Original subtitles

DEBBIE CHAZEN: Welcome back to the 1980s,

a decade that went super sized!

Everything was big.

Big hair, big clothes, big phones.

Britain was changing at breakneck speed.

We went from a steel-producing, coal-mining, struggling nation

to a shoulder pad-clad, money-obsessed powerhouse.

It was the era when technology changed our lives.

My mum had one of the very first microwaves,

and people came round to look at it.

New foods tempted our palates...

Nothing says '80s more than a slice of Viennetta.

And our supermarkets became enormous.

These were monsters.

Nobody had ever seen these things before.

Now we're taking a step back in time...

Oh, wow!

To discover the products we loved...

EXCLAIM I NG

Ice magic! Yes!

Despised...

It's abysmal!

And ones that caused a stir.

It's not an attractive product, is it? No!

Much like a kind of artistic vagina.

LAUGHING

We'll also lift the scientific lid on the fun...

Say hello to my little friend.

And the, quite frankly, bizarre.

This is steel-producing,

also known as meat glue.

And we'll whip up some '80s classic dishes

that got our taste buds tingling.

Today, I'm making French bread pizza.

So, zip up your shell suit,

pour yourself a Cinzano and sit back

as we reveal the secrets of the 1980s' supermarket.

"Pizza cake"! Do you get it?

SHE LAUGHS

I'm not very good, am I, with jokes?

It's the start of the 1980s,

and as a brand-new decade got underway,

Britain was readjusting to its place in the world.

Heavy industry was on its way out,

and the bankers were moving on in.

There was generally a ruthless efficiency

that we hadn't experienced before.

But while mines and steelworks everywhere were closing

at a rate of knots,

there was one sector that was booming...

convenience food.

It was now less about coal and steel

and more about microwavable lasagnes.

Before the '80s,

convenience food was really seen as something of a luxury.

Things like the Vesta ready meals, McCain oven chips, chicken Kievs -

they were things that only people

with double income in the family could afford.

But a food revolution was about to take place

that would send prices plummeting

and bring processed convenience food to the masses.

By the '80s, convenience food was becoming more affordable.

Manufacturing processes had become more efficient,

things were less unionised in the lab our markets,

and we were importing from oversees,

and these factors pushed costs down.

So, in many ways, it was cheaper than conventional cooking.

And not only was it cheap,

it was being processed on a scale never seen before.

It was the era of ultra-convenience.

We saw the likes of Ross Oven Crunchies,

Padley's Chick 'N' Quick,

Findus Dinner Supreme.

And even the humble potato got the ultra-convenience makeover.

♪ Birds Eye potato waffles

♪ Waffly versatile! They go with beans... ♪

Nowadays, I would not touch a potato waffle with the barge pole.

But in those clays,

I was really excited about trying them.

Great product. Everybody loved them.

Everybody had them.

Demand was huge.

Absolutely huge.

Sales were bonkers.

If you sold out on potato waffles, you were gonna have a bad day!

Launched in 1981, the potato waffle quickly became a staple food

in many 1980s' homes,

largely due to the success of that catchy advert.

♪ Birds Eye potato waffles

♪ So waffly versatile! They go with beans... ♪

'We'd, for some reason, be singing in the playground.

'I think it was the American accent.'

It was the list. It was the cuckoo sound.

All of those were just, like,

you know, addictive...

♪ Waffly versatile! They go with beans... ♪

The potato waffle personified

the 1980s' lust for ultra-convenience food.

Ready from frozen in just 15 minutes,

they were marketed as going with anything.

Beans, bangers, bacon, burgers.

Eggs on, eggs in, chops and steak.

And fish fingers.

♪ They're waffly versatile... ♪

MAKES CUCKOO SOUND

They may have been "waffly" successful in the '80s,

but how do potato waffles fair with today's shoppers?

On the corner of an ordinary street,

we've created our version of a 1980s' supermarket...

Ah! I can remember so much of this!

And stocked it with the decade's most iconic foods...

There is nothing more '80s than a Birds Eye potato waffle.

I think I vaguely remember once trying to cook them in a toaster.

They're "waffly versatile".

Ahhh!

Cheers!

So, what will today's shoppers make

of this classic '80s convenience food?

