
Fanny Cradock, a lodestar in the foul-tasting odyssey of bad British food - bingden
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/09/16/the-off-kilter-history-of-british-cuisine/
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w0mbat
As most people know, British food has improved a million times since the days
of Fanny Craddock on black & white TV. British people know about food now,
watch endless foodie shows, they can cook, and the UK supermarkets have great
ingredients. The influx of people from what was the empire helped open
everybody's horizons. You get the weird situation where the Indian food in
Britain is the best in the world, for example.

~~~
rudiv
> the Indian food in Britain is the best in the world

Got about a billion people here who'd like to disagree. In fact, of all the
crimes against humanity the British visited on India, I think that assertion
might just be the worst.

~~~
nindalf
You’re being heavily downvoted but I can’t imagine by who or why. Certainly
not by people who’ve eaten Indian food in both India and the UK.

While there are a few good restaurants, most Indian restaurants in the UK are
bland beyond reason, catering to the common palate. There’s nothing wrong with
liking bland food or restaurants catering to that preference, but let’s not
make this extraordinary claim that it’s better than the food in India. For
most part the food is plain and plays it safe. For example, it’s rare to find
Indo-Chinese, a cuisine nothing like Chinese or Indian but a staple of cuisine
in India.

~~~
threedots
It's funny to read a thread of people arguing over how good certain food is,
as if that was some kind of objective matter amenable to resolution.

~~~
nindalf
This isn't an argument over say Italian vs French cuisine. That's
undecideable.

This is an extraordinary claim that by taking Indian food to the UK, stripping
it of it's spice to suit the locals somehow made it better. It'd be like
claiming Italian cuisine became better without the tomatoes or Mexican cuisine
better without the beans.

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hanoz
I'm the last person to wave the flag for Britain but I've never understood
this meme about our food being bad, when so much of it is inarguably world
class. For starters, so to speak, the Full English is obviously the king of
breakfasts, a traditional Sunday roast cannot be beaten, we have the best
cheese in the world by some considerable distance, and as for puddings, pies,
crumbles, custard... well need I say any more?

~~~
vmilner
I was always surprised as a child that mint sauce was singled out in "Asterix
in Britain" (or at least the English translation!) as the very worst of
English food - as I think it has a delightful subtle taste!

~~~
Symbiote
Mint sauce bought in the supermarket is too sweet, and often has artificial
thickener.

From age 6 or so, it was my contribution to Sunday dinner. Much better!

Like this:
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/realmintsauce_67706](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/realmintsauce_67706)

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rudiv
As Gyles Brandreth said, she was an interesting cross between Mary Berry and
Jeremy Clarkson [1].

[1] [https://youtu.be/PKva9CAPygQ](https://youtu.be/PKva9CAPygQ)

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olivermarks
[https://youtu.be/kunuXThp51E](https://youtu.be/kunuXThp51E) 1975 Fanny cooks
Turkey. Cradock was a lodestar of how weird the British class system and the
BBC were in the 70's, along with BBC A list characters like Jimmy Savile. They
had little to do with real life and were extremely weird.

British cuisine these days is amazing, all the old cliches no longer apply IMO

~~~
082349872349872
Home _and_ garden! In case anyone else needs a chaser:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1K4v5gPz_s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1K4v5gPz_s)

Any specific recommendations for contemporary british cuisine?

~~~
el_oni
Tommy Banks, "Roots" in York. Very refined British cuisine, using local
produce.

Thinking back a few years, "The fat duck" was voted as one of the best
restaurants in the world.

Check out the great British menu on the BBC too. Chefs from around Britain on
top of their game, usually making refined versions of British classics

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kyuudou
olde joke:

Heaven:

The police are British

The cooks are French

The engineers are German

The administrators are Swiss

The lovers are Italian

Hell:

The police are German

 _The cooks are British_

The engineers are Italian

The administrators are French

The lovers are Swiss

~~~
082349872349872
The trope is not only olde, but positively archaic. Plutarch says Stratonicus
mockingly proposed a law that:

The conductors of mysteries and processions be Athenian

The organisers of games be Eleians

The whipping-boys, should any hellene misbehave, be Spartan

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ArtWomb
>>> English never had a cuisine

Fish & Chips was derived from Portuguese chefs in Goa India

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liability
Is any cuisine, or any aspect of culture for that matter, ever not derivative?
I doubt it.

The Portuguese may have been early European consumers of potatoes, but they
likely got that from the Spanish, who in turn got it from Central or South
America, where human consumption of this tuber originated thousands of years
ago. There is no telling how many cultures it may have passed through that
have been lost to the ages. And even the first potato consumers may have been
inspired to eat potatoes from a prior culture of eating other sorts of roots.

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bfuclusion
In jest I like to describe British native food as follows:

When people are starving, they're willing to eat things they otherwise would
throw away. Unfortunately the British decided the PREFERRED those things, and
attempt to make every dish taste accordingly.

~~~
dingaling
Not every function has to be a programmatic masterpiece

Not every meal has to be a culinary experience

Meat, potatoes and two veg might be mocked as unadventurous and bland but it's
a decent balance and gets the job done.

~~~
Symbiote
> Meat, potatoes and two veg might be mocked as unadventurous and bland but
> it's a decent balance and gets the job done.

I think you have neatly summarized the usual criticisms of British food.

Much of it is easily improved, but many British people (including my parents)
don't bother with even the smallest improvements to the most basic recipe.
Just garnishing with some fresh herbs would be a good start, or adding some
herbs or spices during cooking. Then we can talk about sauces.

~~~
bfuclusion
Or bothering to pay attention to cooking methods. Sunday roast is awesome by
itself, if you cook it right. No extra seasoning needed.

