Prawn again: 1970s food is back

It sounds like a recipe for dinner party disaster. Prawn cocktail, followed by chicken Kiev, rounded off with Black Forest gateau - the culinary equivalent of dancing in flares to the Brotherhood of Man.

But such gastronomic cliches are making a comeback. Along with gammon and pineapple, duck a l'orange and sherry trifle, they are cropping up on some of London's swankiest menus.

Today's edition of EatSoup, the style magazine for foodies, claims that the capital's coolest chefs are rediscovering Seventies dinner party favourites. "Nico Ladenis does tournedos Rossini, Marco Pierre White has done chicken Kiev and yesterday I enjoyed prawn cocktail at the Halcyon," said Alan Crompton-Batt, a restaurant guru who spotted the "retro cuisine" trend.

Antony Worrall Thompson, the chef/proprietor who has opened several London restaurants serving modern Mediterranean food, says "gutsy" food has replaced "poncey" food. When he took over the Italian restaurant De Cecco earlier this year, regular customers were worried that his tastes would be too avant-garde. They signed a petition to keep avocado prawn on the menu.

They need not have worried. Mr Worrall Thompson said he has nothing against "Kitsch Kitchen" - provided the ingredients are good. "Melon boats with the orange sails - they sum up us struggling to find our way with cooking," he said. "But when you get a really good bit of melon in season, there's nothing to beat Parma ham and melon."

But these 1970s staples still go down badly in some restaurants. Rose Gray, of the River Cafe, in west London, said: "My God! There's nothing much that we do in that line. I would never, ever do prawn cocktail in a million years. If I was going to do prawns, I'd grill them and put fresh chilli and fennel seed and olive oil on them. That would be my prawn cocktail.''

But for some, retro food has never gone away. King prawn sundae - or prawn cocktail - has had an uninterrupted career at the Beefeater chain since it opened 22 years ago. "It represents the Beefeater heartland," a spokeswoman said. "People want what they had before."