Is English cuisine considered sophisticated?
Hart Bochner asked:
In UK newspaper Daily Express, which is considered a serious right-wing newspaper, yesterday, an article was written by a columnist calling them self Hickey stating the American diet is, perhaps, not the most sophisticated but pity former child popstar, Jimmy Osmond, right, when confronted with a very English dish, cockles, for never having heard of it.
Does this mean anyone who hasn’t heard of an English dish called cockles is ignorant? I was under the impression while French cuisine for example, was viewed as sophisticated, English cuisine wasn’t exactly.
please no more English answerers!
Bruno
In UK newspaper Daily Express, which is considered a serious right-wing newspaper, yesterday, an article was written by a columnist calling them self Hickey stating the American diet is, perhaps, not the most sophisticated but pity former child popstar, Jimmy Osmond, right, when confronted with a very English dish, cockles, for never having heard of it.
Does this mean anyone who hasn’t heard of an English dish called cockles is ignorant? I was under the impression while French cuisine for example, was viewed as sophisticated, English cuisine wasn’t exactly.
please no more English answerers!
Bruno
April 26th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
It is if is cooked professionally it certainly is!
April 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
English cuisine is superb and very sophisticated when cooked well… Which it often isn’t.
Even more old fashioned big english food can be done will style and finesse.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Sorry! I never heard of such thing as ‘English Cuisine’
When I was visiting the UK I asked some locals what is traditional English food and I could not get a proper answer. even if there were some good recipes I am afraid no one bothers with cooking anymore.
I was waiting for my husband at a supermarket and watched baskets over the counter : beer, chips, cookies, chocolate… no vegetables, no fruits, not a single ingredient to cook.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
English food has a reputation for being bland and over-cooked, even downright awful. When we were in England (about 30 years ago) the food was not all that great. I understand that has changed quite a bit since we were there, but the reputation hasn’t really changed all that much. I mean, how “sophisticated” is a cuisine that features things like “toad-in-the-hole,” “lardy boys” or “spotted dick”? Historically, I would think that the English would have spurned “sophisticated” cooking for being “foreign.” (Which is the same problem a lot of Americans of a certain generation had with “gourmet” cooking–it was considered foreign and, therefore, suspect.)
As for not knowing cockles, there are a lot of regional foods that one shouldn’t expect people from other countries to know. I grew up on the Pacific Ocean (CA) and I never saw cockles in the fish market, since they aren’t a Pacific creature (as far as I know). After all, how many Brits know what an abalone is?
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:01 pm
sorry I dont know what cockles are
are they clams?
the only time i ever heard the word
was in that song about “cockles and musles alive alive-o”
but someone must tell me,
what is toad in the hole?!
I’ve heard of spotted dick
that really cracked up my 12 year old!
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:37 pm
At least America has cuisine with many different and unique regional cuisines. England is known for boiling everything. And their best foods come from former colonies. No one would ever accuse England of having sophisticated cuisine.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:07 am
The only sophisticated thing about English food is the way the English eat it.