Break up a breakfast sausage in the white sauce along with plenty of pepper. That will liven up it’s taste. White sauce on its own is literally just a flour, butter, and milk, reduction. So yeah it’s pretty bland on it’s own. Some people also use Cayenne Pepper and/or cook bacon in the pan first to incorporate the grease into the sauce.

And yeah this food was meant to be eaten early by workers and get them to lunch. Especially explorers, sailors, and soldiers. People who burn a lot of calories.