Look Around You - Casserole

[@streyyk5799]

So many fond memories of driving past an McChunkys and my daughter in the back seat chirping up "Daddy, can I have a Casserole Happy Meal?" I'd almost always give in. Loved digging the toy out from the gravy.

[@Beechcliffe]

I had my 8th birthday in a Brown Diamond, they gave me a small pair of clogs and the cake was a shepherds pie with candles on. I'm dead now unfortunately, so those happy memories are lost to time.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

Brown Diamond sounds like a delightful birthday venue, although I am saddened by your death and, therefore, your inability to further reminisce.

[@occohus]

If you're reading this, yet a year longer dead, hope life is treating you well and rest in peace.

[@iamrobertkrogh]

Prove it

[@Beechcliffe]

@@iamrobertkrogh sadly my current metaphysical state prevents me from existing, reminiscing or accessing the earthly realm in any way. All I would say is, why would I lie?

[@LostwaveObsession]

Hope you are planning on coming back to life soon. There are lots of ways to, in 2024. The Queen Mother is back soon I read.

[@joehill9536]

This takes me down memory lane. There used to be a Big C next to where I grew up! I always associate the smell of industrial-grade beef stock with Monday morning, when it was delivered. All gone now--when the firm contracted in the Nineties it was replaced with a walk-in Cobbles clinic. Then, when that went bust because no-one with Cobbles can walk, it became another branch of Synthesizer Patel Electronics, and now you have to walk right into town to the Brown Diamond for a decent casserole....I miss those days.

[@christschinwon]

It was also briefly a Computer Jones laptop & pc repair.

[@elbecko7969]

Thanks for painting us a picture of what it was like back then

[@rmc7380]

Still have Big C in Thailand

[@avybenfield508]

I remember sitting in O'Gravys as a young girl in Skibereen.

[@christschinwon]

@@avybenfield508 Can you smell gas?

[@colbangers6336]

During a visit to the Big C Casserole restaurant, I was surprised to find Pauline Quirk, the renowned actress, dining there. As she sat down, a waiter mistook her for a new staff trainee, leading to a series of discrepancies. Pauline played along, turning the evening into an unexpected theatrical delight for everyone present. In fact, she buried herself so deep into the character, when I returned to that restaurant around four years later, she was still serving casseroles.

[@GaiaMediaIndustries]

You may have run into what casserole scientists call chav paradox. In layman's terms - all London peasants looking acting speaking and smelling the same, resulting in all London peasant women resembling Pauline Quirk. And vice versa. Peasant men of course looking like Jim Davidson.

[@iainmaccorquodale712]

I grew up on the West coast of Scotland, me and my mates would always pop into our local McChunkeys for a Casserole on they to school in the morning. God we were so fashion conscious back then....

[@Mattheq]

I didn't realise they'd opened a branch on the west coast - good work from a Dundee based company.

[@christschinwon]

​@@MattheqI especially went to West Kilbride for their opening day. To be honest it was, .. shit

[@cartertheunstoppablefaxmac902]

On a family holiday to France many years ago my parents took me to a Bidet’s - the French equivalent of McChunky’s. They had all your familiar favourites except over there a Big Chunk is called “Le Chunque” and a Bisto McShake is a “seau de boue" Quite remarkable for a country whose language doesn’t even have a word for casserole!

[@zuulroom]

And don’t forget in France you can order a beer in a casserole joint!

[@zuulroom]

Je rappe toute la journée et je rappe toute la nuit. Je rappe, je rappe, je rappeté rappe

[@christschinwon]

​@@zuulroomregarder la caméra!

[@ballsups]

@@christschinwon regardez autour yog

[@misterchippie]

I was always fascinated by Easter Island, so you can imagine my glee when we got our first Imhotep Casseroles branch. We used to go every Monday, Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday.

[@WilliamSmith-mx6ze]

I'm fairly sure O'Gravy's now do a casserole-o-fish for Fridays.

[@neilsanghvi5229]

Did you try their Rapa Nui Chieftan's Feast? It was served with a slice of silphium stuffed mouse, tiger nut cake, and a non-refill Mesopotamian beer

[@nickchadwick6477]

Love that Clive Pounds has a photo of Len Pounds at his desk, with nasal corks applied.

[@trydowave]

just noticed that :)

[@anorakus8272]

I used to know Clive in the 70's when he was a sales rep at Brake Bros. Nice bloke, if you caught him on a good day

[@brianm2881]

That last line would fit right in on the show.

