Alan Turing at the table

During and after the war, English meals were governed by the ration book: a hearty breakfast (porridge, bread), dinner at midday (the main hot dish, often a vegetable pie), afternoon tea (strong tea + a thrifty sweet), and a light supper in the evening. Everything revolved around economy: stretching the butter, replacing eggs, glorifying the carrot. This is exactly the world of Turing at Bletchley Park and later in Manchester.

The British Ministry of Food made the carrot the hero of rationing through the character “Dr Carrot”: abundant, local, sweet, it replaced scarce sugar in desserts and jams. With lukewarm black tea, it is the signature taste of this era of ingenious privation.