Ploughman's lunch term "ploughman's lunch" is believed to date no further back than the 1950s, when the Cheese Bureau (a marketing body affiliated with the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency) began promoting the ploughman's lunch in pubs as a way to increase the sales of cheese, which had recently ceased to be rationed. Its popularity increased as the Milk Marketing Board promoted the meal nationally throughout the 1960s. Pierce the Ploughman's Crede (c.1394) mentions the traditional ploughman's meal of bread, cheese and beer. Bread and cheese formed the basis of the diet of English rural labourers for centuries, with skimmed-milk cheese, supplemented
Plate lunch in California in 1999. L&L founder Eddie Flores rebranded it "L&L Hawaiian Barbecue", explaining that "When we went to the mainland, the name 'Hawaiian' is a draw, because everyone just fantasized, everyone wants to come to Hawaii." Overwhelmingly popular plate lunch entrées reflect Asian influence. Of Japanese origin is chicken "katsu", fried boneless chicken breaded with Japanese bread crumbs, and beef "teriyaki" (often shortened to "teri beef"). A common side-dish with plate lunches is fried noodles, often either "chow mein", "chow fun" or "saimin" noodles. Entrées of Hawaiian origin include "kalua" pork (also called "kalua pig") and "lau lau" (pork