National Greasy Foods Day.

 National Greasy Foods Day. 

This is not quite the day for greed, gluttony and unashamed feasting. But today is National Greasy Foods Day. Who knew? Or perhaps you did know but weren't prepared to let on. For the last seven months ago the very concept of junk food has become too appealing for words. This is not to suggest that we've spent the whole of this period denying ourselves the pleasures of the palate because our appetites may have been affected by the lack of eggs in our homes. Oh for the joys of eating greasy food. 

But come on folks. Today is the day to abandon ourselves shamelessly to those gastronomic goodies we think nothing of shoving into our mouth and just devour all of those things we shouldn't really be eating and yet now think of as the ultimate in comfort foods. So just for today perhaps let's gorge ourselves ravenously on fried chicken and chips in our local KFC and then move along swiftly to the world-famous McDonalds where those who may be in a hurry and desperately hungry after a hard day on the road can blithely avail ourselves of those cholesterol-friendly burgers dripping with enticing meaty flavours.

For well over 40 years now Britain and the world have partaken of the convenience food, the meal with guilty overtones written all over them, the meal that should never be consumed because you may be compromising your health by just eating them in unreasonable quantities. When Mcdonalds opened its first junk food restaurant during the 1970s none of us could have known the legendary influence they would have on our eating habits. 

And yet Mcdonalds would become the most instantly recognisable feature on all of our local high streets, a beacon of culinary excellence for kids and adults across the globe. And yet this is the day when we should forget about restriction, oppression and spartan living. Covid 19 has unwittingly instilled into the world a wartime rationing mentality although this may be considered a complete exaggeration. But greasy foods are those mouth-watering burgers, fish and chips, chunky sausages and barbecue foods that once dominated family gardens during the summer. 

It is though that greasy foods will always be synonymous with things that are supposed to be very naughty, bad and unhealthy for you. However none of us would ever think twice about wrapping our mouths around those juicy lamb steaks, the glorious spicy ribs and jacket potatoes oozing with tons of butter which our parents always told us were far too fattening. This though is the day for throwing caution to the wind, digging delightedly into the entire contents of cod or haddock and chips. 

Years ago of course chips were the guiltiest of pleasures, so bad and damaging for you that you felt sure government health warnings should have been issued. Chips, it has to be said, looked utterly repulsive, masses of stodgy lard that almost seemed inedible. You would look at the sizzling chipped potatoes and listen to the crackling bain marie as chips were flipped, scooped and flung into the air rather like a juggler in a circus.

Nowadays our tastes in food have become far more varied and sophisticated than they used to be. Now we eat Chinese and Indian suppers with customary relish. We chew our way gleefully through innumerable naan breads, poppadoms, chicken tikka, helping ourselves to addictive helpings of chicken chow mein, noodles, egg fried rice until we reach bursting point and our stomachs can no longer take any more. 

Across the world junk food has become convenience food, that natural point in the day when the work schedule becomes so unbearably hectic that very few of us can afford to whip up a roast or a nutritious meal consisting of meat, two veg and potatoes because time is such a precious commodity and besides it's almost time for bed anyway. 

So here we are on National Greasy Foods Day dreaming of the day when everything you should have reservations about eating is totally acceptable and who cares about the resulting pounds gained on our waistlines? Perhaps we should forget about the consequences and just tuck into a thousand cheese burgers, several bowls of flavoured crisps, vast boxes of deep crust pizzas and no holds barred on anything that could lead to severe indigestion and endless regrets. 

On reflection of course the very thought of greasy food does fill most of us with the most social conscience. What about those criminally neglected African countries where chronic starvation and malnutrition remain an appalling oversight? We lead our lives of privileged materialism and then look at the rest of the world with both horror and disgust. But then we shake our heads with utter bemusement and point accusing fingers at officialdom since they should be the ones to blame. 

How the rest of the world would give anything for a healthy, sit down meal with family and friends. And yet most of us can only look on helpless at this disgraceful obscenity. Of course we have no control over the distribution of food to any of those countries who continue to go without either food or drink but we do know that the governments of the world can affect change and this is the overriding problem. 

Still it's Sunday afternoon, the clocks have gone back an hour and in an hour or two it'll feel like midnight rather than tea time. So let's all hurry out to the local chippie, demand several chicken and mushroom pies, a dozen beef and onion pies, several kebabs, a mixed grill in your local Turkish restaurant and then gigantic helpings of chips, chips and more chips. It is, after all National Greasy Foods Day. We can't turn that one down.