The 1970s Supermarket — Season 1

As the supermarket scene of the '70s exploded, so did the ability for consumers to buy Christmas rather than make it. From artificial trees and plastic tinsel going on sale to the first-ever chocolate advent calendars hitting the shelves in 1971 and the new freezer stores packed with frozen turkey roasts, the decade saw a Christmas shopping revolution. In the kitchen, chef Rustie Lee rustles up vol-au-vents and Brussels pate, and tries out a Bird's trifle kit, while in the lab, Dr Chris Clarke finds out why the cheesy filling inside a cheese football snack doesn't go off, how the gooey centre of an After Eight mint is created and why sprouts can give you wind.

The first episode reveals how the nation went crazy for convenience food, which back then came in cans, such as wartime favourite Spam. Chris Clarke also whisks up the fluffy dessert Angel Delight, and the programme explores how the rise of the home freezer heralded the birth of frozen food chains Iceland and Bejam.

This episode reveals how, with package holidays in full swing, British consumers everywhere were falling in love with foreign food, from lasagna and beef bourguignon through to kebabs and curry. The programme also looks at how Marks and Spencer introduced the ready-made chicken Kiev, and how the supermarkets started creating their own booze departments in response to growing customer demand.

In this episode, we discover how Britain's shoppers went bonkers for a bargain and how the supermarket price wars hotted up in the late 1970s.By the late 70s, Britain's economic woes were worsening and shoppers everywhere were looking for a bargain, starting with the unforgettable summer of 1976. Whilst Britain sweltered in unprecedented heat, our supermarkets were in crisis, with fresh fruit and veg shortages everywhere due to the worst drought in 200 years.We discover how 70s favourite SMASH came to our rescue when potatoes were in short supply and Dr Chris Clarke reveals how it was made and the secrets to making it so cheaply. In the kitchen, chef Rustie Lee puts SMASH to the taste test against home-made mashed potato.We tell the story of how supermarkets battled it out with cutthroat prices and clever advertising campaigns, including the launch of the iconic ASDA price tap adverts.Back in the lab, Dr Chris reveals how the puff is put into a sugar puff and we relive the launch of one of the most iconic advertising mascots in history, the Honey Monster, and the demise of his long-forgotten predecessor Jeremy the Bear.We also tell the story of how the barcode was first trialed in Britain and how it revolutionised shopping in supermarkets forever, and Rustie compares prices as she attempts to make her own version of a Fray Bentos Pie .