Reply to: oh dear: Chirac jokes about British food

Re: Russian cuisine

Then again, what is British cuisine? I think of jellied eels(I have tried with an open mind, but I cannot pretend to like them),pork pies,bangers and mash etc

That gets to the heart of the question, doesn't it. Most of the stuff that you quote is a small part of British cuisine, and you are probably thinking of some factory-produced imitation of the real thing. Instead of Safeway's pork pie, try a home-made veal and ham or game pie. And there's now plenty of good sausage shops.

Real English cooking is not really a lot different from French cooking - historically, we (supposedly) had better quality meat, so we have a preference for roasts and pies and the French for "stews" (in all their different forms), which need longer cooking. But they produce good pies, and we produce good stews. The French use more herbs than we do, but we tended to use more spices than them. They also use wine in cooking as a tenderiser, whereas we used beer or fruit - basically, we each use what is cheaper and/ or readily available.

The Victorians did go off on their own tack, and were into a lot of things that would be too rich (and stodgy) for our tastes (look at Mrs. Beaton's recipes) - the cakes all start with things like "Take a dozen eggs, a quart of double cream, and five pounds of butter....." However it did give them enough energy to build the Empire, eh, wot!

My favourite "recipe" is from an old cocktail book of my Dads. Entitled "The Governor of Jamaica's Cocktail", it starts "First, have your servants empty and clean your fish pond . . . ."

Must have been one heck of a party!

BTW - I'm sure that there's plenty of good Eastern European food - I just had the Soviet era version of it - total cr@p, I'm afraid.

Chirac

Chirac, the french twat with garlic breath, is right about british food. He can shake my jambon anyday!!!

Re: i am stunned that

quote Le Gavroche, London, Britain



Would you get any traditional English dishes there ?


Probably not, but that just proves the point that we have a diverse pallet in this country and are not afraid to innovate.

The French shun just about every other nation when it comes food, you will find North African restaurants but that only reflects the local population.

Re: i am stunned that

What about Simpon's-in-the-Strand?

Re: i am stunned that

I dont believe any of the eateries in the list are known for traditional anything.

They are known for innovation and quality.

Re: i am stunned that

Le Gavroche, London, Britain

Would you get any traditional English dishes there ?

i am stunned that

the happy haggis in grangemouth has [once again] failed to make the grade.

Re: Russian cuisine

I am a big fan of the wines from Eastern Europe. You dont see them much here owing to new world competion as far as I can see. I have drunk a few Georgian reds and they where very nice.

I went to an Uzbeki restaurant when I was there and it was great.

As wageslave says , the soups are fantastic and diverse as well as the differetn varieties of salads etc.

The habit of ripping a dried fish apart and eating it when sukcing back a few beers is really nice as well.

Chirac

Old blighty trounce the French 14-10, I was also reading an article about how the french are turning some of their 'fine' wine into factory fuel cos' they can't compete with the new world wines... a nation living on past glory?... I think they will find that we are the kings of that too!


Europe-based Restaurant Magazine recently revealed the 50 Best Restaurants in the World for 2005, chosen by an international panel of more than 600 impossible-to-please restaurateurs, chefs, food critics and industry experts.

The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire, Britain
El Bulli, Montjoi, Spain
French Laundry, California
Tetsuya’s, Sydney, Australia
Gordon Ramsay, London, Britain
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
Per Se, New York, New York
Tom Aikens, London, Britain
Jean Georges, New York, New York
St John, London, Britain
Michel Bras, Laguiole, France
Louis XV, Monaco
Chez Panisse, California
Charlie Trotter, Chicago, Illinois
Gramercy Tavern, New York, New York
Guy Savoy, Paris, France
Alain Ducasse, Paris, France
Sketch (Gallery), London, Britain
The Waterside Inn, Bray, Britain
Nobu, London, Britain
Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain
El Raco de can Fabes, Spain
Checcino dal 1887, Rome, Italy
Le Meurice, Paris, France
L’Hotel de Ville, Crissier, Switzerland
Arpege, Paris, France
The Connaught, London, Britain
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford, Britain
Le Cinq, Paris, France
Hakkasan, London, Britain
Cal Pep, Barcelona, Spain
Masa, New York, New York
Flower Drum, Melbourne, Australia
WD50, New York, New York
Le Quartier Francais, South Africa
Spice Market, New York, New York
Auberge d’Ill, Illhauseern-Alsace, France
Manresa, California
Dieter Muller, Germany
Trois Gros, Roanne, France
The Wolseley, London, Britain
Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Yauatcha, London, Britain
The Ivy, London, Britain
Gambero Rosso, Italy
The Cliff, St. James, Barbados
Le Gavroche, London, Britain
Enoteca Pinchiorri, Florence, Italy
Felix, Hong Kong
La Tupina, Bordeaux, France

Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine is wonderful, especially as it contains lots of diverse influences, such as Georgian and Uzbek.

There are many soups apart from Borsch (which is actually Ukrainian), including Solyanka, which is made with sturgeon. And don't forget caviar.

Re: The next time I'm in France

I think its a lot to do with personal taste.I love fish(Dried fish as well) and beetroot.

The I would also admit that you as likely to get cr@p meal on the Champs Elysee as you are in a pub near Buckingham Palace(:x ) As I am sure would be the case in the tourist traps in Moscow etc

Then again, what is British cuisine? I think of jellied eels(I have tried with an open mind, but I cannot pretend to like them),pork pies,bangers and mash etc

What else is considered traditional british cuisine?

Re: The next time I'm in France

I must admit , the meals I have eaten in Russia have been pretty good

I've only been to Russia once, before the wall came down, and the food was so bad that I lost nearly half-a-stone in ten days - mind you, not liking beetroot was a bit of a handicap!

Britain is covered in good restaurants - many of them pub restaurants hidden away in small villages and relatively inexpensive. I've travelled quite extensively in Europe, the States, and the Middle East, and proper English food (not the impoverished stuff that resulted from a generation brought up on war-time shortages, where a spam fritter was a luxury item) is as good as any I've eaten anywhere.

In fact the last French meal I had, was "Poulet de Bresse", in a restaurant in Bourg-en-Bresse (where you'd think they knew how to do it properly) - it was the stringiest piece of alleged chicken I've ever had (and it had a subtle taste of rancid fish).

IIRC it was Victor Hugo who once said the "the food in the coaching inns of England is the finest in the world", and I'm told he knew a thing or two about food.

Re: The next time I'm in France

German food? Takes bland to a new level!

Pig and potatoes.

Re: The next time I'm in France

And the Germans are masters of the hearty and filling meal.

Re: The next time I'm in France

I must admit , the meals I have eaten in Russia have been pretty good.