WHAT bilge I hear about what Jamie Oliver and his ilk have done for the preparation of food for schools and the population of this country.

My school dinners were excellent throughout 1953-62 without their help. The Lancashire hotpot at the boys’ secondary modern I judged to be the best in England and I have not tasted better sauté potatoes before or since.

We had proper food – bacon rolypoly, beef and veg followed by spotted dick or ginger pudding and custard (to keep the cold out). None of your salad nonsense followed by apple, grapes and carrots.

The canal and railway systems in this country were not built on salads but beef and nutritious beer in vast quantities to provide stamina, endurance and to keep the spirit up.

There were no vegetarians there.

Derek Weeks, Martin Way, Andover