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My paternal grandparents were born in England. Their cuisine was incredibly boring. I'm from metro Boston which inherited that incredibly boring cuisine. In 1960, "dining" in Boston was comparable to the UK. The difference being that the UK had much more Indian and Hong Kong influence and alternatives. Fast forward 60 years and Boston cuisine is a fusion of global cuisines just like the UK. Other than pub fare, you have to work at it to find much in the way of traditional "English cuisine" anywhere I've been in the UK recently outside of pubs.
I've been visiting the UK since 1994 and I found the food is like everywhere else- you get what you pay for.I love British food, especially the breakfasts.
The last survey I saw suggested that the British do actually enjoy cooking, which is perhaps the reason there are so many succesful British cookery programmes on television and so many celebrity British chefs. Whilst a quarter of UK dinners are now either vegetarian or vegan.
Has the Quality/reputation of English cuisine improved since the turn of millennium thanks to celebrity chefs?
The most relevant question, of course, is...
How often have you visited The UK?
I have been to the other side of the pond on a regular basis since 1977, and I can tell you that the quality of their restaurant cuisine has markedly improved since then. Then again, the type of restaurant that I can afford to patronize has risen steadily in ensuing decades.
Translation: There has always been excellent quality food in The UK, for those who can afford it, and for those who can only afford to patronize low-end restos, the quality might still be lacking.
To put it in terms that you can probably identify with... Do you consider "diner food" to be good?
If so, even the lowliest pub's food will make you happy.
On the other hand, if you--like me--commonly dine at the top-rated restaurants in NJ, then you would need to seek the top-rated restos in The UK. You get what you pay for...
Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
English food is EXACLTY the same as its always been, perhaps, just maybe the (quite frankly) ridiculously stupid stereotype is beginning to be seen for what it is! And while we are at it, it doesn't always rain in London and the teeth of the British are actually (on average) healthier than Americans!! Actually its funny when you say 'even Americans' how to cook better because in the UK we have the same (quite frankly) ridiculously stupid stereotype when it comes to food in the US (cheese out of a can!!! etc)!
+1
I used to work with a lummox who asked me, "How do you deal with the constant rain and the constant fog in London?".
I informed him that, out of 5 visits to London at that point, I had only needed to resort to an umbrella on one occasion--for a few hours--and that I had never encountered fog.
The moral of the story, I suppose, is that low-information people who rely on outdated stereotypes, and who never venture overseas, have a very distorted concept of almost everything outside of their own little cocoon.
Last edited by Retriever; 04-15-2019 at 03:44 PM..
The most relevant question, of course, is...
How often have you visited The UK?
I have been to the other side of the pond on a regular basis since 1977, and I can tell you that the quality of their restaurant cuisine has markedly improved since then. Then again, the type of restaurant that I can afford to patronize has risen steadily in ensuing decades.
Translation: There has always been excellent quality food in The UK, for those who can afford it, and for those who can only afford to patronize low-end restos, the quality might still be lacking.
To put it in terms that you can probably identify with... Do you consider "diner food" to be good?
If so, even the lowliest pub's food will make you happy.
On the other hand, if you--like me--commonly dine at the top-rated restaurants in NJ, then you would need to seek the top-rated restos in The UK. You get what you pay for...
+1
I used to work with a lummox who asked me, "How do you deal with the constant rain and the constant fog in London?".
I informed him that, out of 5 visits to London at that point, I had only needed to resort to an umbrella on one occasion--for a few hours--and that I had never encountered fog.
The moral of the story, I suppose, is that low-information people who never venture overseas have a very distorted concept of almost everything outside of their own little cocoon.
The one that surprised me was when I came back from Amsterdam and told a coworker how it was so easy to figure out how to walk around the city and how beautiful it was walking over the bridges over all the canals and then how cool it was to see the city from a boat on the canals, and she said, "Really? I never thought of Amsterdam as a place that had canals."
But to stay on topic, they had almost as much good food as London.
The one that surprised me was when I came back from Amsterdam and told a coworker how it was so easy to figure out how to walk around the city and how beautiful it was walking over the bridges over all the canals and then how cool it was to see the city from a boat on the canals, and she said, "Really? I never thought of Amsterdam as a place that had canals."
I think that her statement could easily have been truncated/altered to... "I never think".
But to stay on topic, they had almost as much good food as London.
The best Indian food that I ever ate was in Amsterdam!
I can't recall the name of the restaurant offhand, but it was a new iteration of a long-established Indian resto in London.
I thought that most of the Indian cuisine in London was excellent, but that place in Amsterdam was even better!
A lot of anti-British food sentiment is simple continental snobbery that has been adopted by some Americans.
I really like traditional British food, from country and traditional dishes like lamb with mint sauce and Sunday roasts, to pub fare, pies, and English breakfast, to your basic chipshop offerings.
Root veg and other vegetables in crusts, sausage rolls and other 'meat in pastry' from the prosaic toad-in-the-hole to the vaunted Beef Wellington, jams and cream, *******, all kinds of game and fish, various puddings, and so on.