Excuse me. I'm just going to lose myself here.

That is quite nice. Surprisingly potatoey.

They are quite cardboardy.

Yeah, I feel like I could use at least, like,

ten times more seasoning. It's a bit dry.

Where's with my tomato ketchup?

So, mixed reviews from our testers.

But how on Earth do you get mashed potato to stay in that waffly shape?

The man most likely to solve that conundrum

is intrepid food scientist, Dr Chris Clarke.

So, you might think a potato waffle is mostly potato,

and you'll be mostly right.

However, if I was to take this pre-cooked mashed potato

and put it into a waffle mould,

and then try and turn it out,

then I'd probably get a bit of a mess.

Let me show you what I mean.

Oh, clear.

As you can see, what we made is a waffly mess.

Ancl I don't know about you,

but I wouldn't want that with my spaghetti hoops.

I hope you're going to clear that up, Dr Chris.

So, how do they turn this...

into this?

Well, food manufacturers

are waffly tight-lipped about their trade secrets.

But if anyone can take a stab at it, it's Dr Chris.

This is hyd roxypropyl methylce llu lose,

and it is a stabiliser.

It's a kind of gummy, gelatinous substance.

This stuff is what helps give plants their structure.

And when mixed with our mash,

it should help it hold its shape when moulded.

So, I've got my plain old mash.

I'm going to take a big dollop of my nice jelly-like stabiliser.

In it goes.

This stabiliser is just the first step.

Next, something to make the waffle nice and smooth in the middle

and crispy on the outside.

If we were making mash at home, there's one more thing we'd do.

We probably add some kind of fat to make it nice and creamy.

But shop-bought waffles tend to use something like a vegetable oil.

It's cheaper than butter or cream.

It's vegan-friendly, and all around, it's just easier.

Just a splash of oil is enough, mix it well,

and the mixture's ready for that all-important waffle mould.

I'm going to smudge it right in there,

getting all the corners.

Get it in every nook and cranny.

Now that's nicely smudged, it is time for the next secret.

Ancl that is that this stuff works a treat with a partial cooking.

Giving the waffles a cook in advance

activates the stabiliser, which then strengthens

and sets the waffle into shape before it's frozen.

OK, so, this is the moment of truth.

Oh, look at that.

It's a beautiful thing.

So, as you can see, that stabiliser has really firmed up the structure.

It's made it non-sticky,

and it's really bound the potato together

so that it doesn't separate,

it doesn't crack, and it doesn't mulch,

which is what we were trying to avoid in the first place.

Ancl if I served you that...

compared to this, I think I know which one I choose.

So, there you have it!

That's how potato waffles keep their waffly shape.

I think that is a waffly success.

Lovely! Now where's the sausage, beans and 14 turkey dinosaurs?

Still to come...

We reveal how the '80s supercharged school dinner times...

Ancl it was almost one-up man ship

between five-year-olds about who had the best lunchboxes.

And the iconic treats that we put inside them.

These haven't changed in 40 years.

This is like going back in time. Mm.

DEBBIE CHAZEN: It's the early '8OS

in our rummage through the shelves of Britain's supermarkets.

An ultra-convenience food revolution was underway.

Even school lunchtimes were changing beyond recognition.

Out were the overcooked cabbage and soggy semolina,

and in were the latest must-have lunchboxes.

I remember my sister at school in the '80s,

and it was almost one-up man ship between five-year-olds

about who had the best lunchboxes.

For the girls, it would be My Little Pony,

Care Bears or perhaps a Sylvanian Family.

For the boys - He-Man, ThunderCats, Transformers,

and maybe even The A-Team.

The lunchbox itself was just the starting point.

What was in it was crucial.

Beginning with whichever high sugar,

brightly coloured drink carton you could nag your folks to buy.

There was Quash, Ribena, Kia Ora.

Capri Sun, Orangina.

But the ultimate one - Um Bongo.

SINGS

I don't think there was any kid in the '80s that didn't like Um Bongo.

I can admit to going around the playground

chanting with everyone else, saying...

♪ Um bongo, Um bongo They drink it in the Congo. ♪

'This advert was designed to appeal to kids.'

just to get you to want this carton in your packed lunchbox.

