How to answer the dreaded question ''What is British food like?''

[Mutt Daeng]

2 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

This is my advice for British expats.  As you know there is not a day that passes without a random little French guy or American asking you what British food is like.  It can happen multiple times in one day.

 

How not to talk about food if you are British:

 

We got f all mate.
Not sure really.  Mc Donalds is good.
Yeah it's pretty bad haha.

 

A better way to answer:  Thank you for your question.  Here is a list of information pertaining to British cuisine:

 

Starters & Snacks:

Cheeses (cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, Wensleydale, Lancashire, Yorkshire Blue, Stilton, stinking bishop, Shropshire Blue, Cornish Blue, Smoked Applewood Cheddar, Shropshire Sheep Cheese)
Boiled eggs and soldiers, pickled eggs, scotch eggs, egg salad sandwich
Bacon, sausage rolls, Cornish pasties, pies (savory - steak and ale, Lancashire hotpot, fish pie, etc.)
Puff pastry (used in savory pastries)
Cold cuts (ham, roast beef)
Baked beans on toast, jacket potatoes, coleslaw
Marmite, brown sauce, tomato sauce, mustard, chutneys (mango, cranberry, mint, tabasco), international sauces
Crisps (potato chips)
Welsh rarebit
Salads (a vast selection)
Soup (mushroom soup, lentil soup, pasta soup, chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, vegetable soup, cream of broccoli soup, pea and ham soup, minestrone soup)
Kebabs
Fish fingers
Savory pastries (cheese and onion pasties, pork pies)
Twiglets, pork scratchings (savory snacks)
Scotch quail's eggs
Black pudding
Crumpets with butter, marmite or jam
Samosas
Deviled kidneys
Prawn cocktail
Sausage rolls with brown sauce or ketchup
Crisps with salt and vinegar flavor
Pickled ginger
Branston pickle (a popular British pickle relish)
Pork scratchings with apple sauce or mustard

 

Main Courses:

Full English breakfast
Eggs (other breakfast dishes - omelettes, poached eggs, cheese and ham omelette, curried eggs, egg flan, eggy bread)
Roast dinner (roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy)
Fish and chips
Lamb with mint sauce
Vegetarian dishes (pasta bakes - tuna pasta bake, spag bol, broccoli and cheese pasta, macaroni and cheese, sweet and sour beef stir fry)
Rice dishes (pilaf, curries, fish and rice variations, steamed ginger fish and rice, salmon and rice, cod in parsley sauce with rice, mince and rice, ragu mince and rice, sardines and rice, meatballs and rice)
British Indian Food
British Chinese Food
British Italian Food
Chicken Tikka Masala (British Invention)
Outdoor barbecues
Toad in the hole (sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter)
Steak and kidney pie
Cottage pie
Shepherd's pie
Lancashire hotpot (a hearty beef and vegetable stew)
Bubble and squeak (a traditional British dish made with leftover potatoes, cabbage, and onions)
Liver and onions
Beef Wellington
Bangers and mash
Chicken tikka masala
Steak and ale pie
Jellied eels
Corned beef hash
Cumberland sausage with mash and onion gravy

 

Sandwiches - The sandwich was invented in England in 1762:

Fish finger sandwich, chip butty, BLT, fried egg sandwich, corned beef sandwich, tuna sandwich, cucumber sandwich, ploughman's lunch, roast beef and horseradish sandwich, Christmas dinner sandwich, egg and cress sandwich, ham and mustard sandwich, Branston pickle and cheese sanwich, crisp sandwich, watercress sandwich, marmalade sandwich, jam sandwich, prawn mayonnaise sandwich, piccalilli and cheese sandwich, cheese and tomato sandwich, cheese and onion sandwich, Coronation chicken sandwich, Smoked salmon sandwich

 

Biscuits, Cakes & Pies (sweet):

Pork pie (can be savory or sweet)
Custard creams, shortbread, chocolate digestives, jam tarts, scones (plain, jam, blueberry, cheese), Battenberg cake, jam roly poly, apple pie, victoria sponge, mince pies, rice pudding, spotted dick, sticky toffee pudding, carrot cake, trifle, jelly and custard, hot cross buns, gingerbread man, after eights, twiglets, monster munch, quavers, retro sweets, jelly babies, vast range of crisps and confectionaries.

