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

[0ffshore360]

1 minute ago, BarraMarra said:

At least get his name right its Jamie Oliver 

At least read my comment right. I didn't write the list .

[BarraMarra]

That looks like dog food they gave the dog before the Koreans Put the dog on the Barbecue Gamma.

[Jeff the Chef]

28 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

 

Looks like a Pie and Pea's Supper,  as served in any North East Working Men's Clubs back in the 80's, served with Malt Vinegar not Tomato sauce though.

[BarraMarra]

Probably the Worlds Top Fish Chef Rick Stein British.

[G_Money]

 Never ask as I really don’t want to know.

 

Looking at the breakfast menu around Pattaya restaurants I’ve come to the conclusion one has to be raised on British food to like it.

 

That being said the American pickings aren’t that great either in Pattaya.  So I’m limited to about 4 venues I rotate.

 

Not quite as bad as the Philippines.  The land of “Not Quite Right “.

 

It’s great being back in America for the food. (Not fast food)

[daveAustin]

Hearty and wholesome. Tell them we didn't conker the world on a packet of F'kin peanuts. 🙂

The British roast and proper English breakfast are to be savoured. The joke on British food is just that. Making a big comeback in the old country; as your op, look at the menus and local wine lists in a proper restaurant! Hamburgers? Salads? 🤣

Perhaps aside from the Italians, Spanish and Japanese, look at any one country's cuisine, bear bones, and it can be taken apart. French food is generally under-salted, overpriced, arty farty tripe and you'll need to eat again in 30 minutes.

[BarraMarra]

Your confusing Peas in the North East Chef do you mean Peas pudding a Geordie Specialty.

[Jeff the Chef]

5 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Your confusing Peas in the North East Chef do you mean Peas pudding a Geordie Specialty.

 

Mushy Pea's, dried green Haricot Peas, soaked overnight and boiled till they look like the picture.

I lived on Teesside for 40 odd years, where heaven was a Upex Steak Pie, Mushy Peas and a pint, down the club.

[Jeff the Chef]

12 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Your confusing Peas in the North East Chef do you mean Peas pudding a Geordie Specialty.

 

I know what you mean by Pease Pudding, as in a Stottie with Boiled Ham, another good one.

[Hummin]

4 hours ago, Stocky said:

No, I can't remember when anyone last made comment on food from the UK. I think most educated people understand the poor reputation for food in Britain was gained during the period of food rationing during WW2 and for a decade afterwards. A reputation that has taken decades to shake off, much like the idea that London is blanketed in smog, unfortunately they remain clichés to be dragged out by lazy journalists or foreigners who've never set foot in the UK.

Ask any oilfield worker who used to work on British sector, and also got the change to work on Norwegian sector? 

 

I study for my oil service engineer degree in Uk, both England and Scotland, and I only have horrible memories about food from those Islands. The best food UK have, is the wide range of Indian food. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Jeff the Chef said:

Still getting Cod over here in Macro, plenty of other fish, Haddock, Pollack and my favourite Huss/Rock Salmon/Dogfish

 

Strange thing I've noticed lately -- Villa Market has been advertising supposedly UK sourced Iceland-brand frozen Atlantic cod fillets...  Villa lists the fish as "Cod (Gadus Morhua)".

 

But when I checked, the Iceland-brand UK website shows that product being sourced from CHINA!  How's China the source of UK-sold "Atlantic cod fillets"?

 

PS - I tried a package of them from Villa a month or so back, and found them tasteless and kind of soggy.

 

From the Villa website:

 

https://shop.villamarket.com/product/215197

 

From the Iceland UK corporate website:

 

 

 

 

https://www.iceland.co.uk/p/iceland-atlantic-cod-fillets-320g/91814.html#q=cod fillets&start=1

 

 

 

[nauseus]

11 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 

Mushy Pea's, dried green Haricot Peas, soaked overnight and boiled till they look like the picture.

I lived on Teesside for 40 odd years, where heaven was a Upex Steak Pie, Mushy Peas and a pint, down the club.

 

Then the gaffer might have mentioned that marrowfat peas are used for mooshies. Haricots are beans.

Away the lads.

[Jeff the Chef]

11 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

Then the gaffer might have mentioned that marrowfat peas are used for mooshies. Haricots are beans.

Away the lads.

 

Yes, you are right, Marrowfat peas up North and Haricot Peas down South, never understood why, but then I was a Southern softy. Many an argument with my sister over that, she had a Cake/Coffee shop down there.

[Jeff the Chef]

22 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Strange thing I've noticed lately -- Villa Market has been advertising supposedly UK sourced Iceland-brand frozen Atlantic cod fillets...  Villa lists the fish as "Cod (Gadus Morhua)".

 

But when I checked, the Iceland-brand UK website shows that product being sourced from CHINA!  How's China the source of UK-sold "Atlantic cod fillets"?

 

PS - I tried a package of them from Villa a month or so back, and found them tasteless and kind of soggy.

 

From the Villa website:

 

https://shop.villamarket.com/product/215197

 

From the Iceland UK corporate website:

 

 

 

 

https://www.iceland.co.uk/p/iceland-atlantic-cod-fillets-320g/91814.html#q=cod fillets&start=1

 

 

 

 

The Macro Cod is exactly the same, I think they are injected with water prior to freezing and even if thawed well and dried on kitchen paper there still as you say soggy.