And it worked.

Thanks to the colourful ad with its memorable earworm jingle,

by the mid-'80s, no child - or parent -

could fail to be aware of it.

If you listen to the lyrics,

somebody's really tried to do something

where it rhymes, and it flows.

Although whether an advert like this would be made now,

is another question...

SINGS

What's not so great about the commercial

is that it is totally racially stereotyping.

Also, it's not particularly factual, is it?

I'm not even sure all those animals and all those fruits

come from the Congo.

In fact, it was made in a factory

in a village called Milnthorpe in Cumbria.

So, I doubt very much if anyone at all in the Congo was drinking it.

Um Bongo wasn't the only '80s lunchbox staple

that some might question today.

While sandwiches were generally a less than tantalising choice

of Dairylea cheese or Marmite,

the coolest were pushing for the latest supermarket offering.

Billy Sausage was a product that Tesco started stocking in 1988.

It was a huge slab of meat that was a bit shaped like a sausage,

and you sliced it to reveal a smiley face.

I don't know about you,

but I struggle to eat anything with a face!

So this processed meat,

which was eaten as a sandwich filler,

was billed as a sort of health food.

Ancl the face was there to encourage children to actually eat it.

There were even newspaper reports entitled "Ideas For Choosy Eaters",

which encouraged parents to buy this Billy Sausage

in order to encourage their children to eat a more varied diet.

Today, the coveted clown sausage of the '80s

has spawned several spin-offs, the most common being Billy Bear.

Even if ham shaped like a bear horrifies you,

you've got to wonder how it's actually made.

One man who thinks he has the answer is our very own Dr Chris Clarke.

So, the first thing to say is that the makers of Billy Bear

keep the process a closely guarded secret.

So we don't know exactly how they do it.

But if I was going to have a go, I'd use this stuff here.

This is transglutaminase.

Also known as meat glue.

PSYCHO MAIN THEME

Yes, you heard him -

meat glue.

Transglutaminase is a naturally occurring enzyme

that can bond separate pieces of meat

to make new multi-coloured, patterned creations.

Sounds... yummy.

Now...

I am a scientist, not an artist,

so I think I'm going to have some major difficulties

recreating this face.

So, I'm going to keep things simple.

I'm going to glue two different types of meat together

to make what I call a meaty Battenberg.

Mmm! A meaty Battenberg!

Dr Chris's slightly worrying take on a normally sweet treat

involves chicken and gammon.

Plus, a large dollop of mixed meat glue.

Delicious (!)

I think we're about there, so, let's stick it all together.

Having assembled his rather unsavoury-looking meaty Battenberg,

Dr Chris wraps the whole thing tightly in clingfilm

and gives it a bashing.

This is literally just for shaping purposes.

You don't want to be too rough with it.

I think that's about clone.

Nice and firm.

The Frankenstein sausage

is then cooled in the fridge for several hours to set...

then cooked.

Ancl when it comes out,

you should have something that looks like this...

It's time for the big reveal.

Dr Chris, what have you done to Billy's face?!

So, we've got the chicken and the gammon

with the nice pink and white colours,

and more importantly, it's glued together.

It really is a thing of beauty.

You really need to get out more.

Ancl as you can see, that is a single piece of meat.

Now, I know this might be a bit thick,

but if I had a proper ham slicer,

we'd get something as thin as this one.

I'll give you 50 quid if you actually eat that.

If all that processed meat and sugar wasn't enough,

no self-respecting '80s lunchbox would be complete

without a chocolate biccy.

So, in the '80s, I think there was very much a sense

of parents wanting to be responsible.

So if a kid had a chocolate bar in their lunch box every clay,

that is irresponsible parenting.

But a biscuit in a lunch box,

that's responsible parenting!

And in the early '80s,

it was all about one product in particular.

♪ If you like a lot of chocolate On your biscuit, join our club... ♪

Club biscuits.

Oh, my goodness me!

Club biscuits!

No picnic or lunch,

little outing in the car with the Turner family

would be right

unless you had a Club biscuit.

I loved Jacob's Club biscuits

because the ratio from chocolate to biscuits was really generous.

Ancl so, it was really more about the chocolate

than it was about the biscuits.

