British Food

Universitatea ,,Ștefan cel Mare” Suceava Facultatea de litere și științe ale comunicarii Cultura si civilizatie britanica in contextul globalizarii

LUCRARE DE DISERTAȚIE

Profesor coordonator : Conf. Dr. Luminița-Elena Turcu

Absolvent : Uscatu Alexandra

Suceava 2016

CUISINE THROUGHOUT AGESAn in depth analysis of what tantalizes the British taste buds

2

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter l. Overview of the British cuisine throughout time ..................................................... 7 Chapter ll. Indian Food in the British space ............................................................................ 12 Chapter lll. Chinese Food in the British space ......................................................................... 16 Chapter IV. Mediteranean Food in the British space ............................................................. 19 Chapter V. American and Oriental Food in the British space- Fast Food phenomenon ..... 23 Chapter VI. Famous British chefs throughout history............................................................ 28 Chapter VII. The Victorian eccentricity In British Food ....................................................... 33 Chapter VIII. Food connected with media in the British space ............................................. 37 Chapter IX. Super-foods craze and the extent of this phenomenon in the British space..... 42 Chapter X. TOP 10 strangest British recipes ........................................................................... 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 53 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 55

3

Introduction

The title of our work is “Cuisine throughout ages – an in depht analysis of what tantalizes the British taste buds” as it aims to analyse the origins and the develpment of the British cuisine . What does “food” mean ? Why is it so important for us ? Because food means more than ”the things that people or animal eat” 1 and it has more than survival function.”It has been used in rituals to guarantee fertility, prosperity, a good marriage, and an afterlife .It has been used to display the power and wealth of the state, the church, corporations, a person”.2 It developed and changed at the same time humanity did. For example people are often cataloged as civilized because now they use ustensiles as forks , knives and spoons , instead of using their hands like they did before. The food is also an important feature to consider when we talk about the national identity and religion . There comes the Jewish and Muslim taboo on pork and Buddhist refusing to eat beef. So the food area is very present when talk about national identity , culture and civilization of a certain country because it reveals important information about the people who cook and eat that. As Charles Pierre Monselet said once “ Gastronomy has been the joy of peoples through the age.It produces beauty and wit and goes hand in hand with goodness of heart and a consideration of others.”

3

It is an important thing

to be discussed when we talk about a nation , it reveals culture , mentality , identity of people who inhabit a certain country. The traditional British Food is not a key element when we talk about its culture as it has had its ups and downs. It does not distinguished by

1

Bullon, Stephen, Carey, Stan, Macmillan Dictionary ,London , 2010 , p. 274 Civitello , Linda , Cuisine and Culture, A history of Food and People, second edition , New Jersey , 2008 , p. 13 3 https://foodimentary.com/best-food-quotes-list/art-2/ 2

4

something special as Italy and France do. The British cuisine has gathered the cultural influence of those who have settled in Britain hybrid dishes , a mixture of cultures due to historical events in time. As the brand manager of Cauldron Foods said for “The Telegraph”: “ While some people may bemoan the lock of strong national culinary heritage in Britain , it’s clear that we Brits are actually some of the most adventurous and cosmopolitan foodies in the world”.4 The British interest in food seems to be rather directed to foreign cuisines ( Indian , Chinese , Italian , French , Spain ) than to a revival of what there might be a native tradition. According to a market study , the chicken tikka masala , is the most-loved British food. It is an Indian dish that only exist in Britain and is always present in the British restaurants. There is also an article in “Telegraph” which draws atention on the fact that “ Six out of ten meals prepared in Britain are inspired by foreign cuisine”.5 Our work is structured into ten chapers, all of which attempt to offer information related to the British cuisine explaining its provenance by historical facts. The traditional British Food was seasoned with foreign ingredients to reach the form we all know. So we will discuss some of the factors which contributed and improved the British gastronomy. The first chapter deals with the question “What is traditional British cuisine ? “ / “What is mere British cuisine without considering external influences?” . We will offer an overview of the British cuisine throughout time. The second chapter explores the Indian Food in the British space. We will talk about spice and flavour found in the British Food after their historical connections in the ancient times . The third chapter focuses on the Chinese Food and reveals historical facts which explains the Chinese culture on the British space. The fourth chapter examines the Mediteranean inflences in the British space . We will mention the Italian and Greek food and the historical events which have determined them.

