At a recent gathering of food professionals attending an awards ceremony at The Savoy Hotel, discussion around the lunch table turned to what we would choose as our final meal if we were on death row. Initially, the conversation considered five star meals, which we had experienced with complex combinations of ingredients and rich sauces presented artistically. One might expect a group of foodies to go for such sophisticated, exotic cuisine. However, in the end we all appeared to want simple, honest food in our imaginary hour of need.
I felt I would want to start with some chilled fine champagne. To follow it would be a close run thing. I would either have a bacon sandwich prepared with well cooked (no flabby fat please), dry cured British bacon and proper 'plastic' white bread (no other bread will do for a bacon sarnie). Or, I would request a large platter of Spanish Iberico Serrano ham, manchego cheese and freshly baked bread with a bowl of Spanish olives and a small saucer of Spanish olive oil in which to dip the bread. Either dish would be accompanied by a good bottle of Rioja reserva.
I believe the reasons we wanted such simple food is that it fulfils a basic human desire for simple flavours in a meal that satisfies our hunger. Such meals probably stem for our early eating experiences or from meals taken when relaxed - I can still feel the sun from eating Serrano ham in Spain!
The message to food developers is clear: great food does not have to be complicated. Our early eating experiences are with us for life, and while generally people's tastes become more adventurous over time, these early influences can be exploited.
We are all aware of the market for 'nursery food' but that is aimed at a previous generation. New developments should be considering the expectations of the baby boomers; after all they have the disposable income!
Celia Wright is group technologist at Oscar Mayer