The bar had been a supermarket staple for decades...

♪ join our club! ♪

But it was its iconic '80s advert that sent its popularity soaring.

♪ If you like a lot of chocolate On your biscuit, join our club. ♪

It's a good commercial because the jingle is really catchy.

I've remembered it since 1980.

Ancl it did seem exciting and fun.

But just as the Club's place

as go-to lunchtime treat looked secure,

a new biscuit on the block was launched in 1984.

Susie's gonna sing about a different kind of chocolatey biscuit.

♪ Trio... ♪ Too loud.

♪ Triiiioooo... ♪

A company called United Biscuit

saw the success that Jacobs were having with Club bars,

and they wanted a bit of that market.

So, they came up with their own chocolate-based biscuit,

and hence Trio.

That was too loud.

♪ I want a trio And I want one now... ♪

Thing about the advert is,

it shows you how the biscuit is broken down.

You got that piece of biscuit.

You've got the chocolate constructed in such a way

that it's a bucket that can hold a bunch of toffee.

♪ Not one, not two But three things in it

♪ I say chocolatey biscuit And a toffee taste too. ♪

When you saw that, you were like,

"This is some chunky thing that I want to get my teeth into."

No three things are quite as good together as a Trio.

The debate over which brand was best

continued to rage throughout the '80s

and well into the 21st Century.

But ultimately, one biscuit came out on top.

Trio was discontinued in 2003,

but it was brought back briefly in 2016

clue to a Facebook campaign.

But sadly, you can't buy them any more.

However, Club Biscuits are still going strong,

albeit with only two of the original favours

still currently on sale - orange and mint.

Gammon and chicken flavour never really took off.

These haven't changed in 40 years.

These could be from the '80s. That is amazing.

Which classic flavour do today's shoppers prefer?

Cheers!

First up, the orange.

I'm sure I remember them tasting more orangey, but... Yeah.

Mmm! I remember that flavour.

This is like going back in time. Mm.

A solid start for the orange, but what about the mint?

Mmmm!

Whoa!

There is a strong minty flavour. Mmm.

Mm! It's a lot mintier than I remember.

I can clean my teeth in conjunction with eating a chocolate bar.

Thick chocolate, crunchy. Yep.

What's not to like? Yeah.

I could have a gallon of that.

An equally impressive review.

But which flavour comes out trumps

and takes the biscuit?

For me, it has to be the mint.

For me, it's definitely orange, hands down.

Ancl for me, it's definitely the mint.

I'm gonna have to choose the orange. It's such a sweet flavour.

I'm going mint.

That's us. Ying and Yang. Cheers!

It looks like opinion is split among our shoppers

and both flavours can live to fight another day.

Coming up...

The ultra convenience food that took supermarkets by surprise...

At first, we all thought they were mad.

Who would buy a sandwich from a supermarket?

And Rustie rustles up an '80s lunchtime favourite.

Doesn't that look lovely?

A quiche Lorraine, or, as I like to call it,

a quiche a la Rustie.

Ooh, la-la! SHE LAUGHS

DEBBIE CHAZEN: It's the early '8OS

in our jaunt down the aisles of Britain's supermarkets.

And as our lives became filled with far more important things to do

than cook our own meals, our desire for convenience food

went into overdrive.

REPORTER: The ready-meals range have been so successful

that they've captured 1 0% of the market in under a year.

We became obsessed with quick and easy food

we could prepare in a matter of minutes,

so much so, it got to the stage

where we couldn't even be bothered to make our own sandwiches any more.

At the start of the '80s, a typical lunch at work

was either a pack up you made at home

or a trip to the pub.

Nobody would dream of buying a sandwich,

when you could make it at home. That's ridiculous.

But in 1980, the great British Sandwich Revolution

started by accident

when a Marks and Spencer store in South London opened a cafe.

A lot of emphasis went on to the food, the quality, the offer,

which included fresh sandwiches

that were made in-house, on the premises.

To avoid wastage,

any sandwiches that weren't sold in the cafe

went onto the supermarket shelves for shoppers to buy.

And they sold like hotcakes.

So, every day we put our excess out.

And then, after a while, we just decided to start making them

for the cafe, but also to put in the food section.