[nauseus]

7 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 

Yes, you are right, Marrowfat peas up North and Haricot Peas down South, never understood why, but then I was a Southern softy. Many an argument with my sister over that, she had a Cake/Coffee shop down there.

 

Mushy peas is a quintessential British dish of marrowfat peas that are simmered until they fall apart, literally into a mush.  

 

https://www.daringgourmet.com/british-mushy-peas/

 

[Prubangboy]

Yorkshire pudding should be huge in America. It's greasy and full of fat. Where is the McD Yorkie-burger?

 

In Suffolk, they had prefab Yorkshire pudding bowls to serve bangers and mash in.

 

Eat the bowl for another 500 calories -you couldn't get more American-taste than that.

 

English cuisine is one the last holdouts for bitter tastes. Keep bitterness alive!

[Sandboxer]

2 hours ago, roo860 said:

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.🫡

 

I'll take your word for it. Someone was actually weird enough to repost it I guess. Apologies for the 'moron' comment.

 

2 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Wait.

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

That would be the bottle or Worcestershire (sp).

[Jeff the Chef]

2 hours ago, roo860 said:

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.🫡

 Were you ever at Southwood Camp, Cove?

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

I blame averageness of our cuisine on our lazy women.

Back in the UK three of my friends wives tried my girlfriends food and declared that they wanted her to teach them how to cook Thai food.

 

So they came around. Girlfriend wasn’t impressed, comments included “They don’t taste check to balance the flavor” “ They just want to do quickly” 

 

The UK is probably the highest achieving country in the history of the world.

But sadly the women are slack and have let us down and they don’t know how lucky they are.

I think there is some validity in that women have contributed to the decline, but a bit harsh to put it down to laziness.

As time has gone by woman took to trying to contribute to the family budget and in doing so lost the time that would have been available to pass on kitchen skills to their offspring. Girls wouldn't have any idea about "taste checking" if they hadn't been taught. When I went to school girls were taught cookery but that was dropped from the syllabus, leaving it all to "mum". The problem was that mum having been at work just wanted to do something as quick as possible.

I was an RAF apprentice in the early 60s and on a Sunday used to visit my aunt in London. She would sit by the oven door for 3 hours basting the meat while I went to the pub with my uncle. When we came back, there was the most succulent roast beef on the table that you could come across, just melted in the mouth.

Food is just like anything else, results are proportional to skill, technique and effort.

[steven100]

4 hours ago, gargamon said:

Oh, yum. Blood pudding. 😘

 

it's called black pudding not blood pudding ....     and i'm not even from the UK ...    

[Jeff the Chef]

If there are any "Smoggies" on here I do a mean Parmesan, now and again.

 

Parmesan:

 

Flattened Pork fillet, egg and breadcrumbed, then frozen in clingfilm, Deep fried, from frozen like Fish, allowed to drain before being covered in cold cheese sauce, about a 1/2 an inch thick, then covered in grated Cheddar and grilled under as hot a grill as you can get till the cheese starts to brown.

 

Might sound funny but try it and thank me later, best served with Chips and Salad with French Dressing.

[Stocky]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Ask any oilfield worker who used to work on British sector, and also got the change to work on Norwegian sector? 

 

I study for my oil service engineer degree in Uk, both England and Scotland, and I only have horrible memories about food from those Islands. The best food UK have, is the wide range of Indian food. 

I wasn't suggesting bad food wasn't still available in the UK, obviously it is, as it is in every country. Your experience on the rigs is probably more to do with a switch from greedy corporate oil multinationals to state owned Statoil. 

[roo860]

21 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 Were you ever at Southwood Camp, Cove?

Yes, did my training there. 

[Hummin]

7 minutes ago, Stocky said:

I wasn't suggesting bad food wasn't still available in the UK, obviously it is, as it is in every country. Your experience on the rigs is probably more to do with a switch from greedy corporate oil multinationals to state owned Statoil. 

Basically everywhere I travelled unfortunate, not only the oil rigs. 

[Jeff the Chef]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

Yes, did my training there. 

 My first posting out of the Army Apprentice College, back in 1971, we were given a choice where we wanted to go and I put anywhere away from Aldershot and got that, lol, happy days.

[roo860]

4 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 My first posting out of the Army Apprentice College, back in 1971, we were given a choice where we wanted to go and I put anywhere away from Aldershot and got that, lol, happy days.

71/15 recruit party, must have tried your exotic cuisine! And survived!!🫡🫡

[Ben Zioner]

Not so bad, I love Lamb vindaloo.

[Stocky]

41 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Basically everywhere I travelled unfortunate, not only the oil rigs. 

Unlucky you

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, Stocky said:

Unlucky you

I survived 😉

 

It paid of 6 months in Uk all together, and still does

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, Sandboxer said:

 

I'll take your word for it. Someone was actually weird enough to repost it I guess. Apologies for the 'moron' comment.

 

That would be the bottle or Worcestershire (sp).

 

Oh.

So then...

You use the Chinese Type?