Bubble and Squeak: A WW2 History
This post is part of the History of Food series, a revived project from 2021 that explores the origin stories of traditional dishes, the lessons they can teach us, and the people who keep the food alive. In each post, we visit a restaurant that puts their spin on a classic dish.
During the Second World War, Germany sunk thousands of British ships. These ships weren’t warships. They were shipping vessels carrying food and other supplies.
As an island Britain is safe from land invasion. But the nation also depended on imported goods from the sea. The Germans knew this and tried to starve Britain into submission. So, in Jan 1940, rationing began: restrictions on petrol, clothing and food.
It became essential to make every scrap count and versatile dishes that used leftovers, such as bubble and squeak, became more popular.
Although the “king of leftovers” is much older, it’s thought that WW2 rationing led to the modern version: roast dinner leftovers formed into a patty and fried in butter.
The ration-book no longer dictates our diet, but leftovers remain important. Annually, the UK wastes 4.5 tonnes of edible food worth £14 billion. If food waste were a nation, it’d be the 3rd biggest climate change contributor.
All food needs resources to grow, process and transport. Everything from the soil, machinery and water usage, to boats, trucks and refrigerators emit greenhouse gases, worsening climate change. The more food we waste, the more we need to produce.
Food’s carbon footprint grows larger once wasted. Most food waste goes to a landfill, where it is compressed as tight as possible and starved of oxygen. When food decomposes without oxygen, it releases methane as a byproduct, a greenhouse gas 28x as powerful as CO2.
That’s why leftovers are important and why dishes like bubble ands squeak still have a place in the world. After all, “no-one sets out to make bubble and squeak from scratch,” says Andrew Webb, “to do so would be a sign of madness.”
Bubble and squeak at The Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne
If that’s true, we should keep a close eye on The Broad Chare, a gastro-pub on the Newcastle Quayside serving traditional British food.
They offer a humble menu: haggis on toast, black pudding and bubble and squeak. Like all their dishes, they make bubble and squeak from scratch with fresh ingredients. Although a side-step from tradition, their version is delicious enough to make me question whether it truly is madness to cook the dish from scratch.