 

Desserts:

Banoffee pie, Dundee cake, Chelsea buns, gypsy tart, Mr. Kipling's cakes, butterscotch tart, fresh cream cakes, apple crumble, black forest gateau, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, treacle sponge, choc ice, jam and coconut school cake, pineapple upside-down cake, fruit salad, strawberries and cream, Eton Mess, Bread and butter pudding, American Pie (British Invention)

 

Beverages:

Tea, coffee, beer, whisky, gin and tonic, soft drinks (horlicks, ovaltine, etc.), mulled wine, Irn-Bru, Lucozade, Ribena, Vimto

 

Breakfasts:

Toast with various toppings (marmite, scrambled eggs, etc.)
Cereals (a high-quality selection)
Full English breakfast (can be a main course too)
Crumpets
Eggs (all types - boiled, fried, scrambled, poached)

Other:
Bread (a vast selection - soda bread, tiger bread, etc.)
Condiments (mustard, brown sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, chutneys, pickles)
Rice (a vast selection of flavors and recipes)

 

Ten Major UK Food Companies:

Cadbury

Rowntree's
Terry's of York
Bassett's
McVitie's
Associated British Foods (ABF)
Premier Foods
Unilever
Tesco ''Lotus'' worldwide supermarkets

 

Ten British Wines That Are Recognized Around The World:

Chapel Down English Sparkling Wine
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut Rosé
Ridgeview Estate Bloomsbury
Bolney Wine Estate Bubbly
Tinwood Estate Rosé
Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve
Winbirri Vineyards Ortega
Black Chalk Classic
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut

Ten Michael Star Restaurants in the UK:

 

The Ledbury
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Core by Clare Smyth
The Waterside Inn
Le Gavroche
L'Enclume
Alyn Williams at The Westbury
Pollen Street Social
Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

Ten achievements that show the UK's place in the global culinary landscape:

 

Michelin Stars - Continually awarded annually. For instance, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three Michelin stars since 2001.
World’s 50 Best Restaurants - For example, The Ledbury was ranked 27th in 2014.
James Beard Awards - UK chef Heston Blumenthal was honored in 2010 for his contribution to culinary arts.
The World's 50 Best Bars - Dandelyan (now Lyaness) was named the World’s Best Bar in 2018.
The Good Food Guide Awards - Continually updated annually. For instance, The Ledbury was named Restaurant of the Year in 2014.
International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) - Chapel Down won the International Wine & Spirit Competition Award in 2015 for Best English Sparkling Wine.
The International Hotel & Property Awards - The Langham, London received the Best Hotel Design Award in 2016.
San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants - The Ledbury was ranked 27th in 2014 and 19th in 2017.
GQ Food & Drink Awards - Gordon Ramsay was named Chef of the Year in 2015.
Global Restaurant Awards - The Ledbury was named one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2015.

British celebrity chefs:

 

Nigella Lawson
Gordon Ramsay
Ainsley Harriott
Michel Roux Jr.
Heston Blumenthal
Marco Pierre White
Gordon Ramsay
Sat Bains 
Prue Leith
Paul Hollywood
jamey oliver
Antony Worrell Thompson
Lesley Waters
James Tanner
Delia Smith
Roger Verge
Pierre Koffmann
Nichola McHugo
Paul Hollywood
John Torode
Gregg Wallace 
hairy bikers
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

 

How about you?  Are you a simp that just says we won't have any decent cuisine or do you try to educate the person?

You forgot about leek pudding, pigs trotters, tripe and stuffed sheep's hearts.

[cooked]

Most of us prefer that cuisine so well known for being heathy and delicious, the SAD, otherwise known as the Standard American Diet. Just love all those alphabet supplements, added sugar etc. 

[ColeBOzbourne]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

with Daddy's sauce on top.

Sounds very kinky. I'll pass on that one. 