Unwittingly, Debra and her team had tapped

into a brand-new sales opportunity.

People come here, want a quick lunch, pick this up.

It's been very successful.

The first ever pre-packaged supermarket sandwiches

were an instant hit, although fairly basic.

It wasn't a very extensive range.

It was the sort of things that you typically find on tea tray.

Cheese and tomato, egg mayonnaise,

ham salad, salmon and cucumber.

And, of course, the famous prawn and mayonnaise sandwich.

Everyone went nuts with the prawn mayonnaise

because it basically was like a '70s prawn cocktail...

As soon as M&S realised that sandwiches were, quite literally,

the best thing since sliced bread, production was super sized.

Making sandwiches on a mass scale daily

was a massive task.

We had to think where we could automate.

We had massive bread-buttering machines

that buttered the bread for us.

And we had an awful lot of ladies in factories,

shoulder to shoulder, making sandwiches.

Then there was the age-old problem of soggy sarnies.

We've all been there.

We had to put a lot of thought

into how we assembled our sandwiches.

Salad ingredients contain a lot of water.

So the tomato is a bit of a devil in the sandwich,

and that has to be kept in the middle.

And then the rest of the ingredients

could be layered around that.

M&S sandwiches proved to be a gold mine.

And it wasn't long before other supermarkets

jumped on the sarnie bandwagon.

Sainsbury's, very quick to see the success

the Marks and Spencer's were having with their sandwich range,

and they wanted a slice of that pie.

And since those humble beginnings,

the ready made sandwich market has gone from strength to strength

and is now worth an incredible £8 billion a year.

Although there's now a dizzying array

of fillings, breads, baps and wraps on offer,

some things never change.

It's the basics - chicken salad sandwich,

the prawn and mayonnaise sandwich, are still, today, the big sellers.

But ready made sandwiches

weren't the only new pre-packed convenience food

to be introduced back then.

One of the big changes we saw in supermarkets during the '80s

was the delicatessen products now going pre-packed

and being sold from our chilled aisles.

Food that was once hidden away behind butcher and deli counters

was now out on the shelves,

ready to be popped in the trolley in super-quick time.

This would include continental meats, salami,

Parma ham, pates, terrines, Scotch eggs.

Lots more convenience for the consumer to just pick up and go

and not have to queue at a deli counter.

But there was one pre-packed deli item

that we couldn't get enough of in the '80s...

Quiche Lorraine. Quiche Lorraine. Quiche Lorraine.

Nothing is more quintessentially '80s than a quiche Lorraine.

Yes, a pastry case filled with a cooked mixture

of egg, cheese and bacon

was considered the height of sophistication.

When the quiche Lorraine came out, it was a very special occasion.

When I think of quiche Lorraine, I smile,

and I remember summer...

people eating and chatting together.

You knew it was a party when the quiche Lorraine came out.

As soon as ready made quiche

hit the supermarket chiller and freezer aisles,

sales went through the roof.

But there was often a downside to its convenience.

When I hear the word "quiche Lorraine",

I immediately think soggy pastry.

The thing about quiche Lorraines are, you know,

they're coming from the supermarket.

They're always going to have a soggy bottom

and stick to the roof of your mouth.

Soggy bottoms aside, it seems supermarket quiche

is still hugely popular with British shoppers.

In 2021, we spent nearly £2 million it,

with quiche Lorraine making up more that 25% of that figure.

But will a homemade quiche always trump shop bought?

Who better to find out than '80s culinary extraordinaire Rustie Lee?

Today, we're making a quiche Lorraine '80s' style.

Quiche Lorraine was very posh.

It sounded like gourmet cooking.

Everybody wanted to have a quiche.

Ooh, la-la! SHE LAUGHS

Rustie's first job is to line a baking tin with pastry,

and, for convenience, she's using ready made shortcrust.

A good tip for you -

rather than cutting the pastry away with your knife,

just take the rolling pin and literally roll across the top,

and you'll find you'll have a nice sharp cut edge.

Next to avoid that awful soggy bottom

and make sure the pastry case is crispy,

Rustie pricks it all over with a fork

before carefully pouring in baking beans.

Aaargh!

SHE GUFFAWS

It's a bit more than I thought I had.