To many, they may seem like comfort food at best, but I find most English (and Scottish) dishes really hit the spot. Hearty food that suits the environment and speaks to the land it comes from.
I draw the line at jellied eels, though ;-) j/k, pile on the mushy peas!
edit: the censored dish is named for a bundle of sticks one keeps by the fireplace to revive the coals and produce a gay flame.
And adding to the tableau of food in Britain are the contributions of Indian/Pakistani and Chinese cuisines, the versions of which would be very familiar to Americans. ("Americanized" Indian and Chinese food is very much the same as "Britishized" Indian and Chinese food)
You can eat very well in the UK. Sadly, something I hear often is 'You can eat well in the UK if you stick to Indian and Chinese', but in my opinion it would be a shame, and a loss, to discount the traditional British dishes by limiting oneself to chicken tikka masala and onion bhajis.
edit: the censored dish is named for the bundles of sticks one keeps next to the fireplace to throw on the coals and revive the gay flames.
In my experience, the quality has mostly improved due to the presence of continental immigrants over the last 10-15 years. There's shops and restaurants catering to them and even the mainstream supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury's usually have product ranges to cater to those tastes. It seemed to me like most actual locals - especially those who aren't posh - still eat the same old bland stuff. I mean it's not all bad, it's just worse than it could or should be because they *prefer* it bland. Like fish and chips is a dish they *like* blander than people from most other places would want it.
Has the Quality/reputation of English cuisine improved since the turn of millennium thanks to celebrity chefs?
There are quite a few coming out of England most famous being Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, Jamie Oliver etc etc. Have these individuals inspired more Brits to up their game? They are starring in a lot of cooking/reality shows where they go around the anglophone world and telling people, even Americans, how to cook better.
If I a serious American Chef, I not sure how I feel about a Brit telling me how to cook. They have had a terrible culinary reputation for a long time. There are some well known Brit eateries like Hawksmoor, The Box Tree. Anyone been to a great British restaurant?
I have only had handful of british dishes like Bangers, and Mash; cottage pie; fish and chips of course. But the Brits have some things that look nice and hardy like the Sunday Roast with the Yorkshire puddings; meat pies; seafood pie; etc etc. Actually is seafood Pie a staple british food?
I have been watching alot of Marco Pierre White vids on youtube. His format is some home kitchen, and he makes some really easy to make dishes with which he promotes Knorr bouillon cubes.
What are some British dishes that are really good? And I dont mean the imported stuff from the minorities. I only mean the foods that come from England.
Is Scottish, and Irish food similar to English? Or is it usually thought of as having higher quality?
I remember going to London in 1985 and it was the worst food I ever encountered.....meat pies and things which tasted awful. Finally got to get a home cooked meal there at a friend's house! Also ate at Hard Rock cafe just to get something familiar. Yes- the food has improved tremendously!
Basic American cooking is basically British Isles meets basic German, so we really don't have a lot of room to talk. Since the 60s, we've incorporated a lot of what used to be considered "foreign food" into day to day cooking. I get the impression that the British have done the same.
I have never heard this before. British mixed with German. Well I guess most of our people are of British, or Germanic descent. But in the New World, more kinds of foods are readily available. I have heard the Americans ate better during the 1800, and 1900 than their Euro counterparts. America was the breadbasket of the world.
But I dont really see any toad in the hole, fish and chips, herring, sauerbraten, or the many sausages (besides frankfurters) eaten here in the US and Canada. Well ok we have pretzels. Americans also eat pork chops, and breaded cutlets. Is that from Britain or Germany? I know Germany has lots of schnitzels
Do hamburgers, sandwiches, cold cut deli meats, and steaks come from Britain or Germany?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bachslunch
I don’t think British food has ever been as terrible as the stereotype would have it, though there have always been indifferent to poor examples of it. And it’s not just bangers and mash and overcooked veggies either.
What I know of as Scottish and Irish food are similar to English cuisine, though both regions have unique specialties (haggis, colcannon, boxty, champ).
Interestingly enough, chicken tikka masala was invented in Britain, not in India, so it qualifies as an example of true British cuisine by what appear to be the OP’s standards.
As for good examples of British food, this depends on personal taste and the skill of the preparer. A fine roast or perfectly done fish and chips cone can be as enjoyable as any food.
I did not know tikka masala was invented in Britain. Was it by an immigrant or a native Brit? What other staples dishes like Corn Beef and Cabbage do they have? Is Kedgeree indigenous?
Fish and chips can only be so good though. I have always wanted to try a roast. Is it basically the same thing as American Prime Rib roasts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by don6170
Wasn't Julia Child an American, teaching French cooking?
Come to think of it, yes there is really no "American" cuisine unless you talk about the native americans. America/Canada is made up of immigrants. I think on Mexico, and Latin American has a strong indigenous influence.
America/Canada is largely Euro migrants, and they brought over their foods. Well, there is Southern BBQ. And I am not sure, but big steaks, burgers, maybe club sandwiches, NYC/Chicago Pizza, lobster are perhaps American creations.
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