Growing up I always heard sentimental stories from my granddad. My Gaggs. And they were constantly about food. He used to reminisce about his Mum putting a whole loaf of bread on the table and used to watch it disappear before his eyes, as they do in cartoons. Speaking to my mum we reminisced about all the amusing stories.

Gaggs passed away last July. He was one of 9 children in a typical working class, loving British family. There was never enough food to go around, and everyone was always hungry. Amongst one of the many stories he told us was the infamous 'bread story.' Being the eldest male he was regularly sent out to do the food shopping (unlike now, this actually involved going to more than one shop.) On his way back, armed with groceries he couldn't resist the urge of having some bread. But of course, he didn't stop at some, he ate the entire loaf on the bus ride home. After trying to repeatedly deny it, his mother had had enough. Lets just say he never ate he whole loaf again...

At the time of my grandparents, the 1950's it was an age of fresh produce, if not by preference, then by necessity. Some sources consider the late 1950's as the pesticide era, as before this almost everything was organic, with local produce being the main diet of many families. During this time, families had no choice but to eat fresh produce as many households only had a pantry, which meant food had to be used very quickly. Comparing this to modern day produce, there wasn't an option to freeze something, or keep it for another meal.

As I spoke to my mum she explained that my grandma was constantly on a diet throughout her childhood. In the era of the 80's came the low fat diets and the aerobics obsessed mothers. She reminisced about tasteless margarine and lean cuisine meals. Growing up she never had a certain routine for dinners, and ate mostly on her lap barring special occasions, similar to me. My grandma was never enthusiastic about food and viewed it a necessity rather than a pleasure. Hence why when my mother left home to go to university she rejoiced in the fact that she had freedom and could eat what she liked when she liked. This is hen all hell broke loose. Full fat everything was on the cards for her as she was the one in control of what went in her body. But as she grew older she grew to appreciate food and I think this is where i get my passion for food from.

The trend for people moving back to more traditional ways rather than supermarket ethos has become more apparent recently. Whether it be for better quality or selection, specialised shops have become more apparent in recent years. Consumer demand is changing the way we eat, and hopefully for the better. Although hopefully we will not continue in this monotonous full circle of produce that is seeming to happen. We go from flourishing in fresh produce, to denying it and settling with imbalanced and unhealthy ready meals, to again starting to return back to fresh produce.

When I see other people my are squirming about vegetables, or devouring a greasy double cheese burger i rejoice in the fact that I actually take pride in what I put in my body. And I'm glad that I've grown up with a love for food and cooking as I know it makes me who I am today. After all, you are what you eat...