The Return of Proper British Comfort Food (And Why We Never Stopped Making It)

There’s something deeply satisfying about reading that the food establishments have finally caught up with what we’ve been doing all along.

The Telegraph recently ran a piece on retro British dishes making a comeback—arctic roll, faggots, Glamorgan sausage, the lot. Chef Tommy Banks has dedicated entire menus to them. Social media is awash with “nostalgic” recipes racking up millions of views. Food writers are calling it “grandma food” as if it’s some sort of rediscovery.

Here’s the thing: for those of us who’ve been steaming suet puddings for over five hours every single day, this isn’t a comeback. It’s just Tuesday.

When Did Proper Become Retro?

We’ve been hand-making our traditional steamed meat puddings—steak & kidney, bacon & onion—using the same methods for more than 40 years. Not because we’re being ironic or jumping on a trend, but because there’s simply no better way to do it.

Five hours of patient steaming. Proper suet pastry made fresh. Generous fillings that actually taste of something. This is how it’s always been done, and how it should be done.

The article mentions faggots making a return to Michelin-rated restaurants. It talks about nose-to-tail eating as if it’s revolutionary. But for traditional British bakers and cooks, using every part of the animal and taking the time to do things properly never went away—at least not in the kitchens that matter.

What We Can Learn From This “Comeback”

The Telegraph quotes Briony May Williams saying “food has the power to take us back to simpler times.” She’s absolutely right, but there’s more to it than nostalgia.

These dishes are coming back because people are remembering what actually tastes good. Not fussy, over-complicated plates that look better on Instagram than they do going down. Not shortcuts and substitutes. Just honest food, made the way it was meant to be made.

When a customer gets one of our suet puddings—all 360g of it—there’s usually a bit of a “wow factor,” as we like to say. That’s not clever marketing. That’s because it’s substantial, it’s satisfying, and it actually fills you up. It’s meant to.

The Trouble With Trends

Here’s our concern with calling these dishes “retro” or treating them as a trend: trends end.

What happens when food writers move on to the next thing? When celebrity chefs stop putting prawn cocktails on their menus? Does that mean steak & kidney pudding goes back into hiding for another 30 years?

We’d rather these dishes were never seen as retro in the first place. They’re just good British cooking. The kind that’s been feeding working people, pub-goers, and families for generations. The kind that doesn’t need rediscovering because it never really left—it just got drowned out by the noise.

Why Pubs and Restaurants Keep Coming Back

We supply to the better end of pubs and restaurants across the UK, and we’ve noticed something interesting. Our customers don’t treat our steamed puddings or pork pies as “retro nights” or themed specials. They’re permanent menu fixtures. Reliable sellers. The kind of thing people actually order, not just photograph.

Perhaps that’s because when you’re steaming a pudding for five hours, you can’t fake it. You can’t cut corners. You either do it properly or you don’t do it at all.

And perhaps that’s the real lesson in all of this. The dishes that are “coming back” are the ones that never compromised in the first place. They survived because they’re fundamentally sound.

Here’s to Staying the Course

So yes, it’s encouraging to see British classics getting their moment in the spotlight again. It’s good that chefs like Tommy Banks are celebrating them, and that people are rediscovering how satisfying a properly made dish can be.

But for us? We’ll keep doing what we’ve always done. Steaming our puddings for five hours. Making our hot water pastry by hand. Filling our pies with generous amounts of proper ingredients.

Not because it’s trendy. Because it’s right.

And when the next food trend comes along—whatever that might be—we’ll still be here, doing exactly the same thing. Because some things aren’t meant to change.

They’re just meant to be done properly.

Want to see what traditional British cooking actually tastes like? Our award-winning steamed meat puddings and pies are available to pubs and restaurants throughout mainland UK. Get in touch to place your order.

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