[@RatelHBadger]

Only a handful of casserole joints made it over here to New Zealand. I think my favourite was Beefys on K Road in Auckland. Ian Botham himself flew over to officially open it if I recall.

[@zuulroom]

The Casserole Veranda was by far the best casserole restaurant of the lot. True there weren’t as many options or new additions to the menu but in my opinion, their casseroles were the most authentic. Plus they had respect for their customers and didn’t sacrifice on quality or change the recipe in order to cater to newer “trendier” customers.

[@cartertheunstoppablefaxmac902]

Don’t blame the public for changing tastes! Cassie’s - once a humble mom and pop business in Brighton which eventually became the south coast’s biggest casserole chain - managed to adapt to the times with its veggie and gluten free options. Sadly that wasn’t enough to keep the health inspector at bay and, well, I’m sure you remember how the “cholera casseroles” scandal of ‘98 ended.

[@simonjones7727]

Absolutely! Remember the green gingham tablecloths and the macramé menu holders? I used to love those!

[@andrewthomas2715]

Shortly after filming this, Clive Pounds sadly died following complications from a wasp sting to his anus.

[@anorakus8272]

There will now follow one second's silence

[@paulhyland7456]

@@anorakus8272 Beep

[@Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

That joke caught me flat footed the first time I saw the episode, laughed so hard I nearly pissed myself.

[@lister_of_smeg6545]

You may be pleased to know that Clive has since come back to life.

[@IAMPLEDGE]

@@lister_of_smeg6545I already knew that. He sent me a signed Big C menu. Happy days.

[@indy.b]

In Australia the chain casserole restaurant we went to was Cazzas. As well as the standard choices of marsupial or marine, you could always rely on the Cazza pie-floater to make you "full as a goog!" (egg)... a jumbo sized pie filled with casserole floating in a bowl of casserole. And for the people who didn't like casserole then there was a separate stew menu to choose from! Even today, I still long for the taste of Cazzas signature herring-and-kidney casserole meal deal with chips, coke, and a dessert bowl generously filled to overflowing with artificial whipped cream. "Hey kids whatsa wazzas? Get you and yez mates downa Cazzas!" (their jingle still doesn't make sense even today)

[@jpaulc441]

I loved eating emu casserole washed down with a pint of Castlemaine XXXX at my local Walkabout pub. The jewel of Australian cuisine.

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Well once we saw you Australians enjoying BBQ grilled casserole at home it inspired us to do the same in Britain. CasseQ or BBrole really became the fashion trend to get involved with.

[@Van_Der_Lay_Industries]

@@Surv1ve_Thrive I don't know how many times I've heard someone say "Throw another casserole on the barbie!"

[@jasonleech1254]

I miss this time in my life.

[@jjb2004mk2]

I'd be so happy if casserole takeaways existed.

[@ian_b]

Sometimes there's nothing I'd like more than a casserole delivery.

[@mrmeerkat1096]

Peter is a brilliant actor/ impersonator.

[@KenLieck]

Any time you need to cast a role, he's your man!

[@ok2760]

I remember McChunky's! Went there for a birthday treat on Oxford Street in London in 1985.

[@NobodyNowhereKnowhow]

I fucking love the picture of him from the look around you experiment with champaign and sulfur, or sulfaign on his desk.

[@slacknhash]

Nah, that's Len Pounds. Clive Pounds's brother. He was shot dead following the sulphagne incident.

[@TheMistaRich]

Brown Diamond was my favourite

[@Quaid44]

I think about this sketch a lot for some reason.

[@gdfoodology]

You're not alone 😂

[@honkynel]

Ha! this brings it all back. Haven't had a casserole in years!! It was always the lamb for me. They used to have these tubes that it came out of.

[@michaelw2816]

On a recent trip to New Zealand I was surprised to see they still have Big C casserole fast food outlets. Of course the technology has moved on since they featured on Look Around You, and you now order your automated casserole 'online' with WiFi - or even have it delivered to your door by using an 'App'.

[@LEJAOHAN]

I remember my dad used to take me to have a bowl in the old casserole place. You had to bring your own spoon from home, but it were bloody lovely.

[@matthewsneed5752]

😂😂😂👏👏👏 I’m so glad to be the kind of guy who has this kind of video pop up in my algorithm. I guess all those years of watching SNL and Monty Python have come to fruition. 😂

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

When we saw Australians enjoying BBQ grilled casserole at home it inspired us to do the same in Britain. CasseQ or BBrole really became the mass market fashion trend to get involved with.

[@cajakit]

1:20 "MONDAY THURSDAY WEDNESDAY TUESDAY FRIDAY"

[@rbdriftin]

I was a big customer of Imhotep Casserole back in the day.