[BarraMarra]

This is another silly thread but I'm bored so here is my take. Watch an Episode of Kitchen Nightmares. One of the Worlds Top Chefs a Brit called Goren Ramsey goes round the US helping Yanks who's Restaurants are crap with crap food losing money and close to giving up and closing them down. Not only does he teach there ( Chefs ) how to cook he shows them how to present food as it should be. Lets be honest most Yanks are salad dodgers and are happy with a gut busting hot dog or 2lb burgers. Aussies arn't much better there national dish is called a Floater a pie sailing on Gravy.

[roo860]

29 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

Show me where please, or just tell me the name of the FB group.  

Once a Sapper, Always a Sapper. It's a Royal Engineers veteran group.

Just been trying to find it, will have to concede, as I can't find it.🫡

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Aren't you American?

Absolutely NO! 

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

This is what my Brit friend considers a "tasty snack".....cheap toast doused with 'Whorechestshirley' sauce to the point where it's soggy, topped with chemical cheese. And this MF owns a large restaurant!

 

Culinary savages.

 

 

 

 

 

Wait.

I can see a canister of Chinese tea to the right of that slop, in the photo.

 

[harryviking]

I am a Norwegian that have been a regular in Thailand since 1987. First thing I do when I visit a new place in Thailand, is to search for a British Pub!! To me, that is the best place to go. I love speaking to the people there and love the English Breakfast!! I also go there for the roasts on Sundays. I do not eat the Thai food due to all the "not so good things in it" like old bad oil, MSG and sugar and often with veggies from China! No thanks! Give me an English Pub and I am happy!! 😄🤩🥳

[GammaGlobulin]

9 minutes ago, harryviking said:

I am a Norwegian that have been a regular in Thailand since 1987. First thing I do when I visit a new place in Thailand, is to search for a British Pub!! To me, that is the best place to go. I love speaking to the people there and love the English Breakfast!! I also go there for the roasts on Sundays. I do not eat the Thai food due to all the "not so good things in it" like old bad oil, MSG and sugar and often with veggies from China! No thanks! Give me an English Pub and I am happy!! 😄🤩🥳

 

You mean that British food has no veggies?

How do you survive?

 

[harryviking]

Just now, GammaGlobulin said:

 

You mean that British food has no veggies?

How do you survive?

 

Lol! I skip all veggies! I am a meat eater only. (That includes fish and seafood)! Veggies are not food.

[GammaGlobulin]

36 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

there national dish is called a Floater

 

Sounds so disgusting while sitting on the hopper.

 

[KhunLA]

Boring

[BarraMarra]

14 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Sounds so disgusting while sitting on the hopper.

 

[susanlea]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

Boring

Like the creators

[BarraMarra]

Just now, BarraMarra said:

This is the floater not in Gravy but they do put gravy on its sat in like a Pea Mush.

[BarraMarra]

2 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Boring

Well if it bores you LA move on.

[susanlea]

3 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Sad looking food 

[Mason45]

<deleted>e.

[Gandtee]

You can't beat a crumpet and a muffin after a bit of Roly Poly. Spotted Dick is not to be sniffed at either.😉

Edited July 27 by Gandtee
added words

[Jeff the Chef]

2 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

You can't beat a crumpet and a muffin after. Spotted Dick is not to be sniffed at either.😉

 

Couldn't agree more, nothing like muffing a nice bit of crumpet, you can get pills for a  Spotted Dick.

[transam]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How to answer the dreaded question ''What is British food like?''

 

A simple answer: It's bad!

How is your German food better, all you eat is sausages and cabbage............😂 

[Seppius]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How to answer the dreaded question ''What is British food like?''

 

A simple answer: It's bad!

I spent a long time in the States, food is awful compared to British

 

Here is CNNs list of great American dishes

 

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/american-food-dishes/index.html

[transam]

2 hours ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 

Yeah, I get your point, not Cod as I remember it, more like Codling.

Codling is Cod..........🙄

[KhunLA]

12 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Well if it bores you LA move on.

OP asked, I answered, moving on.

[nauseus]

4 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

This is my advice for British expats.  As you know there is not a day that passes without a random little French guy or American asking you what British food is like.  It can happen multiple times in one day.

 

How not to talk about food if you are British:

 

We got f all mate.
Not sure really.  Mc Donalds is good.
Yeah it's pretty bad haha.

