English food

[Timmos1974]

Does english food deserve the poor reputation iit has?

[ATG]

Yes

[Sporky]

No

[Jamescrs]

No

[cliffords]

Does it have a poor reputation?
Where and who suggests it's poor ?

[markymarkthree]

English food would feature heavily, if i did my top 10 of food/meals.

[soad]

Only on the Kitchen Nightmares.

[StoutBench]

cliffords said:

Does it have a poor reputation?
Where and who suggests it's poor ?

Are you new to the world?

[oddman]

English/British ingredients. Seafood, game, especially our wild game, farmed meats, dairy products and fruit and veg suitable for our climate could be argued to be the best in the world. I struggle to think of country that can produce such variety and quality.

Whilst there isn't a British 'cuisine' as such, there is a strong tradition of using ingredients that go well together and methods which work. From Gary Rhodes (RIP) onwards there have been great chefs showcasing these ingredients in traditional dishes

Pies alone are a definitive argument for the strength of British food. Paté en croute and pork pie are essentially the same - I know which I'd prefer.

We also have a very strong tradition of including other influences from places we've colonised or traded with. Saffron in Cornish cooking dates from pre Roman contact with Phoenician traders and more recently Chicken Tikka Masala invented in Glasgow or Birmingham, wherever.

I think our bad reputation comes from

1) Early industrialisation and urbanisation. Means the masses were separated from the land and needed to be fed cheap fuel. We lost the strong peasant connections of the French, Italians etc. have with the land and what grows there. Also probably disrupted family structure and eating. We're still being flogged to death by our work at the expense of sharing and enjoying meals together.

2) The war/post war period of rationing when visitors/diners were subjected to offerings limited by the constraints of the time. This was happening at a time when US visitors were either stationed here or returning on holiday and having a very poor experience compared with their land of plenty and 'Have a nice day'

3) Terrible class snobbery about cooking. This is multidimensional but includes (but not limited to) the type of food served in boarding schools; the attitude that food is a 'below stairs' concern, the lack of respect for service professions; inverse snobbery about things being 'posh' and valuing quantity over quality.

[Phud]

No


We are very bad at trying to promote and offer our good dishes and as an aside, we don't seem to put the effort into top quality presentation of our base food.

[MarkJS]

oddman said:

Seafood, game, especially our wild game, farmed meats, dairy products and fruit and veg suitable for our climate could be argued to be the best in the world. I struggle to think of country that can produce such variety and quality.

[Nurburgsingh]

I don't think English food is bad. However food in the UK is generally bad.

For example - If you go to a high street chain like Paul in London and buy a pastry and go to a Paul in France and buy the same pastry I will guarantee that the one in France is better, not just a little bit better, but several levels better. Why? It should be the same right? but its not, because if they served the crap we get in the UK in France they'd all close overnight.

The Uk cares less about the food they are eating and more about making it as easy as possible to eat and get it over with. Which means we think we're making compromises for convenience but we're really not.

[Riley Blue]

If English food is really so highly regarded wouldn't there be English restaurants overseas?

[brake fader]

I'd say the products we produce from our farms etc are among the best in the world but then goes downhill from there, i recently returned from a trip to Girona in Spain where i tasted the best iberica pluma pork i,ve ever had followed by the tastiest rotisserie chicken i've ever eaten the chicken was 11.50 euros and the pork 22.50 these are just 2 examples of much more care is taken in the cooking and favour of the products where as here it would cost far more with only profit in mind. I think we've even lost the ability to make decent fish and chips these days again not worth the asking price in many cases. But i'm still a big fan of our produce in the right hands.

[dapprman]

Up until Victorian times England had a great reputation for roasting meats and was not considered bad at much however several things occurred over time. First the rise of the new wealth set, primarily off the back of the industrial revolution led to an increase in the need for professional cooks and also more impressive meals. Second, and this is the real killer. Mrs Beeton. For some reason she is still celebrated despite the fact many of her recipes result in over cooking, over use of butter, and generally created a new reputation for our culinary skills, or now lack there of. In the same way Antonin Careme became the first celebratory chef and helped create/promote the reputation for French cooking, Mrs Beeton, off the back of her books, did the reverse for our reputation.

Edited by dapprman on Thursday 14th August 15:45

[Shaoxter]

Yes. Proof of that is if you go to a random restaurant/pub without any prior research, 90% of the time it will be bad. Not the case in foodie countries.

[GuigiaroBertone]

Yes. I agree with the previous poster.

Of course it's possible to get exceptional traditional food in England and we have imported and perfected many other cuisines however the average quality is pretty low.

It's the same with our supermarkets. All the big ones basically have four types of meat (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) and the produce is grade B at best. Go to a French or Italian supermarket or even a posh one in the US, China or Japan and see the difference- at least a level or two above Waitrose.

Try getting a decent curry in Rome though.

[Mobile Chicane]

I blame supermarkets for driving down quality in favour of profit.

The British Isles can and does produce some of the best food in the world, only most consumers never see it.

[borcy]

Mobile Chicane said:

I blame supermarkets for driving down quality in favour of profit.

The British Isles can and does produce some of the best food in the world, only most consumers never see it.

Where does it go, exported?

[The_Doc]

Do we accept the worst quality food in the developed world?
Possibly yes, motorway service station food, terrible pub food, expensive awful city cafe food, steaks for £30+ that my kids could cook better

France: Michelin-Starred Restaurants: 654
(542 one-star, 81 two-star, 31 three-star)

UK: Michelin-Starred Restaurants: 220
(181 one-star, 29 two-star, 10 three-star)

France 1st and us 7th on the list,
That's pretty poor.

But come to my house and I'll cook you locally sourced food that will knock your socks off.

I think our public is very tolerant, or non-discerning, or has forgotten what good cheap food is.

And we are obese like never before.