[@tripdefect87]

Probably my favorite bit of season 2

[@N3RDYKID97]

Why's that?

[@anorakus8272]

@@N3RDYKID97 People don't have to justify their comments.. just be content in the knowledge that it's his favourite bit of season 2 🙂

[@theoriginaldanalogue]

Haha same here. My favourite bit in the whole sketch is when news came in that Clive Pounds had died and they observed a 1 second silence. Pahahaha

[@j0hnf_uk]

I can't remember the last time I had casserole. Casserole amnesia is a thing.

[@peterfirside295]

I'm so sorry. That must be terrible. Have you tried hypnosis ?

[@enoz.j3506]

My uncle owned a Casserole eat place ,back in the 80's ,i do miss Stew.

[@lordcdubs]

In California there’s a local chain of Casserole Cafes called “Out-n-About”. It’s like McChunky’s but with more meat-to-gravy per bowl. If you’re ever in Hollywoodland or on the warm Malice Beach, you need to order an “Out-n-About Big-Bowl-Casserole”

[@Harriet-Jesamine]

Gutted they haven't put the whole clip up... I wanted to see the bit when the casserole comes out of that tube from the ceiling!!

[@Joeyorangecupcake]

Mmm, hotter than the centre of the sun, deliciously splattering into the bowl and probably into your eyes...

[@Dr.Fiendish]

I fell in love with my first wife over a liver and turnip casserole at McChunky's.

[@hughmanitee1877]

You are a lucky man

[@greg0uk]

The framed photo on his desk 😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@fragglet]

Clive Pounds there in the days before his marriage fell apart and he was driven mad by the force of gravity and things falling over, spilling and getting knocked out of cupboards. I'm Greg Evigan, goodbye. I made this.

[@jjb2004mk2]

He never recovered from the trauma of watching his son go through Helvetica Syndrome.

[@christschinwon]

If a man can't throw beetroot at his own son, what's the world coming to?

[@WilliamSmith-mx6ze]

Driven so mad he even changed his name to Peter Gibbs.

[@neilsanghvi5229]

I was always curious about Clive Pounds's marriage. Wasn't it supposed to be an oranged marriage?

[@rflorian86]

after a long night of drinking, there's nothing better than a jumbo slice of casserole

[@enoz.j3506]

Your thinking of your wifs asserole.

[@TheWitchfinderGenral]

I miss McChunky's Original Dundee Casseroles, shame they closed down after the casserole crisis in '92

[@chickenlips2010]

Just piping hot casserole...

[@mrneutral8423]

I'll stick to O'Gravys thanks.

[@TequilaCT]

Oh yes the Casserole Massacre of '87!! His Brother Mr D Pounds was assassinated that year too!! Newspapers had headlines such as; "Gravy-geddon" "gravy on the streets" "Quarter-d Pound-er" and "Casserole Combat in Chelsea". Because of that Casserole takeaways began shutting down, there are only 5 Casserole takeaways left in the UK as of 2023, Big C has one located in the Isle of man, it has a 2 star hygiene rating.

[@theskolcup]

Serafinowicz is so underrated

[@John-lp5xh]

He had a great grandad that was very rated...... In the camps 👀

[@mftmss7086]

replace u with c replace n with u replace d with n replace e with r drop the rest of the letters and there fixed it for you

[@SnabbKassa]

I know people who were eating this beef and veg gunk well into the late 80s. Spellcheck: FINNISHED 🇫🇮

[@cartertheunstoppablefaxmac902]

God I wish Wetherspoons would bring back Casserole Night. The one dish all the lads could agree on.

[@metalmick]

Big C, happy memories. I always went for the Chocolate Starfish off the dessert menu.

[@enoz.j3506]

Your mixing this up with asserole, me thinks.

[@deldirk7123]

Yes no time to do anything at all, not even type this. Lots of good sachets with casserole. All you have to buy is a bit of meat and veg, pop in the oven for 90 minutes. To save time you can do your washing and ironing while the meal is automatically being prepared by the oven

[@zackakai5173]

You guys in the UK are lucky - here in the US, casserole places didn't really become common until the late 2000s. I remember when the first American O'Gravy's opened in my area my junior year of high school, it became the regular hang-out spot for a lot of the kids at my school. Good memories man.

[@williamrisbridger60]

Didn’t they open a few drive-thru places on the West Coast? There’s that famous picture of the giant speaker post that’s shaped like a ladle; I’m pretty sure that was at an O’Gravy’s.

