MINISTRY OF FOOD

Press, Volume LXXXIIi, Issue 25214, 19 June 1947, Page 2

MINISTRY OF FOOD

WORK BY CHRISTCHURCH WOMAN A New Zealander who did important work for the Ministry of Food in Britain during and since the war is Mrs E. Nilsen, who returned to Christchurch this week after haying spent 12 years in England. Mrs Nilsen, who is an Otago University graduate in home science, was formerly Miss A. R. Powell. She is at present visiting ner parents, the Rev. E. C. W. and Mrs Pbwell, of Shirley, Christchurch. She expects to spend about three months m New Zealand, and will then return to her home in England. . Mrs Nilsen went to England m 1935 as a cookery demonstrator for the British General Electric Company. Ltd., and in this work travelled all over Britain for two years. She then did experimental work in the company’s laboratories until war broke out. When the peace-time production of the company was stopped, Mrs Nilsen took up the work of large-scale catering for emergency feeding and rest centres which were then being set up. She was also for some time in charge of a factory canteen. With her wide and varied experience, it was not surprising that Mrs Nilsen should have been selected by the Ministry of Food as head of the Ministry’s experimental food kitchens in London. Advertising was an important part of the work, Mrs Nilsen said in an interview yesterday. Advertisements appeared regularly telling people how to use their rations to the oest advantage, giving general advice about rationed goods, and recipes for cooking with the supplies available to the housewife. “We tried to give recipes which were as varied and easily prepared as possible,” Mrs Nilsen said. The people did not suffer in health through the rationing, but they found it' very irritating. It meant more work and more trouble for the housewife. All the recipes which we published were definitely ‘austerity.’ That is, they could be made from rationed supplies which

were available in all centres . It was i no use incorporating in the recipes any ’ extras which might become available ' from time to time in- one or other of ■ the cities, hut which were not in gen- ; eral supply. These recipes, Mrs Nilsen said, ap1 peared in all metropolitan and provincial newspapers, in magazines, and I even in small church papers so that j they were available to everyone. Im- ! portant work was done by the Food ■ Advice Division, in which Mrs Nilsen . worked. This division had 40 centres . in different parts of the country, and I had achieved much by bringing information to the people. Women were not very keen to attend lectures, Mrs Nilsen said, and demonstrators from , these centres would go out to any place 1 where a gathering of women could be 1 found, such as in hospital clinics, and ; give them advice on cooking, diet, and 1 methods of preparing food. This work r would probably be a permanent fea- - ture in Britain, Mrs Nilsen thought. 1 The Ministry had also had prepared - many leaflets giving cooking hints and • general advice about rations. These . had now been discontinued because of 1 the fuel crisis, and the information t contained in them was being incorpor rated into book form to avoid wastr age. Mrs Nilsen herself has been asked by } the Ministry to prepare four books dealing with the cooking of vegetables, f fish, cakes, and pastry, and preserving. * She has already completed a large 1 amount of this work. Because rationing in England is still severe, all recipes will be strictly “austerity.”- ’ Meals in English restaurants are - very bad at present,, Mrs Nilsen said. " This, she thought, was largely because r there was not enough competition. } “When they have to attract people again they will get better,” she said. 1 That it was not yet possible to get new 1 tablecloths or crockery in‘the restau- " rants did not improve matters. s “The foreign restaurants in Soho still have the best food, if you like their ej type of food,” Mrs Nilsen said. They - were experts at “made-up” dishes - which could be produced from rationed a goods. There was a certain amount of 1 black marketing by restaurants, and ) efforts had been made to stamp it out, - but it was not considered to be a serie ous problem in England, Mrs Nilsen - added. Mrs Nilsen relinquished her post . with the Ministry of Food last Deceme ber, but she may take up similar work r on her return to England.