4

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7738203/Majority-of-British-meals-are-nowforeign.html 5 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7738203/Majority-of-British-meals-are-nowforeign.html

5

The fifth chapter deals with the Fast Food phenomenon in the British space which is due to American and Oriental influences. We will also talk about the extension of this fact and its consequences nowadays. The sixth chapter gathers some famous British chefs throughout history . We will mention their contributions and the facts that made them to deserve to be mentioned. The seventh chapter discusses the Victorian eccentricity . We will write about sceince and food combined during the Victorian period and the improvements which the British cusine faces after this period. The eight chapter deals with food connected with media . We will mention some magazines,newspapers and TV shows about food , in the British space. We will also discuss about the influence of the media in the people food style. The ninth chaper focuses on super-foods craze and the extent of this phenomenon nowadays. We will also expose the dark side of this food style so common among British people. The last chaper offers us a TOP 10 strangest British recipes . It might seem misleading to foreigners but it worth to be mentioned when we talk about the British gastronomic culture. This paper thus aims to offer a general image of the British cusine but at the same time detailed view of the its multiculturalist nature. It seems that the British history had a huge impact on this area making some cultures to coexist on a sigle territory . We will motivate the belonging of each culture with historical events from the ancient times.

6

Chapter l. Overview of the British cuisine throughout time

A tradition is, according to Macmillan Dictionary “ a very old custom , a belief or story “ . It is an important part of a certain cultural group , revealing its lifestyle , its way of thinking , its identity . The tradition is transmitted from generation to generation verbally or by written works and it is enriched throughout he time by the inhabitants of a certain space. We live in a technological world and we tend to forget about out roots , ancestors and history. We are also overwhelmed by our daily duties that we forget to fulfil our mission as citizens of a community . We are fascinated by American holidays , Italian food or French accent, but what about our culture ? Do we honour our traditions as much as they deserve to be honoured ? Do we attend the important religious or national events as much as our personal events? The British nation offers a variety of traditions which have been around for hundred of years . Britain is known all over the world for its 5 o’clock tea , for its fish and chips or its bowler hats. The traditions explore more than sports , music or food , they deal with sayings , great figures and superstitions . What about the annual British Broadcast ? What about Changing the Guard At Buckingham Palace? What about Shakespeare or Sherlock Holmes? They are all traditions which reveal to us the British culture and civilisation . Are they still honoured by the Englishmen ? It seems they are not . The small business man of the twenty-first century realises that there is no free time for traditions in a cibernetic world. Our work aims to analyse the British Food so this chapter deals with The Traditional British Cuisine as it is known all over the world. It was never considered sofisticated , complex or refined , but rather plain and tasty. People are very skeptical when they hear talking about the British Food because it was characterized from ancient times as tasteless and boring . It is traditionally based on beef, lamb , pork , chicken and fish served with vegetables. This made the Englishman seek for more , borrow from others and to experience a decent meal . The traditional British food is not a thing to be mentioned when we discuss about its culture because it is very poor and it does not offer us a variety of authentic products. However, 7

it is worth to be mention fish and chips and the tea which are considered to be icons of England, all over the world. The fish has been a very common product in the British Cuisine from the ancient times . It was an important dish which assured people daily food during the First and the Second World War. It was a hot and tasty meal which played an important role in the mental and even physical life of the Englishmen. A big part of the population dealt with fishing and soon it became an important industry. The fish is a very consumed product in England and it is probably due to the country’s position. The island provides opportunity for the Englishman to eat a lot of fish at low prices , so the fish is a food all kinds of people afford to eat.

Fish and Chips is a traditional British food which began to be sold to the working class at the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign. During this time ,fried fish was served with bread and baked potatoes. It became the packed lunch for workers and a cheap dish for families. It is served without knife and fork and is the most loved take-away food of the British nation . Some people consider that the first Fish and Chips shop was opened by Jewish immigrant Josepf Malin in 1860 , in East London , while others consider that John Lees is the first who sold

8

fish and chips . As time went by , the fish and chips shops became more and more popular in Britain . There was a fish and chips shop on most streets in the UK. This dish was improved over time and it became tastier and tastier. During the social change in 1960s, Chinese and Asians adopted this dish and offered their own version . Even modern famous chains of fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s or KFC took this meal and prepared it in their own way. The Fish and Chips dish is still considered the tastiest traditional British food. It developed an important industry in London for hundreds of years. Tea time became a kind of national tradition in England due to the princess Catherine of Braganza. She was the first who brought the cup of tea at the English Court when she married Charles the Second in 1662. Many secrets were told and many other ammendments were signed at the tea time : it became an important part in the lif of the authentic Englishman . In the next century England was one of the world's greatest tea consumers and it did not take long till it was introduced in the coffeehouses of London. At the beginning the cup of tea was considered a luxury but later , in the XVlllth century it replaced the famous beer so loved by the Englishmen . In those times, there was a preference for the black tea instead of the green one and people started to combine it with milk. Nowadays ,the kettle is still present on some Englishmen's table but not at the same extent it was in the XVlllth century . However this magical elixir made the Englishmen to be known all over the world as the tea-drinking nation . It is served from the most expensive restaurants to the the cheapest pubs so all people can drink a cup of tea at tea time .

