1970s Food: Top Dishes, Restaurants And Eating Trends
Brown food, the Hostess trolley and the golden age of the dinner party.
Below: the dishes people actually ate in the 1970s, what was new at the time, what the kitchen had in it, and honest notes on cooking any of it now.
Useful for a themed party menu, a reminiscence session or working out what to cook for someone's milestone birthday.
Shop the cards that go with these
Shop prints and posters Look back to 1970 Look back to 1971 Look back to 1972
Cards and prints, drawn and printed by us
Funny cards, kitchen and milestone art prints and pin badges, printed in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
"Woof Woof" Sausage Dog Valentines Day Card
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day Card From The Cats
£3.87
Happy Valentines Day, My Love (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
You're Purr-fect To Me (Cat Valentines Day Card)
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Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
£3.87
Years covered in the 1970s
- 1970 - England defended the World Cup, the Beatles ended and eighteen-year-olds got the vote. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1970
- 1971 - Decimal Day, the first Glastonbury as we know it and Slade on the way up. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1971
- 1972 - Miners' strikes and power cuts, Ziggy Stardust and a very good year for glam. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1972
- 1973 - Britain joined the EEC, the oil crisis hit and Slade wrote Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1973
- 1974 - Two general elections, the three-day week and Abba winning Eurovision. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1974
- 1975 - Bohemian Rhapsody, the EEC referendum and Fawlty Towers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1975
- 1976 - The heatwave, the drought and the first stirrings of punk. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1976
- 1977 - Silver Jubilee street parties, Star Wars and the summer punk went overground. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1977
- 1978 - Grease, the first test-tube baby and the start of the winter of discontent. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1978
- 1979 - The winter of discontent, the first woman Prime Minister and the last year of the seventies. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1979
- That is every 1970s year we have written up so far: 1970 to 1979.
Classic 1970s dishes
- Quiche Lorraine, served warm with a limp side salad.
- Chicken Kiev, sold ready-made by Marks & Spencer from 1979.
- Beef Wellington and duck a l'orange for showing off.
- Boil-in-the-bag cod in butter sauce for a Tuesday.
- Butterscotch Angel Delight, Vienetta-era ice creams, Blue Nun to drink.
- Cheese fondue and a great deal of avocado with prawns in it.
Food trends of the 1970s
- Delia Smith's first TV series and cookbooks from the early seventies.
- Vegetarian cooking goes mainstream-ish with Cranks and wholefood shops.
- Chest freezers in the garage and bulk-buying meat.
- Wine boxes, Babycham, Cinzano and Campari.
What the kitchen looked like (1970-1979)
- Avocado and harvest-gold kitchen units.
- Slow cookers arrive and are used constantly.
- Microwaves start appearing at the end of the decade and are still expensive.
- Soda streams for making fizzy drinks badly at home.
Eating out in the 1970s: restaurants, cafes and takeaways
- The curry house as a weekend fixture, often after the pub.
- Wimpy at its peak, and the first British McDonald's opens in Woolwich in 1974.
- Pizza Express spreads out from its 1965 Soho start.
- Little Chef on the A-roads with the Olympic Breakfast era beginning.
- The Good Food Guide and the first wave of serious country restaurants.
- Steak houses, scampi in a basket and a bottle of Mateus Rose.
Cooking these now: honest notes
- Chicken Kiev is worth making properly - flatten, fill, double breadcrumb, freeze before frying.
- Quiche needs a blind-baked case or the bottom will never crisp.
- Prawn cocktail and Wellington still work at a dinner party; the trolley is optional.
How to use this
- Themed party: pick three dishes, not ten - one thing to pick at, one main, one pudding everyone remembers.
- Put the 1970s playlist on while you cook and the theme does half the work.
- Reminiscence session: food smells prompt more conversation than photographs do.
- Milestone birthday: cook what they ate at eighteen, not what was around when they were born.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop prints and posters Look back to 1970 Look back to 1971 Look back to 1972
How to write it so it lands
- Write the menu on a card and put it on the table - it makes a themed meal feel deliberate.
- Cook one dish nobody has had for thirty years; that is the one people talk about.
- Check for allergies before you build a menu around pastry, nuts or shellfish.
Where to shop next
- Look back to 1970
- Look back to 1971
- Look back to 1972
- Look back to 1973
- Look back to 1974
- Look back to 1975
- Look back to 1976
- Look back to 1977
- Look back to 1978
- Look back to 1979
- 1970s calendar: year by year
- 1970s trivia: fun facts
- 1970s music: albums, artists and songs
- 1970s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
- 1970s books, films and TV
- 1970s party playlist
- The 1970s: the whole decade
- Retro gift guide: the 1970s
- 70s kids' TV shows
- 70s quiz questions
- British Bulldog rules
- Kerby rules
- Sweets that disappeared
- Test card, Ceefax and three channels
- Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
- Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
- Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
- Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
- Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
- Decade calendar: every year from 1920
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Retro party supplies
- Guess the year quiz
- Milestone birthday cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What food was popular in the 1970s?
Quiche Lorraine, served warm with a limp side salad. The full list above covers the dishes that turned up week in, week out, not just the special-occasion ones.
What were the big food trends of the 1970s?
Delia Smith's first TV series and cookbooks from the early seventies. The rest are listed above, including what was arriving in the shops for the first time.
Where did people eat out in the 1970s?
The curry house as a weekend fixture, often after the pub. The eating out section above lists the restaurants, cafes and takeaways of the decade.
Can I cook 1970s recipes today?
Yes, with small adjustments. Old recipes assume more time and different kit, so the honest notes section above tells you what to change - mostly seasoning, cooking times and which ingredients are hard to buy now.
Do you sell food or recipe books?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a party or a care-home session.