 

A better way to answer:  Thank you for your question.  Here is a list of information pertaining to British cuisine:

 

Starters & Snacks:

Cheeses (cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, Wensleydale, Lancashire, Yorkshire Blue, Stilton, stinking bishop, Shropshire Blue, Cornish Blue, Smoked Applewood Cheddar, Shropshire Sheep Cheese)
Boiled eggs and soldiers, pickled eggs, scotch eggs, egg salad sandwich
Bacon, sausage rolls, Cornish pasties, pies (savory - steak and ale, Lancashire hotpot, fish pie, etc.)
Puff pastry (used in savory pastries)
Cold cuts (ham, roast beef)
Baked beans on toast, jacket potatoes, coleslaw
Marmite, brown sauce, tomato sauce, mustard, chutneys (mango, cranberry, mint, tabasco), international sauces
Crisps (potato chips)
Welsh rarebit
Salads (a vast selection)
Soup (mushroom soup, lentil soup, pasta soup, chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, vegetable soup, cream of broccoli soup, pea and ham soup, minestrone soup)
Kebabs
Fish fingers
Savory pastries (cheese and onion pasties, pork pies)
Twiglets, pork scratchings (savory snacks)
Scotch quail's eggs
Black pudding
Crumpets with butter, marmite or jam
Samosas
Deviled kidneys
Prawn cocktail
Sausage rolls with brown sauce or ketchup
Crisps with salt and vinegar flavor
Pickled ginger
Branston pickle (a popular British pickle relish)
Pork scratchings with apple sauce or mustard

 

Main Courses:

Full English breakfast
Eggs (other breakfast dishes - omelettes, poached eggs, cheese and ham omelette, curried eggs, egg flan, eggy bread)
Roast dinner (roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy)
Fish and chips
Lamb with mint sauce
Vegetarian dishes (pasta bakes - tuna pasta bake, spag bol, broccoli and cheese pasta, macaroni and cheese, sweet and sour beef stir fry)
Rice dishes (pilaf, curries, fish and rice variations, steamed ginger fish and rice, salmon and rice, cod in parsley sauce with rice, mince and rice, ragu mince and rice, sardines and rice, meatballs and rice)
British Indian Food
British Chinese Food
British Italian Food
Chicken Tikka Masala (British Invention)
Outdoor barbecues
Toad in the hole (sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter)
Steak and kidney pie
Cottage pie
Shepherd's pie
Lancashire hotpot (a hearty beef and vegetable stew)
Bubble and squeak (a traditional British dish made with leftover potatoes, cabbage, and onions)
Liver and onions
Beef Wellington
Bangers and mash
Chicken tikka masala
Steak and ale pie
Jellied eels
Corned beef hash
Cumberland sausage with mash and onion gravy

 

Sandwiches - The sandwich was invented in England in 1762:

Fish finger sandwich, chip butty, BLT, fried egg sandwich, corned beef sandwich, tuna sandwich, cucumber sandwich, ploughman's lunch, roast beef and horseradish sandwich, Christmas dinner sandwich, egg and cress sandwich, ham and mustard sandwich, Branston pickle and cheese sanwich, crisp sandwich, watercress sandwich, marmalade sandwich, jam sandwich, prawn mayonnaise sandwich, piccalilli and cheese sandwich, cheese and tomato sandwich, cheese and onion sandwich, Coronation chicken sandwich, Smoked salmon sandwich

 

Biscuits, Cakes & Pies (sweet):

Pork pie (can be savory or sweet)
Custard creams, shortbread, chocolate digestives, jam tarts, scones (plain, jam, blueberry, cheese), Battenberg cake, jam roly poly, apple pie, victoria sponge, mince pies, rice pudding, spotted dick, sticky toffee pudding, carrot cake, trifle, jelly and custard, hot cross buns, gingerbread man, after eights, twiglets, monster munch, quavers, retro sweets, jelly babies, vast range of crisps and confectionaries.

