We all know how hung up the Victorians were about food. Eating was confined to the dining room and had to happen at certain times of day. There were repressive dietary rules which led to frustration and unhappiness. No eating between meals. Don’t eat banana before going to bed. Spinach is good for you. Luckily we now realise that there’s more to eating than nourishment; it is a pleasure that most adults enjoy and in our more enlightened, permissive society people relish their food either singly or in couples. We no longer feed on ignorance and taboo. 

These new attitudes really took hold in the Sixties when there were parties with plenty of food around. It became fashionable to experiment with tarts, Quiche Lorraine, avocado dips, foreign specialities – as long as you enjoyed it you were free to have a belly full. People began to eat