This is a great thread and I'd like to restart it.
Valdemar II makes an excellent point. One snooty French chef is quoted as saying "the best British food is only French food". There is amazing dining in London and decent restauraunts in all British cities. But most aren't British food per se, they're a byproduct of our former Empire. There is an emerging "mod-Brit" cuisine developing (spearheaded by celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey) but much of it is fusion food and it hasn't caught on that widely yet.
There is also the issue of "Britain" vs. "England/Wales etc". Certainly, there is interesting indigenous Welsh, Scottish and Irish food but it isn't eaten that widely and I don't think it's comparable to e.g. Italian or Chinese food in terms of diversity.
So why are things like this? Well:
1) Whatever the QUALITY of our food was prior to the Industrial Revolution, it was in a sorry state when the post-war immigration took off and the British were glad of new options.
2) Britain has long working hours compared to many other European nations, so fast food is very popular here.
3) Many people do their socialising in the pub, rather than over an elaborate meal.
4) Most people are relatively open to new food, so imported culinary traditions found fans.
5) Anglifications and fusion food are popular. For example, one can buy a "mexican chilli cornish pastie" in Waterloo station. You see this a little in the rest of Europe (e.g. the German donner kebab) but one would be hard pressed to find e.g. French food that heavily incorporates Asian traditions nor Lebanese-Polish "chick pea pierogi" hybrids.
As for the long-term causes, can anybody suggest some POD's?
Valdemar II makes an excellent point. One snooty French chef is quoted as saying "the best British food is only French food". There is amazing dining in London and decent restauraunts in all British cities. But most aren't British food per se, they're a byproduct of our former Empire. There is an emerging "mod-Brit" cuisine developing (spearheaded by celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey) but much of it is fusion food and it hasn't caught on that widely yet.
There is also the issue of "Britain" vs. "England/Wales etc". Certainly, there is interesting indigenous Welsh, Scottish and Irish food but it isn't eaten that widely and I don't think it's comparable to e.g. Italian or Chinese food in terms of diversity.
So why are things like this? Well:
1) Whatever the QUALITY of our food was prior to the Industrial Revolution, it was in a sorry state when the post-war immigration took off and the British were glad of new options.
2) Britain has long working hours compared to many other European nations, so fast food is very popular here.
3) Many people do their socialising in the pub, rather than over an elaborate meal.
4) Most people are relatively open to new food, so imported culinary traditions found fans.
5) Anglifications and fusion food are popular. For example, one can buy a "mexican chilli cornish pastie" in Waterloo station. You see this a little in the rest of Europe (e.g. the German donner kebab) but one would be hard pressed to find e.g. French food that heavily incorporates Asian traditions nor Lebanese-Polish "chick pea pierogi" hybrids.
As for the long-term causes, can anybody suggest some POD's?