Great British Budget Menu

Foodie Britain and austerity Britain have been living parallel lives for some time now. In this ‘Great British Menu’ special, they meet at last and it’s often uneasy viewing. Tonight, Angela Hartnett, James Martin and Richard Corrigan all spend time in households suffering from food poverty.

Each is shocked by the extent of the deprivation they encounter: indeed initially, Corrigan seems shocked at the prospect of eating spag bol without parmesan. And soon, they’re discovering for themselves how impossible it is to eat healthily on a budget of around a £1.50 a day in a country where food costs are rising at three times the speed of wages. Oh, and note to Daily Mail readers: no benefit scroungers here – there’s real heroism in someone like working mum Joanna, who regularly skips meals entirely so her daughter Carly can eat.

Eventually, the TV format wins out and the whole project descends into a bit of a competitive backslap. But it does feel like a well-intentioned nudge to the government (we’d prefer a bottle in the face, but there you go) about the need to regulate the food industry, raise the minimum wage and generally, stop treating poor people as if they’re the feckless architects of their own misery.