In 1953, when US food brand Swansons packaged up the American dinner in an aluminium tray, some thought the role of the home chef was under threat. While there’s no doubt that manufacturers like these have influenced our habits in the kitchen, now it is eager chefs and ardent home cooks who are pioneering convenience food today.

As home freezers became more common in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the idea of the TV dinner started to percolate into UK culture. Women were working longer hours away from the house, so the idea that there was this simple solution to ease the stress of getting home was well received, even if the quality of the food, at first, wasn’t.

Now, frozen food elicits a similar reaction ­– most people have some idea of horsemeat lasagne, soggy oven chips and bland samosas. It’s hard to blame them. We’ve lived with pre-prepared meals for so long, and become all too accustomed to the difference between how they’re advertised and what they are in reality (although a quarter of us still buy them at least once a week). The notion that frozen can be fresh and exciting seems like a dichotomy. But consider how sweet and verdant a frozen pea can be, or the natural aromatics frozen herbs retain after spending months in the freezer, and it becomes clear why home cooks are beginning to see the freezer as a friend – not their arch enemy.

Our lives are increasingly busy, but there is an increasing demand for eating well, even if that involves digging a little deeper into our pockets. We’re crying out for less food wastage too, but perhaps the answer is glaring right at us ­– ignoring the few stray peas at the bottom of the freezer drawer, the whole idea of refrigeration is to preserve what we can’t eat right away. While all this is going on, each of us identifies with food in ways we’ve never done before. We’re vegans, vegetarians, paleo, not paleo, dairy-free, gluten-free, processed-free, clean eaters or coeliac. Catering for every diet and appetite at the family dinner table is more of a challenge than many home cooks would like it to be.

So this should be a great opportunity for retailers who are known to stock frozen food and ready meals, right? Supermarkets have stepped up to the plate in this area and increasingly the frozen food aisles are looking less like morgues. In many ways Iceland has led the charge here and it stocks an impressive range of frozen ingredients, from prawns to lobsters and scallops. However, some of the real innovation is coming from beyond supermarkets, with the likes of Cook, Thyme and Gourmade stepping in.

Gourmade’s founder Jo Devenish realised she was spending a lot of time (and energy) preparing different meals from scratch at different times for her three kids. Playing more of a long game seemed to make more sense. ‘I started making lasagnes in batches of three or four,’ she says. ‘Then started freezing them. Every time we wanted lasagne it was twenty minutes in the oven rather than a run around the kitchen.’