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Vesta meals is the brand name for a range of dehydrated convenience foods originally made by Batchelors. First launched in 1961, the range was introduced to cater for the increasing interest in more exotic foods in the UK. The meals were produced from freeze dried ingredients, which were added to water and cooked in a pan. They are quoted as being the first convenience food brought to the British market, although advertised as ‘ready in 15 minutes’, they could take up to 25 minutes to cook. They became very popular, in 1966 Sainsbury's sold almost half a million Vesta meals. Vesta meals are often included in television programmes that highlight the change in eating habits within the UK, such as I Love the '70s, and Back in Time for Dinner.

In the 1970s the range of meals included:


 * Beef Risotto
 * Curry and Rice with Chicken
 * Chow Mein with Crispy Noodles
 * Chicken Supreme with Rice
 * Paella

Advertised using the slogan ‘A Vesta meal can make what would be an ordinary mealtime into something rather special’, magazine adverts highlighted mildly challenging situations such as finishing the DIY, completing maths homework or watching your football team lose again, where a distinctive meal would improve the mood. One advert from the 1970s showed a couple sitting down to watch television eating a Vesta Chow Mein meal, which reinforced the idea that the brand was the an ‘archetypal TV dinner’

The brand has since been sold by Batchelors and is now owned by Premier Foods who in 2009 invested 25 million squid in a factory in Ashford, Kent which makes a number of dried food products including Vesta meals, Bisto and Batchelors Cup-a-Soup.