Eight retro school dinners that are making a comeback

Turkey Twizzlers and a traybake, anyone?

Who remembers Artic Roll cake?

From lumpy custard to rounds of spotted dick, school dinners were really something.

Before Jamie Oliver came onto the scene with his healthy food campaign, it was a world of beige beauty, and we still get a pang thinking about some of our favourite canteen dishes. According to social media, we’re not alone; people are seemingly craving #schooldinnercakes right now – we reckon it’s a comfort-in-lockdown thing.

So, we’ve taken a look back at some more classic school dinner staples it might be time to revive at home. Tucking into a forkful of one of these old favourites will take you right back to your childhood…

1. Sponge pudding and custard

Britain’s known for its love of puddings, from bread and butter to sticky toffee varieties, but there are few more nostalgic than the classic sponge pudding: a sweet sponge cake steamed to perfection and covered in a gloriously sweet smattering of treacle.

A good helping of school custard used to make the prospect of a maths lesson seem slightly more bearable.

2. Turkey Twizzlers

These corkscrew treats became a point of contention in Jamie Oliver’s healthy eating campaign – so much so he managed to get them banned from schools in 2005.

They were fatty, processed and not all that good for us, but we still remember them fondly. Fans of Turkey Twizzlers will be happy to know that manufacturers Bernard Matthews recently relaunched the much-loved meaty treat with 70% turkey.

3. Jam roly-poly

Thought to be invented in the 19th century, the jam roly-poly was also known as ‘shirt-sleeve pudding’.

The sweet dessert has a swirly sponge interior made by rolling up jam-spread dough, in a similar way to a Swiss Roll. It’s then steamed or baked and served with hot custard or a sprinkle of icing sugar.

4. Spam fritters

Spam fritters were the no-nonsense food that always hit the hunger spot after a morning of running around the school gym. Essentially just a piece of spam deep-fried in batter, the fritters are thought to have been first introduced during World War II, due to a shortage of fish.

They continued to be a firm favourite in schools though, especially when served with chips and mushy peas.

5. Cornflake tart

If there’s one recipe we wish we could steal from our school dinner ladies, it’s the classic cornflake tart. A thin but deliciously buttery pastry formed the base of this pie, in which a layer of jam and crunchy golden cornflakes were piled on top.

Going in for seconds of the cornflake tart was always a good idea until you had a wobbly tooth, which was no match for the dessert’s rock-hard topping.

6. Chips, cheese and beans

A trio formed by the gods, we tip our hat to the person who first discovered chips taste so much better when spooned into a vat of beans and covered in a layer of grated cheddar.

There’s little artistry or skill to creating this dish, but it still remains one of our top comfort foods for days when we’re feeling a little under the weather.

7. Lancashire hotpot

This moreish stew which originates from the North-West of England was a hearty dish that fuelled us through double biology.

It’s made with either lamb or mutton, stewed with onion and topped with sliced potatoes. The school cook then baked it in a heavy pot on a low heat all morning, so it was ready to plate-up by the time the lunch bell rang.

8. Arctic roll

What a classic. The Arctic roll is architecturally brilliant: vanilla ice cream encased in a thin layer of sponge cake, rolled, with a layer of raspberry sauce between the sponge and the ice cream.

What we really miss about school dinners is being able to eat desserts like Arctic roll in the middle of the day. We still get a pang of nostalgia thinking about the head rushes we’d get when we bit into the ice cream a little too enthusiastically.