I did say "carefully", Rustie.

I'm going to bake this in a hot oven at 180 degrees, fan.

RUSTW. CHUCKLES

The pastry case is then blind baked for 15 minutes.

Then the beans and paper are removed

and the case goes in for another five-ten minutes

until fully cooked.

Look at that! Lovely and golden.

While the pastry cools, Rustie tackles the iconic filling,

adding some creme fraiche, double cream

and two eggs to a bowl,

and gives them a good whisk.

Whoa, ho-ho!

You don't want to whisk this too long.

You're not making a meringue. SHE GIGGLES

The next step is to add some strongly-flavoured grated cheese.

I'm going to fold in half of my cheese.

A Swiss cheese - Gruyere.

Before tipping the egg, cream and cheese mixture

into the pastry case,

Rustie adds a layer of bacon lardons she fried earlier.

Then the egg mixture goes on top,

and the whole thing is finished with more cheese

and more fried lardons.

Mmmmm!

I'm going to put it on the tray and then pop it in the oven.

SHE GIGGLES

While Rustie's quiche cooks for another 20-25 minutes,

we've got time for a spot of supermarket science.

Ever wondered why ready made quiche has such a long shelf life?

Well, wonder no more.

Here's Dr Chris with some trade secrets.

Rustie's homemade quiche, as good as I'm sure it is,

will probably only stay fresh for a couple of clays.

Whereas, a supermarket quiche will last for a lot longer.

Eggs, cream and cheese are all foods that can go furry

if left out for too long.

So, how does a supermarket quiche survive for around a week?

Firstly, it's put into a sealed box,

which reduces the number of new bacteria

that this thing is exposed to.

Secondly, the pastry contains palm oil instead of dairy butter,

which prevents it from going rancid.

Thirdly, it contains something called antioxidants.

The job of antioxidants is essentially to mop up

excess oxygen that might react with ingredients in the quiche

and provide off flavours that aren't very appealing.

So, all of these tricks combined

leads to a quiche with a much longer shelf life.

So, a supermarket quiche will undoubtedly last longer.

But how will it compare in taste to Rustie's freshly-made version?

Doesn't that look lovely?

A quiche Lorraine, or, as I like to call it,

a quiche a la Rustie. Ha-ha!

For this, we'll need a guinea pig.

I need someone to test it, and I've got the perfect person -

the owner of this lovely kitchen, Marco.

But first, I am going to cover it up so we can't cheat.

Come on in, Marco. Hi, Rustie.

Hello! Nice to see you again.

Aw! Nice to see you. Lovely to see you.

As this is a blind taste test, Rustie has come armed!

First up - the supermarket quiche.

Here you are.

Hmm, hm-hm!

The dough to the filling ratio is a little bit heavy.

But overall, it's got a good taste.

Now for the quiche a la Rustie.

Here comes the other one.

What do you think of that one? OK.

This one's nice and crunchy.

The filling has got more intense flavour.

I could taste the strong cheese there.

Rustie, you're cheating.

And no-one likes a quiche cheat.

Marco, put her out of her misery.

They were both good in a different way,

but I did prefer the second one.

Oh, really? Was that the supermarket one?

No! BOTH LAUGH

It's mine! Is that your one? Ah!

I'll have some more, if you don't mind?

Ooh! With pleasure!

Thank goodness for that.

A Cordon Bleu chef prefers my quiche to the shop-bought one.

Yay!

These days, if you fancy a bit of quiche,

or anything else from the deli counter,

it can be ordered quickly and easily via our phones, tablet or laptops.

But 40 years ago, online food shopping

as we now know it was still several decades away.

In the early 1980s,

the concept of having your shopping delivered at home

was almost unheard of.

Yes, you had the errand boy that might run from the bakers

or the butchers, and there was the milkman.

That was about it.

But in May 1984, a pensioner from the north east

became the unlikely trailblazer for online shopping.

There was a council initiative set up in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear,

that was devised to help elderly people

who couldn't get to the shops access shopping easily.

72-year-old Jane Snowball

had recently broken her hip and was housebound,

making her the perfect guinea pig for the trial.

The idea was thatjane would order her supermarket food shop remotely

using a cutting-edge piece of technology installed on a TV.

