As more people go off cooking, fast-food outlets are reshaping our dining habits, and this business is changing in interesting ways, with companies like Famous Brands dramatically reducing waste and cutting out plastic as they adapt to our ever-changing tastes.

When I drive around our cities I'm always slightly amazed by how many fast-food outlets there are. I think, if you're not careful, you'll probably trip over one almost as often as you would a petrol station (of course, the two are often on the same premises).

It's not surprising in a way, since we are following international trends and just don't cook as much as we used to. And who can blame us - it takes so much time and, that other word, "effort" (dreaded by members of a generation that can be called "echo-boomers", or children of the people born during the post-World War 2 baby boom).

But I do wonder how often our tastes change.

Before fast food was really a thing, in the world's first big consumer market, burgers were not that fashionable. In fact, Bill Bryson's Made in America reports that as late as the 1940s Americans were eating more pork than any other meat.

And, during those times, when divisions between Catholics and Protestants were still political in that society, fish was frowned upon in some circles (I presume it was the Catholic practice of eating fish on Fridays that had something to do...