[@zackakai5173]

@@williamrisbridger60 ah see I'm on the east coast so I'm not sure when they opened out there. Though I think for legal reasons O'Gravy's is called Gravy's Jr. or something once you go west of the Mississippi (kind of a Checker's/Rally's situation)

[@peterhammond3779]

Sherwin’s was a regional chain of Casserole takeaways where I lived on the border between Staffordshire and Leicestershire. By the time me and my mates started to buy them regularly (April 1979), Sherwin’s had seen better days. The Formica surfaces had lost much of their lustre, as had the acoustic booths housing the trademark public phones. I’d give anything to go back to those days. I’ve never really warmed to the coated cashew nut shops that are a hallmark of most modern precincts.

[@extrude22]

The music is epic

[@AllanGildea]

Outstanding.

[@silentxero5955]

Thank you!!! I've been hoping to see this again!!

[@Rhubba]

I worked in a Brown Diamond during the uni holidays. It was at the time when they'd lost the rights to sell Coke and had their own brand. If any customer asked for a Coke we had to reply "do you mean Brown Carbonated Replacement?" or else we wouldn't get a little diamond on our name badges. And, yes, I can confirm that if a pretty girl was at the counter we'd shout "Brown on Six" meaning pretty girl at counter number six. If she turned out to be ugly we'd say "broil that", referring to the meat broiling machines we had. Now it's all touchscreen ordering technology in the Brown Diamonds and less banter.

[@GaiaMediaIndustries]

Mature viewers might recall the adult casserole establishments up behind Oxford street, Casserole Revue, The Dirty Doily, and Charlies.

[@alanwakeish]

Look around you 2 looks like a glimpse into an alternate universe.

[@IAMPLEDGE]

The detail that went into the Big C menu is astonishing: CASSEROLES beef...................small 50p medium £1.01 chicken.............small 50p medium £1.01 ham..................small 50p medium £1.01 porcupine.........small 50p medium £1.01 PUDDINGS chocolate casserole..........................90p crab-apple pie....................................90p hundreds & thousands 9p DRINKS casso-cola®...small 14p medium 16p cassolade......... small 14p medium 16p extra gravy.........small 23p medium 26p hot milk............ .small 8p medium 9p cold milk............. small 8p medium 9p warm milk.........................................free

[@christschinwon]

The hundreds and thousands price went up considerably after Medibot was spotted in there a couple of times

[@youngyoungmcgurn5088]

Oh, wow - blast from the past there. Does anyone remember Brown Diamond's ill-fated attempt to keep up with mechanisation, with that weird ATM-style dispenser? The Brown CasseHole, I think it was called. Not sure why it did so badly - perhaps it was just too ahead of its time. People would be all over that now.

[@Geffers58]

Imhotep Casserole is the best.

[@Carlos-ql8sh]

Interesting fact: the first McChunkys in Scotland didn’t advertise “British Beef”; all of their promotional literature was identical to that available south of the border (colour-in recipe cards, “Mister Brisket” etc) but the beef was advertised as “Scottish Beef”. This became more of an issue during the Falklands war in 82, when there were mysterious “supply issues”. pPeople started to work out that it had been neither British nor Scottish beef all along - it was Argentinian! I still remember the Brown Diamond advert that took the piss out of them for that - you wouldn’t get away with that these days, of course. So un- PC!

[@markwrightrf]

Just arrived home from a short business trip to Peking and my wife and I were equally gobber-smashed to discover that Mc Gravy's and Big C are still going strong in China. Their signature casserole dish - and forgive me for the clumsy translation here - 'bowl of rancid meat parts and putrid vegetables squirted down pipe to tourist" continues to pack 'em in.[CORRECTION EDIT] I have since discovered that the outlets we visited were nothing more than bootleg establishments, profiting from long-gone British brands, sporting fire sale-bought signage and livery, all the while peddling far-eastern filth. Three stars.

[@michaeldeluca6331]

Brexit : The Restaurant

[@jakepierson6208]

I remember when Big C casseroles tried to expand to United States of America and it was good for a few years until the America branch broke away and became its own company of Auntie Adam's casseroles and when that happened, the quality just died on the spot and the company folded in within the year. I remember the taste of the bacon mac and cheese casseroles like yesterday even though they were awful for my sodium and cholesterol intake.

[@LikeMothsToAFlame]

So glad Clive Pounds came back to life.