Video text was a bit like Ceefax and teletext.

The only difference being,

rather than those which only delivered the information one way,

you were able to use your television

as a method of communication two ways,

and you could use your TV remote control to order food or medicine

from your local Tesco, Greggs, or Lloyds Pharmacy.

Sat comfortably in her own armchair,

Jane ordered margarine, cornflakes and eggs,

which were later delivered to her, and she paid the delivery in cash.

Oh, go on, Jane, order me a French bread pizza.

Although the trial was a success, there was a very good reason

why we weren't all immediately ordering our weekly shops remotely

like Jane Snowball.

It was just never going to be possible

to put the special two-way technology into every home.

Online shopping didn't really become feasible

until it became a technology

we all had on our mobile phone or our computer.

Although it took another decade before the first order was placed

over the actual internet, Tesco did go on to become

one of the first supermarkets to offer the service.

And the rest is history.

According to one survey, the online grocery market

is now worth well over £20 billion a year in the UK,

and 60% of shoppers now order their food

using their phone, tablet or computer.

Still to come...

the '80s technology that changed our lives forever...

The microwave was kind of the air fryer of its time.

And Rustie rustles up

an '80s classic pudding in just a jiffy.

A microwave cake in just eight minutes.

Thank you, '80s! SHE LAUGHS

DEBBIE CHAZEN: The 1980s was the decade of ultra-convenience

when it came to food.

And there was one piece of new technology

that helped drive the trend.

The microwave was a complete game-changer.

This thing was so exciting,

and it was this little cupboard

that you could put food in and it comes out hot.

It meant you could cook an entire meal in a matter of minutes.

Originally developed for use in radar detection in World War ll,

microwaves were first patented in the USA

for cooking purposes way back in 1945.

MAN: Microwave cooking units,

like those in the NASA lunar receiving laboratory

and this test kitchen, are indeed revolutionary.

Keep your eye on the chocolate cupcake.

It rises faster than you can eat it!

But in Britain, domestic microwaves didn't become available

until the mid-'70s,

and it wasn't until the early '80s,

when they became considerably cheaper to buy,

that people started to really take notice.

But back then, they were a far cry from today's offerings.

They were massive.

They were two to three times the size of what we have now.

My mum had one of the very first microwaves,

and people came round to look at it

like they were looking at colour television when that came out.

It was a technology we'd never seen the likes of before,

and for many, it was going to take some serious explaining.

My memories of Be jam in the 1980s, when the microwaves first came out,

was the demonstrations that we used to do.

So, the most popular one would be a scrambled egg,

and it would take about 30 seconds.

Ancl it was hypnotic, people would just stop...

mesmerised, watching this microwave cook an egg.

It was incredible, and I remember it to today.

But by 1984, the nation had become more comfortable

with this miraculous new technology.

And more than 2.5 million Brits had forked out for a microwave.

The supermarkets, once again, saw an opportunity.

The supermarkets very quickly switched on

that there was a market to be had and cash to be made.

So, products started to be designed purely for the microwave,

with microwave instructions on the side of the packaging for them.

But it didn't stop with microwave ready meals.

The microwave was touted as this device

that you could create an entire meal in.

It was one of the... the air fryer of its time.

You know, it created this whole buzz around it.

And where there's a buzz, there's always a cookbook.

Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping,

and even Mary Berry had her own microwave cookbook.

But were these cookbooks any good?

And is it really possible to cook up gourmet fare in a microwave

in a matter of minutes?

To help us find out, we've set Rustie Lee a challenge -

to make a recipe using a microwave cookbook and microwave

from the actual 1980s.

Pfft! Look at this! SHE GIGGLES

Well, I never, it's massive, isn't it? Look at it!

Massive or not, the question is -

what microwave marvel is Rustie going to rustle up for us?

Oh, look at that.

Lobster thermidor,

minestrone soup.

Blancmange! SHE GUFFAWS

It's amazing how many meals you can cook

from this microwave book, honestly.

Even Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner sounds a little ambitious,

so Rustie's plumped for trying out a spot of classic '80s comfort food.

I'm going to be making pineapple upside-down pudding.

I've made many upside-down pineapple puddings before...

Yes, and even a few that were the right way up.

