Town Talk | To cook or not to cook

There have been indicators, from around the world, of the quite astonishing changes ahead.

In the 1980s, a customer of mine (the ‘baby shop’) returned from six months in the United States.

She told me that she went to a supermarket to buy ingredients for her daughter’s birthday cake.

She couldn’t find self-raising flour, so asked a fellow customer where she could find it.

The woman looked astonished and asked, “What do you want flour for?”

My friend explained.

Still looking surprised, the woman said, “But there are plenty of birthday cakes, over there, lots to choose from.”

In the 1990s, I remember a conversation with the boss (without his dog) at the photocopier.

We were talking about my recent trip to the United Kingdom.

If my memory serves — and it does — we discussed Samuel Pepys’ diary, but I can’t remember why.

He then asked me if I’d noticed the value-adding in England’s supermarkets — so many meals pre-cooked, ready to heat and eat.

I had noticed and been particularly confused that anyone would buy bread and butter pudding, when it was so simple to make.

Gradually, our own supermarkets tested the market.

Perhaps we were hesitant; the meals couldn’t be as carefully prepared as home-cooked ones.

Or perhaps, a supermarket isn’t the most appropriate outlet.

The first attempts were frozen and there was little variety.

Their most successful offering, I suspect, is pre-cooked meat: pork, lamb, beef, meatballs etc.

Buying meat, already cooked, takes a lot of the time and work out of a meal — and, if I’m any example, not much guilt hangs around.

During the COVID years, I ordered a meal to be delivered.

There was a great deal of choice, so ‘curiosity cat’ counted the businesses listed.

There were 72, which astonished me.

Recently, I went to the same delivery site and found there were 140 providers listed.

Some of these (about 20) weren’t selling meals but alcohol, doughnuts, ice-cream, fruit juice and, yes, birthday cakes.

And there were seven listed as ‘not delivering’ (so why were they there?).

I asked Mr Google about the numbers, and got this response:

Shepparton has a significant number of cafés and restaurants, with one source suggesting almost 100. Yellow Pages lists 35 restaurants in Shepparton. The city also boasts a diverse culinary scene, offering a wide range of international cuisines.

It could be out of date; no date was provided, and Yellow Pages is no longer a good indicator.

Anyway, there are well over 100 meal providers (restaurants, cafés, pizza places, fish and chips shops etc) on one delivery site, and there are two more sites.

Then there are the butchers, with the one I see regularly offering perhaps 20 dishes to take home and heat up.

And the supermarkets, with pre-cooked meats, and (mostly) frozen ready-to-eat meals.

A small IGA, in Poplar Ave, has recently changed hands but still offers ready-to-eat meals: roasts, pasta etc.

The point I’m getting to, very slowly, is this: these businesses are obviously not failing; their numbers are increasing.

This means that we are buying more prepared food — and cooking less.

We may have been slow following the rest of the Western world, but we are certainly getting there now.

Since Shepparton’s first restaurant opened, our population has quadrupled — and the number of businesses offering food has multiplied by 16!

However, getting population figures — to compare with seven decades ago — is difficult.

I found what info I could — and then estimated (guessed?).

A little bit of history

The first restaurant in the world was near the Louvre in Paris, established 1765.

A man named Boulanger sold restorative broths.

The word ‘restaurant’ came from the Latin ‘restaurare’ which means to renew. His motto was, “Come to me all who suffer from pain of the stomach and I will restore you.”

The first restaurant in London was established in 1798.

Rules was — and is — in Covent Garden.

This is one of the many reasons I love this old city; it doesn’t turf out its past.

Rules restaurant is now 227 years old.

Isn’t that wonderful?

The first restaurant in Melbourne was the Café de Paris.

It opened in 1859, and was located within the Theatre Royal Hotel in Bourke Street (it was an addition to the hotel building).

Obviously, it offered a French-style dining experience.

It was situated at 236 Bourke, demolished in 1935 and today the site hosts Kmart.

See what I mean! What’s wrong with us?

The first ‘real’ restaurant in Shepparton was the Taiwan (1956).

It was also the first Chinese restaurant in country Victoria.

Of the support team I call for information, one mentioned the Chateaubriand; she couldn’t attach a date.

Another friend suggested it was in Fryers St — opposite the Victoria Hotel.

This hotel introduced Shepparton to a ‘dinner dance’ early in the 1960s. So very sophisticated!

One could dine, dance and drink all in the same venue!

But, as far as the team and I can remember, the next restaurant to make a lasting impact was Angelo Grasso’s Cellar 47, which opened in a High St cellar in 1977.

Angelo relocated it in 1995; still in High St but east of the original.

Cellar 47 is one of the many meal suppliers offering pizza (wood-fired oven) or pasta to be delivered to your home.

If you want a ‘blue’ steak, you will need to get out of your armchair.

It's a relatively short period of time; from four or five cafés and one restaurant to an estimated 120 businesses supplying us with ready-to-eat meals.

Or does it just seem a short time to me?

Encore — STAG’s 50 golden years

A gentleman named Cevare Parvese once wrote, “We don’t remember days or weeks. We remember moments.”

The Shepparton Theatre Arts Group has published a remarkable book, filled with memorable moments.

It has also been described as “a heartfelt celebration of five decades of community theatre magic”.

Almost 300 pages and weighing 1.2kg, it is an accurate and often amusing record of one of those small communities that enrich the whole — the wonderful community of Greater Shepparton.

The fact that STAG sold out of the first print run in 10 minutes — and there’s a substantial hole in the second — is indicative of how important this company has been to so many people, over a long period of time.

Bron Prater co-ordinated Encore and, although she had help from contributors and four proofreaders, it was still a four-year job.

And the design was not a small task for Aaron Palmer (Printworks).

The end result, however, is a triumph for all involved — and I haven’t noticed one typo!

There are still copies available, for those interested, from Aaron at Printworks on Corio St.

They are $55 and worth every cent. (Please take accurate cash to Aaron.)

This amused me

Maureen Dickson called me to say “thanks“ for the story I wrote about her wonderful son, Christopher.

She said that when Chris came home and told her I wanted to write his story for ‘Town Talk’, Maureen said, “She must be going to give it to Marnie.”

Chris didn’t know! He lives in the Northern Hemisphere.

However, after meeting for our coffee chat, he went home and said, “She IS Marnie.”

Maureen said, “I’ve been trying to work out who Marnie is — for years. Now I know.”

There are so many of you, out there, with whom I haven’t been in contact for a while; however, I’m confident of being able to remedy that sometime soon.

I haven’t forgotten any of you!

May it be easy, my friends.

Marnie

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. Shepparton News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Text or call 0409 317187