In the England where Wilkins lived, the day revolved around four meal times: breakfast in the morning, dinner at midday (the main hot meal), afternoon tea (tea and small bites), and a light supper in the evening. At university, one ate in the refectory (the college Hall) or at the local café. Above all, from 1940 until 1954, rationing governed everything: eggs, butter, meat, sugar, and tea were strictly counted per person per week. Cooking was therefore frugal, economical, based on making do — doing a lot with very little.

Two emblematic condiments that rescue a cuisine impoverished by rationing: English mustard powder, sharp and hot, and fermented Worcestershire sauce, deeply umami. A pinch of one or a dash of the other makes even the simplest dishes — vegetables, melted cheese, broths — flavourful. This is the signature of British taste in that austere era.