But never in a microwave oven,

so it should be very interesting.

Ooh! SHE LAUGHS

The first step is melting the sugar and butter

to coat the cake.

Sta rt! MICROWAVE BEEPS

SHE LAUGHS 45 seconds.

LONG BEEP Ooh, I think it's ready.

SHE CH UCKLES Oh, I say.

Oh, look at that.

It's amazing. Look at it!

Step one successfully completed.

So, now let's have a look at the next part of this.

SHE CHUCKLES I feel like professor here. Ha!

Step two - place those all-important pineapple rings.

So, I'm putting the pineapple at the bottom of the cake

because it's going to be upside down.

Ancl that's where you get the decoration.

SHE LAUGHS Now for the cherries.

Make sure that your cherries

are upside down when you put them in.

With the fruit and syrup sorted,

Rustie needs to tackle the actual cake.

And there's no messing about with this microwave recipe!

Here we go.

The sugar.

The margarine.

Eggs are going in.

Flour.

Lemon juice.

Ancl the milk.

You don't normally make cakes like this.

Everything just thrown in like this.

Ancl all I have to do now is beat it all together.

So here we go.

Once all the ingredients have been mixed together

into a smooth batter...

Think that's clone now.

The cake mix goes on top of the pineapple rings and cherries.

So here we are.

You ready for this? SHE CH UCKLES

So now let's place in the microwave oven

and cook for eight minutes.

Eight minutes for a cake.

It's unbelievable. SHE GIGGLES

But what's really happening to Rustie's cake mix

in those eight minutes?

It's over to Dr Chris to explain all.

So, what is a microwave?

It's essentially a type of light, which is a wave

that goes up and down as it travels along.

Inside this is a Magnetron, not an 1980s' villain

but a device for creating microwaves.

The microwaves are fired into the main cavity,

the bit where you put your food,

and where the most energetic parts of the waves hit the food,

it makes the molecules inside vibrate, heating it up.

Because the microwaves bounce backwards and forwards,

there's a fixed pattern where they heat up the food.

Which is why we have a turntable cos it moves the food around,

meaning all parts of it is cooked by the microwaves.

When we take out the turntable

and put something like these cheese slices in,

I can show you where the microwaves hit the food.

Here we go.

Just a quick zap should do the trick.

OK, that should be about clone.

Ancl... if I take out my cheese,

we should be able to see various points

where the cheese has melted

which shows where the microwaves have hit with their maximum energy.

You can see the pattern laid out on the plate.

Ancl that is how a microwave works.

Back in the kitchen, the microwave isn't the only '80s phenomenon

that's distracting Rustie.

I could never get this right.

Any clever clogs in the house?

MICROWAVE BEEPS Oooh! Oh, I say.

I'm a bit nervous now!

After the cake has stood for two minutes,

the juice from the pineapple rings goes over the top.

Done'. SHE CHUCKLES

I'm frightened to turn it upside down

cos there's so much liquid running around this.

RUSTIE LAUGHS Brace yourself, Rustie!

It's not an upside-down cake unless it's upside down.

Oh! Let's see.

Whoa...

SHE GUFFAWS

Well, that doesn't look too bad, does it?

So, it's ready for decorating.

The recipe says we use whipping cream,

but in true 1980s' style -

squirty cream.

Now, come on, Rustie. Is going rogue a good idea?

I don't like that at all. Urgh!

It's really awkward.

It's like children's playtime, this. Oh, my God.

SHE GRUNTS

I think she was right.

LAUGHING: Use whipping cream.

Cos this is rubbish!!

Well, it may not be up to Rustie's usual standards,

but the proof of the upside-down pudding is in the tasting.

Cheers!

Do you know what?

That tastes really nice.

A microwave cake in just eight minutes.

Thank you, '80s! SHE LAUGHS

Next time, when Britain went bonkers for diet and exercise...

It was legwarmers and lycra and Leotards.

And how the supermarkets responded with low-fat ready meals...

They were basically very small, very oversalted,

and they were very unsatisfying.

And so-called healthy spreads...

We went margarine mad!

All the while still catering

for the nation's unwavering couch potatoes...

Oh, my goodness!

What a flashback! I don't like.