In the first of a new season of programmes about the way we live now, BBC Four spends the night chewing on ideas about how the British define themselves through what they eat.
From boil-in-the-bag Bolognese and the frozen dinner for one, ready meals have evolved into the likes of today's chilled lamb pasanda - an industry on which we now spend around £2 billion a year. Which begs the question: what does our love affair with pre-packaged cuisine say about our contemporary lifestyle and society?
WHAT'S ON
READY MEALS: BRITAIN IN A BOX (TIME SHIFT)
9pm-9.40pm; midnight-12.40am; 3.40am-4.20am; Saturday 4 February 7pm-7.40pm; 2.45am-3.25am
The ready meal may reflect positive changes such as a growing female workforce and an ethnically diverse population, but is it to blame for a decline in communal family dining and loss of cooking skills?
MEADES EATS: FAST FOOD
10.10pm-10.40pm
Restaurant critic, writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades takes an acerbic look at fast food and the gap between the raw ingredients and the finished product.
PILE IT HIGH, SELL IT CHEAP (TIME SHIFT)
Saturday 11 February 7pm-7.40pm
How has the convenience of the supermarket changed our lives? A look at the spectacular rise of the supermarket over the past 50 years.
DYING TONIGHT Monday 6 February 2006
The season continues by exploring attitudes to death
HAVE YOUR SAY
What's your gut reaction to tonight's programmes?
BBC Links
Radio 4: The Food Programme
Sheila Dillon considers the ready meals market, their effect on diet and their impact on traditional cooking skills
