Gallup, in 1947, asked the British public what would be their no-expense-spared fantasy meal it came back as:

Sherry, tomato soup, sole, roast chicken with roast potatoes, peas and sprouts, trifle and cream, cheese and biscuits and coffee.

It was a large meal and a lot of food but that’s not particularly surprising after all the deprivation and food shortages in Britain during and after the war. To our tastes today the menu may seem a little unimaginative and humdrum. Two years after the war, however, a meal like that, for most people, was only remotely possible in some kind of extreme fantasy world. Food in the immediate post-war years was often more strictly controlled than during the actual war. For instance bread was only rationed for the first time during the years of 1946-48 and potatoes briefly during 1947. Tea was still rationed until 1952 and then the following year sugar and eggs became freely available as did, finally, cheese and meats in 1954.