Further Back in Time for Dinner - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
1900s
As they enter the 1900s they discover an unrecognisable world of strict etiquette, corsets and conformity. But the biggest surprise is a new addition to the household: Debbie Raw, a part-time chef in the 21st century, is going back in time to be the family's maid of all work, responsible for all the cooking and cleaning.
At the perfectly laid dining table, the Robshaws discover a decade of excess, ending up feeling as stuffed as the décor of their 1900s house. Their first meal is a mere five courses with a meaty pudding - but that's a simple amuse bouche to what follows. Servant Debbie must produce an eight-course dinner party in a Victorian kitchen with not so much as a hand blender to help her, while the Robshaw ladies struggle with the formality of hosting formal afternoon tea and the family try out the Edwardian answer to a fondue set - brains and scrambled eggs anyone?
Along the way there's haute cuisine with Monica Galetti, a meaty Olympic breakfast and a Music Hall tea and singalong with surprise guests Chas and Dave
1910s
This time it's a decade of feast and famine, as the family enter the turbulent 1910s.
At the start of the decade the family's servant Debbie is still doing all the cooking and cleaning. But change is on the horizon as the first world war turns all their lives upside down, bringing freedom and opportunity to Debbie and putting Rochelle back in the kitchen.
Never a natural cook, she struggles to feed the family as supplies start to run out - as they did for many families during World War I, and the war puts an end to their previously carefree lives.
But the decade has its upsides too: there's respite from offal with a vegetarian Suffragist dinner, the freedom of a bike ride and an idyllic picnic, and a visit from celebrity chef John Torode - but even he can't rescue 1918's fish sausages.
1920s
This time the Robshaws experience a thoroughly modern decade, as they enter the 1920s.
They get their first taste of the racy reputation of the age as they host a jazz-age party fueled by a menu of 14 different cocktails.
1930s
The family discover a very surprising decade of progress and optimism as they journey through the 1930s.
Gone is all the starch formality of previous decades, Their larder is now stuffed with familiar brands and snacks, and deliciously healthy dinners too, even if they are made in a pressure cooker that looks more like an unexploded bomb than a bit of kitchen equipment.
1940s
In their second world war of the experiment, the Robshaws get used to a diet of duty and determination. Gone are the treats of the 20s and 30s and the Edwardian excess is a distant memory. Now it's powdered egg, nettles on toast and imitation brawn at the dining room table - and they're even one family member down as Fred is evacuated to the countryside.
Episode 6
The Robshaw family are experienced time travellers, but this time they are going further back than they have ever been before - to the turn of the 20th century, to discover how the food we ate and the way we ate it helped shape the modern family. An ordinary house in south London is their time machine, transporting them through five decades and two world wars. Guided by presenters Giles Coren and social historian Polly Russell, they trace the incredible changes to Britain's diet and the extraordinary social transformation they reveal.
In the final episode of the series, the family and Debbie reflect on their time travels, discovering that much of what they experienced in the past still lives on around our dinner tables today.
The Robshaws try out some of the latest diets promising to make us healthier today. From fermented food to the paleo diet, they discover that our appetite for the perfect healthy diet is something that hasn't gone away. Then Polly shows the family the delights of a contemporary canned meal. It is a world away from the fish and potatoes of the 20s, with luxury ingredients like smoked mussels and chestnuts proving that it is possible to have delicious and convenient dinner.
After working her way through five decades of food history, Debbie tries her hand in a professional restaurant kitchen finding out how opportunities have opened up for talented female cooks since the experiment ended in 1949.
Brandon and Rochelle sample a Peruvian meal with Giles as they reflect on Britain's longstanding love of foreign food and flavours. And finally the family share a celebratory meal with Giles and Polly as they realise how many of our historical eating habits are still a treasured part of modern family mealtimes.
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