I finished with peppermint tea and no dessert.’ Cost of lunch: around pounds 50Liz Brewer is a society party fixerShuttle food: the astronaut`The menu, which worked out at around 2,400 calories a day, consisted of both American and Russian food and we alternated between the two. The Russian food had lots of canned fish, which I wasn’t keen on, although much of their other food was real good.Lunch was invariably a dehydrated package system, to which you added water and put in a convection oven. As long as the food was mixed with some kind of sauce, something thicker than water, it would stay in its container.My favourite lunch was mashed potatoes and onions, which were Russian, and American steak, which was just great. The steak was wrapped in a foil package.We had little Velcro patches on the bottom of the food containers and on the table, so I stuck the packet on the Velcro and just opened one end of the steak.

It was like squeezing toothpaste from a tube, just one bite at a time. If the menu allowed, I would have vanilla pudding to follow.Shuttle food has really gone a long way Before it used to be all cubes and tubes. Looking back now we had masses to eat, all good solid British fare and lots of it from our garden.If I’m at home at lunch-time, I never cook In fact, the most I can manage is a baked potato I believe in the raw energy diet. So it’s always raw carrot, salads and lots of sprouting beans, with gallons of freshly made ginger tea.When I go out, I tend to be more relaxed. Today, I had a crabmeat and coconut salad with a mushroom risotto at Mosimann’s.

I like relaxing at lunch-time and getting away from work is important because I’ve been there since 7.30am. All I really want to do is switch off, have a chat to my wife or just read a fishing magazine.’ Cost of lunch: around pounds 1Brian Harman, 47, is a head keeper in charge of the elephants at London Zoo, where he has worked for 30 yearsRaw energy: the party person`I come from a rather traditional rural background. The family would always sit down together at mealtimes, whether that was lunch, dinner or even breakfast. I don’t usually have a dessert and I’m not a great lover of fruit. Two rounds on white bread, sometimes with pickle or tomato and just a bit of margarine or butter.I’ll always follow that with a cup of tea.