The Mini Food Survey

In light of the Sex Survey, I thought: why not conduct my own Food Survey? It’s not exactly the most highly scientific of surveys (dodges open fire), but answered by Felix food writers and fellow food lovers, maybe the survey will give a new life into the food on campus – or not, in some cases. Most of the people I asked ate at Imperial outlets on a regular, weekly basis. About a third of the people I asked only ate in uni very rarely, when they’ve forgotten their packed lunches or are staying in late – can anything really beat a homemade lunch? I think so.

Try the most popular place to eat, FUEL, oh yes, that ‘pie place’ with the infinite mash and gravy (apparently the beetroot smoothies are good too). Everyone I asked who had been to FUEL (apart from one, crazy person) said it was great. The favourite pies were the chicken based pies, either with ham or chorizo (the Matador pie). But hold out you hungry meat eaters – apparently the goat’s cheese one is also fantastic. In general, most people I asked felt the pies are good value for money, considering that they are handmade and you can fill your pie box full to the brim with mash and gravy, given that there isn’t a helpful but annoying person serving it out. People felt that the salad and chicken or salmon boxes are also good, healthier than the pies, but more expensive. I can empathise with the complaints regarding when Pieminister run out of the best pies. It can also get pretty crowded in there.

The second most popular place to eat lunch was the JCR, basically because of the large selection of sandwiches and wraps, which is obviously an easy and cheap lunch. The Library Café was in third place, again because of the sandwich-lovers amongst us and of course, the jacket potatoes, the favourite filling being chilli. For a hot meal, the jacket potato is probably the cheapest thing on campus and will keep you going throughout the rest of the day. In fourth place was the Queen’s Tower Rooms (QTR), a hot meal on its own will only take you back a few quid, whereas the meal deal will take you back around £5. The meal deal is very filling, so either go there with a massive appetite or an intention to sleep all afternoon. Because of my poor question-asking skills many people said their favourite place to eat at uni was The Sandwich Shop on Gloucester Road. I felt I should mention it because everyone does rave about it – they also do noodles if you’re not in a sandwich mood. Fans of The Sandwich Shop feel these sandwiches are sometimes tastier and better value than the ones at uni outlets.

Producing good academic work requires a half decent cup of coffee. Just over half the people I asked prefer EEE and the rest prefer the Library Café. One person said the SAF coffee was ‘terrible’ – so I may avoid that in future. The Chemistry café was not voted so highly, though this was probably because only a few Chemists did the survey. They say the coffee there is fantastic – apparently you may even be served by an award winning barista, so if you haven’t done so already head over! People do seem to like their local places, whether that’s the RSM or Business School café. I think it’s good to keep trying new things, for a list of coffee outlets at uni, check out: www3.imperial.ac.uk/eatinganddrinking/cateringoutlets.

Everyone who snacks goes to the Union Newsagents and 50% of them snack at the JCR. I was surprised to see that only one person snacked on fruitand everyone else snacked on crisps, chocolate and pick ‘n’ mix – apparently we’re all glutinous fatties. For breakfast snacks I was given some great advice, to crash the SCR in the mornings, apparently you can buy porridge or make up a large yoghurt and muesli pot for around 60p.

When it came to healthy foods, most people felt that the salad boxes in SAF and FUEL are more expensive than just buying a sandwich or jacket potato. They are right, in FUEL a salad box with salmon costs more than pie and mash – but not by much, around 50p. One person felt the prices of juices and water is too expensive. I disagree, I feel the prices are competitive with supermarket prices. Unanimously, people felt ripped off when it came to fruit as snacks. They might not necessarily be more expensive, but people seem to feel ripped off spending over 40p on a banana when they cost around 15p in a supermarket. Confectionary does not seem to compare so unfavourably to supermarket pricing. Nevertheless, this mark-up is true for all cafés from Café Nero to Starbucks. You know what I think? Bring in a bag of apples or bananas at the start of the week and leave them in your locker – it’s much cheaper than buying them every day at uni. Just don’t forget about them.