Not so 'Gastro' pubs

My latest game is called: spot the fake fresh food. The rise of the gastropub has meant that the UK's chain pubs have had to raise their game a little and start providing meals that express a modicum of invention. However actually getting a decent chef to produce meals from scratch is still anathema to them. Hence they continue to buy frozen, microwavable meals but disguise their lack of industry in the kitchen: predominantly by using the blackboard trick.

In a venue like Rumour in Totnes the blackboard is a sign of a regularly - indeed daily - changing menu, of seasonal produce and and a kitchen not resting on its laurels. In a place like aptly named The Young Pretender in Hemel Hempstead it's just there to hide the fact that most of the food is far from fresh or seasonal. Indeed, as the sight of the food being delivered recently attested, it's actually from Brakes, a mass caterer with a range that includes well presented dishes like Slow Cooked Lamb Hindshank ("in an individual pouch. Simply reheat and serve"), Mediterranean Vegetable Tartlet or Turkey Tournedos ('Turkey medallion topped with pork, apricot and cranberry stuffing, wrapped in rashers of maple-cured bacon').

Unfortunately presentation is all, preparation naught. Take the instructions for Steak, Mushroom & Irish Stout Pie: "Simply microwave from thawed and flash through a hot oven to serve" say Brakes.

In one sense I'm glad - pub food just ten years ago was largely awful and if the pubs will go to so little effort than at least it's good that Brakes are making up some of the gap by offering slightly more inventive dishes than the usual ploughman's, fish and chips or cheeseburger. But there's no getting away from the fact that, chalk written blackboard or not, you're still not always getting fresh food, no matter how "gastro" the pub might be trying to look.