[@tetsuoshima7385]

Came here for the Avatar, subscribed ‘cos of the great uploads👌🏻🙂

[@lightnear8085]

Over here in the US we just had Cathy’s Casserole and it did okay until the leveraged buyout happened during the housing crisis. In a matter of months they were out of business and many locations got turned into Panera Bread.

[@EmoTioN77359]

Coming from the West Midlands we were never lucky enough to experience the casserole craze, no Brown Diamond for us, we had to make do with KFC 😢

[@darthkek1953]

East Beef Stay Slim They said it as a joke and it's the literal truth.

[@superman00001]

Sadly, there was to be no opening night...

[@Tomurow]

There's a new vegan option at Big Cs called 'Byf Royale with Chys' . I can't wait to wrap my lips around that hot pot!

[@wisteela]

Is that bones in the bowl? If so, I've not noticed it before. Anybody know what the building is they used for the Big C offices?

[@ubeemac7094]

I wish we had a decent casserole chain in Ireland. We’ve only got Cassidy’s, which is a bit dusty and the chunks are too large.

[@JamesCalbraith]

And thus, Yoshinoya was born.

[@owatopham]

Ahh, our casseroles.

[@DaveWhiting01]

Has anyone been to the McChunky's in Tokyo? They do watermelon casserole. Bizarre!

[@iano6944]

A shame Big C restaurants closed down. I used to go there on Saturdays with my mother who sadly passed away... big C.

[@DaveWhiting01]

There's still one in Redditch. Still do Big C's bone marrow bites... yummy!

[@thekelvingreen]

I'm curious, does Big C do any sort of orange casserole?

[@rich_rich90]

"Well... pardon my language they're shit".... Awkward pause. 😂😂😂

[@nigelcarren]

Anyone else craving Pizzer or Pork-Cylinders after watching this?

[@millsykooksy4863]

Sir Stew....Mc Chunky's lmao

[@DLCMORRIS]

probbably how to get rid of a body of evidence

[@YoshsWorld]

are casserole restaraunts really a thing in Britain? cause I'd like to look into opening a franchise here in the 'States

[@linefacedbaby]

I've not seen an Imhotep's before

[@Unsung_Earth]

Thants 👍

[@RoachDoggJr435]

This whole video is insane, I'm so glad I live in the good old fashioned US OF A (America). What an absurd joke of a continent England is ever since leaving Europe.

[@spoddie]

I've been hoping O'Gravy would open a store in Tokyo but all we have is Brown Diamond and the local Let's Stew which is rubbish.

[@addambelmont3050]

Is casserole really that big in the UK?

[@extrude22]

The joke is that casserole is probably one of the slowest foods.

[@sphinxtheeminx]

Never give a gypsy casserole.

[@n0denz]

I wish we had Brown Diamond in the US :'c

[@enoz.j3506]

You do ,its called asseroles 'R' US

[@gyorkshire257]

Clive Pounds is the funniest name I've ever heard.

[@Blades-fm6ck]

Serafinovit's character probably based on Tomorrow's World presenter Michael Rodd

[@FPSNecromancerBob]

It hadn't clicked with me before that the compant was called The Big C 😂

[@CA-ee1et]

1:05 Why is he wearing an OUCA tie?

[@felixcornelius2577]

We all like and enjoy a casserole

[@davidfoxall3344]

Poor Clive Pounds, awful that wasp sting to the anus that killed him

[@jzilla1234]

O'Graveys 😂

[@superman00001]

Clive Pounds later died of complications following a wasp sting to the anus.

[@zanseattle]

We all love casserole, but journalistic integrity is also important. Obviously this piece is biased, as the production was paid for by Crockutainment Enterprises, the parent company that owned McChunky's and Sir Stew and had a controlling stake in Big C. Infuriating that only a passing nod is given to Imhotep Casseroles-by far the most popular cass-spot in London around this time. Immy's was famous for the giant straws it provided with each casserole bucket, which were later adapted for use in bubble teas and made the company millions in licensing fees.

[@Enzo012]

This must have been what they had before McDonald's was around?

[@Dongobog-ps9tz]

O'gravys was always great except for them constantly stapling dogs to the ceiling.

[@CoyKiyote]

Lol I thought Big C was Cancer

[@Smylexxia]

I hated Picasserole's. It was everything wrong with 80's Nouvelle Cuisine restaurants. Athena inspired artwork of hunky unshaved men cradling a newborn casserole in poncy black and white on the walls, filofax inserts with casserole recipes available at the pay-point, the constant sound of beepers only just drowning out the sound of Clannad. I'm glad they went bust. Give me a McChunky's Casserole Bap anytime.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I miss the modern world. This post-modern one is rubbish!