Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 10:15 29 Mar 2024
* Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
* Easter getaway begins with flood alerts in place
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
09:00 Gatwick Airport to Reading
09:46 Westbury to Swindon
09:54 Bedwyn to Newbury
10:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
10:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
11:05 Swindon to Westbury
11:29 Newbury to Bedwyn
11:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
12:17 Westbury to Swindon
12:52 Bedwyn to Newbury
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
06:37 Plymouth to London Paddington
07:03 London Paddington to Paignton
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
09:30 Weymouth to Gloucester
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
Delayed
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington
06:05 Penzance to London Paddington
07:10 Penzance to London Paddington
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 29, 2024, 10:18:13 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[149] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[64] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[59] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[58] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
[52] Return of the BRUTE?
[36] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Jay Rayner on GWR catering  (Read 3500 times)
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1204


View Profile Email
« on: October 20, 2019, 19:30:08 »

A column on the state of public transport catering, with particular reference to GWR (Great Western Railway) services, by the ever entertaining Jay Rayner:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/17/flaccid-croissants-oil-drenched-carbs-train-jay-rayner

Quote
In Bristol or Peckham or Ancoats right now it’s all ’nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta. Meanwhile, on the 11am to Temple Meads it’s “Would you like to avail yourself of our coffee and Twix deal for £3?” and “Just how bad would you like to feel about yourself today?” The fact is you can have anything you like when you’re on the move in the UK (United Kingdom) as long as it’s a bolus of oil-drenched carbs. There are sugar-spiked muffins, and dismal croissants so flaccid no form of culinary Viagra would ever get them up again. The buffet car sandwiches taste of profit margin and old age. The “healthy option” on board is a bag of salted peanuts.
Logged
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7749



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2019, 21:07:22 »

A column on the state of public transport catering, with particular reference to GWR (Great Western Railway) services, by the ever entertaining Jay Rayner:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/17/flaccid-croissants-oil-drenched-carbs-train-jay-rayner

Quote
In Bristol or Peckham or Ancoats right now it’s all ’nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta. Meanwhile, on the 11am to Temple Meads it’s “Would you like to avail yourself of our coffee and Twix deal for £3?” and “Just how bad would you like to feel about yourself today?” The fact is you can have anything you like when you’re on the move in the UK (United Kingdom) as long as it’s a bolus of oil-drenched carbs. There are sugar-spiked muffins, and dismal croissants so flaccid no form of culinary Viagra would ever get them up again. The buffet car sandwiches taste of profit margin and old age. The “healthy option” on board is a bag of salted peanuts.

Broadgage.......count to 10 & take deep breaths...
Logged
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2019, 21:18:53 »

Since there is reference to a buffet car it can't be on GWR (Great Western Railway) can it? Unless it is nostalgic 😁

He does align with my view that nearly all on board railway snack catering remains very carb heavy. Crisps, biscuits, cakes, sandwiches etc.

Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40691



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2019, 06:23:56 »

He does align with my view that nearly all on board railway snack catering remains very carb heavy. Crisps, biscuits, cakes, sandwiches etc.

Not just GWR (Great Western Railway) ... so probably systemic. Could it be:
* by popular demand
* easier supply train onto the train to run / products last longer
* better profit margin
* less smelly when eaten so more acceptable to passengers around
* less messy when eaten / easier to clean train
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Bmblbzzz
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4256


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2019, 10:22:48 »

I think "long lasting" is a key factor.
Logged

Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
Robin Summerhill
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1145


View Profile Email
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2019, 12:16:41 »

Quote from: grahame
Quote from: didcotdean
He does align with my view that nearly all on board railway snack catering remains very carb heavy. Crisps, biscuits, cakes, sandwiches etc.

Not just GWR (Great Western Railway) ... so probably systemic. Could it be:
* by popular demand
* easier supply train onto the train to run / products last longer
* better profit margin
* less smelly when eaten so more acceptable to passengers around
* less messy when eaten / easier to clean train

I wasn't originally going to respond to this topic because the article seemed to be an updated version of the "curly British Railways cheese sandwiches" type gags that the likes of the then contemporary comedian Tommy Trinder was doing 70 years ago, but now you two have made it interesting... Wink

Any retail outlet, from Marks & Spencer to a trolley on an IET (Intercity Express Train), are only going to stock things that will sell in sufficient numbers. It's all very well talking about "nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta" but how much of that sort of thing is likely to be shifted by a trolley attendant on the 11am from Paddington? My guess is not much, whilst chocolate bars, biscuits, tea and coffee most certainly will.

