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TASTE OF THE PAST

WOMAN'S OWN

May 19, 2025

Rachel Tompkins, 45, took her family on a foodie trip down memory lane

Walking down the freezer aisle of the supermarket, I stopped and did a double take. A brightly packaged yellow box caught my eye and made me smile. It was something I'd not seen in years. Mr Brain’s Pork Faggots. ‘That takes me back,’ I laughed.

It was March this year, and suddenly, in the middle of a supermarket, I found I was transported back to my childhood. I could well remember eating the gravy-soaked meatballs at my grandma’s house, sitting at her kitchen table, chatting away about all sorts while we ate. Lovely memories of spending time with her, but as for those faggots? There was a reason I'd not eaten them in decades! I'd always found them a bit gross. But now, as I looked at them in the freezer, I found myself putting them in my trolley. Why, you may ask? Well, I was curious to see if my sons Rory, 12, and Seb, eight, would like them, or find them as revolting as I had! I thought it would be funny to find out, and also give them a taste of my own childhood. As I strolled the other aisles I started thinking about all the other food from years gone by.

Fray Bentos tinned pies, Arctic rolls, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs - all were things that brought back fond memories. It gave me an idea and, back home, I told my scheme to my husband and the boys.

‘For the next few days, I'm only going to cook food from the past,’ I said. I couldn't wait to take a trip down memory lane and remember the foods I'd loved and loathed. But the question was, would my family agree?

FAGGOTS FOLLOWED BY VIENNETTA