On Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:25:51 -0000 (UTC), Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:

There's also the Caledonian Sleeper lounge car.

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals
not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

Mike

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Mike Humphrey <mail@michaelhumphrey.me.uk> wrote:

On Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:25:51 -0000 (UTC), Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:

There's also the Caledonian Sleeper lounge car.

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals
not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

The Night Riviera doesn't offer anything resembling a restaurant car - just drinks and snacks.

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* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 22/04/2026 20:05, Mike Humphrey wrote:

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals
not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

I remember a TV programme many years ago that stopped people coming out
of posh restaurants and asked if they knew that their meal had not been
cooked from scratch by a chef. They had recovered the 'Boil in the Bag' packaging from rubbish bins.

Most were shocked but many just wanted to know where they could buy the
ready meals (there were not as many on sale in shops at that time)!




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* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Mike Humphrey <mail@michaelhumphrey.me.uk> posted:

On Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:25:51 -0000 (UTC), Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:

There's also the Caledonian Sleeper lounge car.

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals
not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

At Heston. https://www.railgourmet.com/working-with-the-caledonian-sleeper-team/

Why not, for haggis and stew?

Should be
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSP_Group#History .

Regards, ULF

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* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

In message <10sceit$2r0go$1@dont-email.me>, at 07:35:08 on Thu, 23 Apr
2026, JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> remarked:

On 22/04/2026 20:05, Mike Humphrey wrote:

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real
cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals
not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

I remember a TV programme many years ago that stopped people coming out
of posh restaurants and asked if they knew that their meal had not been >cooked from scratch by a chef. They had recovered the 'Boil in the
Bag' packaging from rubbish bins.

Most were shocked but many just wanted to know where they could buy the >ready meals (there were not as many on sale in shops at that time)!

About 25yrs ago I got an account at MAKRO (do they still exist?) cash
and carry. Not only was most of the stuff on sale about half the price
of supermarkets (as long as you were prepared to buy several month's
worth at once), but in the freezer section was pretty much everything
you'd ever seen on a traditional pub menu.

ObBiography: One of my late wife's first marketing clients in Texas in
the mid-80's was a company getting into the ready-meals business in supermarkets. Meanwhile Malcolm Miller, the Marketing Manager of Amstrad
at the time, had previously been working for Bird's Eye in the UK,
frozen peas etc.

It's all known as FMCG [Fast Moving Consumer Goods] and what Amstrad did
best (apart from recruiting engineers who knew what they were doing) was
start turning home computers into FMCG on the High Street.

Something Sinclair failed to do (he was wedded to mail order, taking money&orders and delivering a couple of months later) nor Acorn
(shackled to the BBC Micros-in-Schools programme, and its
over-engineered, under-cost_reduced BBC B).
--
Roland Perry

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> posted:

In message <10sceit$2r0go$1@dont-email.me>, at 07:35:08 on Thu, 23 Apr
2026, JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> remarked:

On 22/04/2026 20:05, Mike Humphrey wrote:

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real
cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals >> not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard.

I remember a TV programme many years ago that stopped people coming out
of posh restaurants and asked if they knew that their meal had not been >cooked from scratch by a chef. They had recovered the 'Boil in the
Bag' packaging from rubbish bins.

Most were shocked but many just wanted to know where they could buy the >ready meals (there were not as many on sale in shops at that time)!

About 25yrs ago I got an account at MAKRO (do they still exist?)

Yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makro#United_Kingdom

cash
and carry. Not only was most of the stuff on sale about half the price
of supermarkets (as long as you were prepared to buy several month's
worth at once), but in the freezer section was pretty much everything
you'd ever seen on a traditional pub menu.

Some commercially produced, vacuum-packed, cooked lamb shanks are stable without refrigeration for extended periods, anyone?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Ulf Kutzner <user2991@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> posted:

In message <10sceit$2r0go$1@dont-email.me>, at 07:35:08 on Thu, 23 Apr
2026, JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> remarked:

On 22/04/2026 20:05, Mike Humphrey wrote:

And the Night Riviera. But they might be disqualified by the "It?s real >>>> cooking, not reheating" - the Caledonian Sleeper does serve actual meals >>>> not just snacks, but I don't think they're cooked from scratch onboard. >>>

I remember a TV programme many years ago that stopped people coming out >>> of posh restaurants and asked if they knew that their meal had not been >>> cooked from scratch by a chef. They had recovered the 'Boil in the
Bag' packaging from rubbish bins.

Most were shocked but many just wanted to know where they could buy the >>> ready meals (there were not as many on sale in shops at that time)!

About 25yrs ago I got an account at MAKRO (do they still exist?)

Yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makro#United_Kingdom

cash
and carry. Not only was most of the stuff on sale about half the price
of supermarkets (as long as you were prepared to buy several month's
worth at once), but in the freezer section was pretty much everything
you'd ever seen on a traditional pub menu.

Some commercially produced, vacuum-packed, cooked lamb shanks are stable without refrigeration for extended periods, anyone?

It wouldn?t surprise me - the process could be very similar to canning
except for the flexible packing material. How long the product is stable
for could depend on the resistance of the plastic vacuum packing material
to decay-causing agents.

That said, I?m not any kind of food science expert, and nor do I play one
on TV.

Sam

--
The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Spit the dummy to reply

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