Another point that I am very familiar with from personal experience (having an "other half" of Greek descent who spent much of her adult life in South Africa) is that, in our increasingly multi-cultural society, there is a much greater range of foods, diets and preferences than there used to be when Tommy Trinder was entertaining his "lucky people." Back then, the then-traditional British snack diet could easily be catered for - bung out trays of ham and cheese sandwiches, and a few salmon and cucumber ones for the better off, and Bob would have been your uncle. Now it's not so straightforward.

Trolleys are going to be stocked with merchandise that will definitely sell, and if you are insistent on "nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta" then I am sure you could find a dose of it somewhere close to the station before you get on the train or after you get off.

Meanwhile, in our house, I am often reminded of that song by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren - for our younger readers, this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGFpVN2xwXU

I doubt GWR or anybody else wants a trolley attendant to get into that sort of conversation on that apocryphal 11am from Paddington....
Logged
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2019, 12:38:53 »

I guess the thing is that there is a much greater variety of food sold on major stations at least that can satisfy much of the demand of people who want something else. There is somewhat of a circular argument, in that different things won't be stocked because there is no perceived demand or certainty that they will sell (although the 'sandwiches are reduced' announcement itself is not obsolete) but also that as there is no expectation of such goods being available to purchase on board people will bring their own.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40691



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2019, 00:03:04 »

It's all very well talking about "nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta" but how much of that sort of thing is likely to be shifted by a trolley attendant on the 11am from Paddington? My guess is not much, whilst chocolate bars, biscuits, tea and coffee most certainly will ...

It rather depends if people know it's on the trolley.   Your question / guess reminds me of the somewhat-nicer real coffees (do they still carry them?) that you drink through a mesh - for which I'm sure sales are / were lower because they weren't offered with the same degree of promotion and expectation as regular coffee.  Get Dean Ahmad, Scarlett Allen-Horton, Jemelin Artigas, Souleyman Bah, Lewis Ellis, Lubna Farhan and Riyonn Farsad to sell off the trolley and you might be surprised- especially if they sell it with Sugar.

You're right about buying supplies before you board ... indeed the tempting range of outlets at places like King's Cross really compete with (and must abstract) business from the on-board offerings ...
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1204


View Profile Email
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2019, 11:19:24 »

Indeed - on occasion train companies have put menus by every seat, whether in the seatback pockets or those funny little card holders that the (F)GW (Great Western) HSTs (High Speed Train) had. That struck me as a good way of publicising the buffet/trolley.

There's still a lot of journeys which don't pass anywhere near a food outlet, of course. On Sunday I travelled from the wasteland that is Worcester Shrub Hill, where the cafe closes at 5pm. Sadly there was no trolley on the (fairly busy) train.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10096


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2019, 11:36:52 »

On Sunday I travelled from the wasteland that is Worcester Shrub Hill, where the cafe closes at 5pm.

It really is a wasteland isn't it!  One cafe with limited opening hours which is also cash only, another (much better) cafe three minutes down the road but that shuts early afternoon and absolutely nothing else within a sensible walk away.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2019, 15:10:51 »

A column on the state of public transport catering, with particular reference to GWR (Great Western Railway) services, by the ever entertaining Jay Rayner:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/17/flaccid-croissants-oil-drenched-carbs-train-jay-rayner

Quote
In Bristol or Peckham or Ancoats right now it’s all ’nduja and seared hispi cabbage and roasted golden beetroot with whipped feta. Meanwhile, on the 11am to Temple Meads it’s “Would you like to avail yourself of our coffee and Twix deal for £3?” and “Just how bad would you like to feel about yourself today?” The fact is you can have anything you like when you’re on the move in the UK (United Kingdom) as long as it’s a bolus of oil-drenched carbs. There are sugar-spiked muffins, and dismal croissants so flaccid no form of culinary Viagra would ever get them up again. The buffet car sandwiches taste of profit margin and old age. The “healthy option” on board is a bag of salted peanuts.

Broadgage.......count to 10 & take deep breaths...

The article contains too much nonsense to be worthy of any detailed reply.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
BerkshireBugsy
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1640


Berkshire Bugsy Jr


View Profile
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2019, 17:18:02 »

On Sunday I travelled from the wasteland that is Worcester Shrub Hill, where the cafe closes at 5pm.

It really is a wasteland isn't it!  One cafe with limited opening hours which is also cash only, another (much better) cafe three minutes down the road but that shuts early afternoon and absolutely nothing else within a sensible walk away.

I may be getting my Worcester stations mixed up but seem to remember that one of them had a mini supermarket more or less next to it? It has been a few years.
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2019, 20:55:26 »

That’s Foregate Street....Tesco Express
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page