Great British Cuisine

Britain has something of a reputation amongst its continental cousins, for producing a particularly bland selection of native cuisine; famous for its fish and chips and flavourless, starchy dumplings, it is no wonder that the British Isles are so often the butt of Europeans’ culinary criticisms.

However, this reputation is somewhat unfair; head out into rural England and try the local food for yourself, and you may be pleasantly surprised. No matter whether you’re looking at guesthouses in the depths of Cornwall, or Braintree hotels; as soon as you get away from the busy cities, and popular tourist haunts, you’ll start to discover another side to British food altogether.

British cuisine enjoyed something of a heyday during the Tudor period; before this, dining tables up and down the country were limited to ingredients that could be grown or hunted at home. Game and wild boar were amongst the more popular meats, while vegetables were restricted to seasonal roots and legumes, as well as corn and maize products.

The Tudor period saw a vast expansion of British influence around the world, and marked the arrival of the potato from the New World, as well as a wealth of spices and fruits from the East. With these discoveries came new cooking techniques and extravagant combinations of rich flavours; Tudor rulers such as the notorious Henry VIII would hold vast banquets, celebrating the ingenuity of British chefs. The vast array of international flavours soon became a symbol of Britain’s far-reaching power and influence overseas. This tradition only grew as the British Empire expanded to become the most powerful international force ever seen.

Some of the more popular dishes on British menus today, include roasted meats and potatoes, rich stews, a wonderful selection of hearty pies and a range of baked batters, including yorkshire puddings and toad in the hole. Even the chicken tikka masala is a British dish, inspired by the Victorians’ love of Indian curries.

However, you won’t find the finest British cuisine in the country’s chain pubs, or city street takeaways. Head out to the countryside, and try British food, cooked by the British, for the British.

Pay a visit to the restaurants and hotels in Corby, Evesham, Stratford, Farringdon, Wantage, Bath… virtually any of the historic market towns of Britain will offer countless places to try the local, traditional cuisine. Explore for yourself, and you’ll soon see that there’s much more to British cuisine than fish and chips…