 

Desserts:

Banoffee pie, Dundee cake, Chelsea buns, gypsy tart, Mr. Kipling's cakes, butterscotch tart, fresh cream cakes, apple crumble, black forest gateau, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, treacle sponge, choc ice, jam and coconut school cake, pineapple upside-down cake, fruit salad, strawberries and cream, Eton Mess, Bread and butter pudding, American Pie (British Invention)

 

Beverages:

Tea, coffee, beer, whisky, gin and tonic, soft drinks (horlicks, ovaltine, etc.), mulled wine, Irn-Bru, Lucozade, Ribena, Vimto

 

Breakfasts:

Toast with various toppings (marmite, scrambled eggs, etc.)
Cereals (a high-quality selection)
Full English breakfast (can be a main course too)
Crumpets
Eggs (all types - boiled, fried, scrambled, poached)

Other:
Bread (a vast selection - soda bread, tiger bread, etc.)
Condiments (mustard, brown sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, chutneys, pickles)
Rice (a vast selection of flavors and recipes)

 

Ten Major UK Food Companies:

Cadbury

Rowntree's
Terry's of York
Bassett's
McVitie's
Associated British Foods (ABF)
Premier Foods
Unilever
Tesco ''Lotus'' worldwide supermarkets

 

Ten British Wines That Are Recognized Around The World:

Chapel Down English Sparkling Wine
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut Rosé
Ridgeview Estate Bloomsbury
Bolney Wine Estate Bubbly
Tinwood Estate Rosé
Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve
Winbirri Vineyards Ortega
Black Chalk Classic
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut

Ten Michael Star Restaurants in the UK:

 

The Ledbury
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Core by Clare Smyth
The Waterside Inn
Le Gavroche
L'Enclume
Alyn Williams at The Westbury
Pollen Street Social
Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

Ten achievements that show the UK's place in the global culinary landscape:

 

Michelin Stars - Continually awarded annually. For instance, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three Michelin stars since 2001.
World’s 50 Best Restaurants - For example, The Ledbury was ranked 27th in 2014.
James Beard Awards - UK chef Heston Blumenthal was honored in 2010 for his contribution to culinary arts.
The World's 50 Best Bars - Dandelyan (now Lyaness) was named the World’s Best Bar in 2018.
The Good Food Guide Awards - Continually updated annually. For instance, The Ledbury was named Restaurant of the Year in 2014.
International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) - Chapel Down won the International Wine & Spirit Competition Award in 2015 for Best English Sparkling Wine.
The International Hotel & Property Awards - The Langham, London received the Best Hotel Design Award in 2016.
San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants - The Ledbury was ranked 27th in 2014 and 19th in 2017.
GQ Food & Drink Awards - Gordon Ramsay was named Chef of the Year in 2015.
Global Restaurant Awards - The Ledbury was named one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2015.

British celebrity chefs:

 

Nigella Lawson
Gordon Ramsay
Ainsley Harriott
Michel Roux Jr.
Heston Blumenthal
Marco Pierre White
Gordon Ramsay
Sat Bains 
Prue Leith
Paul Hollywood
jamey oliver
Antony Worrell Thompson
Lesley Waters
James Tanner
Delia Smith
Roger Verge
Pierre Koffmann
Nichola McHugo
Paul Hollywood
John Torode
Gregg Wallace 
hairy bikers
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

 

How about you?  Are you a simp that just says we won't have any decent cuisine or do you try to educate the person?

 

jamey oliver? Does this mean you wrote this youself?

[0ffshore360]

3 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

jamey oliver? Does this mean you wrote this youself?

Is interesting that name was the only with no Capital.

And did Ramsey pay double for a mention ?

 

[GammaGlobulin]

21 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

 

I can dig it.

But, I would replace the ketchup with SiChuan Chili Paste...

 

https://redhousespice.com/sichuan-chilli-bean-paste/

 

 

So, YES....that bowl of green glop is definitely something that I would eat in my home.

I would just need to spice things up, a bit...

 

 

[Jeff the Chef]

8 minutes ago, transam said:

Codling is Cod..........🙄

 

Yeah, I know, it was a reference to the fillets available from Macro, over here.

[BarraMarra]

1 minute ago, 0ffshore360 said:

Is interesting that name was the only with no Capital.

And did Ramsey pay double for a mention ?

 

At least get his name right its Jamie Oliver 

[OneMoreFarang]

13 minutes ago, transam said:

How is your German food better, all you eat is sausages and cabbage............😂 

The Germans give the sausages and cabbage to the Brits. Then the Brits leave again. 😉