We watched this last night, amazing. British commoners baking edible food! Using French nouns. What could be next? British wines? (As ridiculous as it sounds, my wife and I went to an English wine festival at Leeds Castle (Kent) in the 1980s. Lots of comments like “well that is lively…and fresh” and “Oh how fruity!” in-between many forced smiles of encouragement). Anyway, back to French cooking in England…
It is difficult to think of how to state the following with the full force and resounding effect that it possibility deserves. But I will try. I think that it would be fair to say that until a few years ago an epistemological study of the words “Great” and “British” and “Bake” could only have resulted in declaring the sentence the quintessential definition of an oxymoron.
It was not that long ago that the French, with a considerable amount of justification it should be noted, used to view English cooking, at best, as some sort cosmic gaffe. They thought it was some sort of a satirical non-French tribute to French culture much in the same way that the French have been amused by Peter Sellers’ Chief Inspector Clouseau of The Pink Panther fame. At worst they have viewed it as an affront to civilization.
In fact I remember there being a number of French jokes about English cooking all ending with the punch line, “Roast Beef.”
If someone were to suggest to me that Operation Sea Loin was cancelled in part because the German High command was dreading eating English food after the conquest, I’d hear that person out.
I know that food in England has improved a hundred fold in the past several years. When we were in England a few years ago we were surprised by the quality and variety of what was on offer. (Must be all them damn foreigners now getting into the homeland through the Chunnel!).
These some of the English foods that I like (when prepared/cooked correctly)
Fish and Chips
Cheese and Cucumber sandwiches
Cheddar
Stilton cheese (although this was ruined when unpasteurized Stilton was banned!)
Wensleydale (really good with cranberries)
Kippers (smoked)
Pork pie
Cottage pie (minced beef)
Shepherd's pie (minced lamb)
Steak and kidney pudding
Bangers
Back bacon
Black puddings
Local lagers and bitters
Tea (expect for Earl Grey)
