British cooking is undergoing a renaissance. Chefs are not only continuing the reputation for quality which dates back to Tudor England, but now modern British cooking is becoming synonymous with something else - youth. In the 1500s the great Tudor king, Henry VIII, used his generously sized roast suppers with a succulent joint as the centrepiece to impress visitors with the size and quality of English meat.
Today, families in the United Kingdom still enjoy roast meat and vegetables as a traditional meal. But the UK is also an island and for centuries its sailors have enjoyed bringing novel and exotic foods into the country from overseas to infuse its indigenous dishes with the flavours of the world.
The twin themes of eclecticism and quality still sum up the spirit of British cooking but today it is a youthful movement of fashion and innovation which is driving these ideas forward into the new millennium, experts say.
And so believes food expert Heather Hay French whose latest book, ´´Great British Food'', has
just been published: ´´Our acquisitiveness is at the heart of us. The British have always had an interest in diversity and as a seafaring nation we often brought back ideas and ingredients from overseas while the popularity of foreign holidays in modern times has enabled chefs today to introduce anglicised versions of other countries' national dishes. Meanwhile roast meat, in particular beef, was a show-off dish designed to demonstrate that our meat needed no embellishment or sauce to disguise it and these two factors have influenced British cooking''. She believes that if the British were any other nation, the image of their cookery worldwide would be much more positive: ´´The British are far too modest about their cooking, yet our dishes are imported throughout the world''. Today, quality and diversity still dominate British cuisine but with a modern twist. Meanwhile, the rise in popularity of ethnic food in the UK has been phenomenal. The British are traditionally people who welcome cultural influences and enjoy experimenting with new flavours.
No other capital city in the world can boast the sheer choice of cuisine that London has to offer; African, American, Caribbean, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Turkish and Mexican restaurants to name just some of the food styles available. But it is Indian food which has changed the culinary landscape in the UK more than any other.
Since the first Indian restaurant opened in London in 1926 its popularity has spread and there are now more Indian restaurants in the capital city alone than in Bombay and New Delhi put together. And as if the success of restaurants and individual companies was not enough to convince the world how far the UK has embraced its ethnic food industry, the ultimate proof of this particular pudding must be in the increasing number of food exhibitions and shows which are making a feature of ethnic fare.
Jay Fletcher, research manager for Food from Britain, recently said: ´´In the last decade the British food and drink industry has developed beyond all recognition to become one of the most sophisticated markets worldwide. Manufacturers have become renowned for high quality, innovation and variation. No longer are they regarded as merely traders of traditional products such as smoked salmon, beef, whisky, preserves and biscuits - established and respected though these products are throughout the world. International buyers are now looking to the UK for quality ready-made meals sandwiches, breakfast cereals, frozen and chilled products, soft drinks and a whole range of retailer brands. UK companies have launched more new food and drink products in the last few years than any other country in the world.''
In all directions then, the face of British food has changed dramatically. The old view of the UK's national dishes as stodgy and bland could not be further from what the country's dynamic population eats today.
Whereas the rest of the world still clings to its national dishes, the UK has embraced the bigger picture: welcoming outside influences to develop its own cuisine. In return, the world has woken up to what the UK has to offer and has realised that negative stereotypes of UK food have more to do with the British sense of humour and self-deprecating manner than the truth.
The UK is now well established in the top ten exporters in the world and has shown one of the fastest growth rates of any of its major trading partners. In the last decade, exports across the globe have nearly doubled to 9.3 billion pounds sterling. In 1970 just a quarter of UK food exports went to the European Union. By 1998 Europe was taking 5.3 billion pounds sterling worth every year or 63 per cent of total food and drink exports.
Heather Hay French says: ´´Modern British food is catering for a very educated audience. We are reacting to fashions in food today as fast as we do to fashion itself. The demand for freshness has put the emphasis on sourcing so that regional specialities are more important than ever. The magpie instinct in the UK is still strong. We are a nation that likes to be forward facing and London restaurants are the world in microcosm. I'm passionate about British food and I want to take this message to the world.''
Freitag, 30. Juni 2000