Is British Food That Bad?

One thing I've noticed when meeting new people abroad, they constantly bemoan the fact that British cuisine is "dull", "tasteless", "fattening" and "stodgy". Because I've been brought up on the stuff all my life, I never really contemplated whether it was that good or not and have always enjoyed classics like shepherd's pie, baked beans, mash, and toad in the hole.

Why are baked beans so popular in the UK (they are only eaten at barbeques in the States)? Why do we add white sauce to everything?

I met a girl from Eastern Europe (I forget exactly where) and she started making some desultory remarks about British food. When I queried her on her nation's diet she replied "cabbage, soup and stews". What a bloomin' cheek - we eat the same slops and she has the gall to criticise the UK?!

The time to defend British cuisine has arrived (or at least to make some concrete excuses)!

We were on a tight budget growing up and so mother reared her eight children on lots of cheese sauces, beans, clapshot (potato and turnip mash) and other economical treats. When I serve up some of these items on the menu for a certain Yankee I know, all the same old remarks about British food start to fly. I was nearly laughed out the house when I made a lasagne with a cheddar cheese sauce (maybe rightly so looking back...), however, the version I served up was remarkably cheaper than her recipe.

It got me thinking and it seems to me that the further North you go in the British Isles the stodgier the food becomes - perhaps it's to do with the weather. People living in the colder climates required heartier meals to keep warm?

British food has been influenced by our recent history. For many years during and after World War II, Britons had to ration food for the war effort. My mother remembers rationing from her childhood. The British public had to "make do" with what they had and so perhaps many of the British favourites came into being.

However, the above doesn't answer the question of whether British food is worse than other cuisines. The variety of different cuisines is probably better in the UK than in most other countries - curry is our national dish and most towns have a good variety of regional cuisines. I happen to love homemade pub grub and vegetarianism is taking off in a big way - try buying vege products in France - it's not easy!

In addition, 14 out of 50 of the best restaurants in the world happen to be in the UK (2005, Guardian) and The Fat Duck located in Bray , a small village in Berkshire, WAS VOTED #1 IN THE WORLD. So I put it to all those unbelievers, British food isn't bad at all! And the few items that are - well we have good reasons!

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BY: Bob

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