The Apple Crumble pie is the most famous British desert which is noted because of its 9

simplicity. It is an economical dish , very popular in Britain during World War ll and a hundred years after. The Apple Crumble was the result of human creativity who, constrained by their limited possibilities, tried a new dish. This pie is a desert which does not require a long time cooking . It is a quick , simple dish involving ingredients such as flour , sugar , butter and apples . Sometimes people use other fruits , but it is not considered traditional anymore. This desert is served with topping to give the crumble a more extravagant taste . Nowadays , Apple Crumble Pie is a dish we find on the menus of the traditional British restaurants. It is a post-war ‘must-eat’ that cannot be missed when you visit England. Like all other countries , in England , we take three meals in a day : breakfast , lunch and dinner , but there is also the tea time at 5 o’clock. We will present what is typically British for each meal of the day . A typical British breakfast is bigger than in more countries. As W. Somerset Maugham said: “To eat in England you should have breakfast three times a day”. They prefer to have a fried breakfast consisting of eggs , sausages , toast , baked beans and mushrooms . There is also a black pudding made of pork fat, blood and high proportion of oatmeal . They usually have breakfast from 7 o'clock to 9 o’clock. As in many European countries , there are less and less people who have a break in the middle of the day . The lunch is still the most important meal of the day so British people have to introduce it among their daily activities . Many people are forced to take a packed lunch consisting of a sandwich , a packet of crisps , a piece of fruit and a drink . The most popular British sandwich is the humble cheese sandwich , followed by the ham and chicken sandwiches for people who afford to spend more for their lunches. There are also restaurants for people who can leave their work and take a break . They serve sandwiches , but also salad and soup. They usually have lunch from 12:30 to 13:30p.m.

10

A typical British dinner is a homemade one, a very classic one . It consists of a piece of meat accompanied by different boiled vegetables. One of the vegetables is almost always potatoes. They are covered by a sauce according to each person's preferences . They usually have dinner between 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. In fact there is not something sparkling about British traditional food . It is classic , but tasty and a must-have on the list of visitors to the UK. It has to be tasted in the friendly atmosphere of the British restaurants and it will be an unforgettable memory for a foreigner . There is a thing that a tourist in England must not forget : "On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners." (George Mikes, autor britanic, How to be an Alien (1946)).

11

Chapter ll. Indian Food in the British space It seems that no other two countries in the world are so interlinked as Great Britain and India. Their tumultuous history, one of colonial origins, has given way in the recent years to a new sort of relation: India is no longer the submissive colony, but a source of fascination for the English people. Thus, the Indian gastronomy now holds a leading position amongst the “melting pot” of flavours that come together within the British isles. Historically speaking, the two great nations crossed paths as an endeavour to ease trade. The 16th century Europe was just opening its eyes and taste buds to the new spices of Asia, so the British East Indies Company was formed in 1599, as a means to ensure quiet trade. This was the beginning of an almost 250 years colonial relationship, whose consequences still exist nowadays. What started as merely a commercial understanding, progressed into a political one, as Great Britain slowly took over India. The reasons were multiple: Portugal, the former European power that had control over the Asian market was slowly losing its power; France started using India in order to train soldiers; last but not least, the Mughal empire, a family that had reigned in India peacefully for the past century, was starting to mistreat people. So, the British East Indies Company began building more and more commercial positions in India, until they were even entitled to chose their own candidate to the throne of the province of Bengal. Economical issues within the Company meant that it had to finally give its power over India to the British government and its governors, some of which abused the native inhabitants of the country. India finally got its independence from Great Britain in 1947, but after almost four centuries of political connections, the “jewel of the British crown” left unmissable traces in its empire’s future. That is why, nowadays, and for over two centuries now, Indian food is so popular in Great Britain. Its exotic spices, its hotness and unusual ingredients, means that this food is not only bought by the British, but also cooked by them. It has become a staple in the English diet, alongside traditional recipes, such as Sheperd’s Pie or Fish and Chips. Every restaurant and pub in England offers nowadays at least one Indian based dish.

12

So, what are the main elements of an Indian diet? The answer to this question is almost as intricate as the history of this country. India’s cuisine is the result of 5000 years of history and influences, as well as geographical factors. India’s cuisine is unique not just because of its tastes, but also the cooking techniques. Staple foods of this cuisine include pearl millet (bājra), rice, whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), and a variety of lentils, such as masoor (most often red lentils), toor (pigeon peas), urad (black gram), and mong (mung beans). Lentils may be used whole, dehusked—for example, dhuli moong or dhuliurad—or split. This variety has also been noticed by professionals: “The Asian Indian cuisine has many interesting ways to prepare vegetables, (mainly stir-frying with different spices and condiments), legumes and lentils-also known as dhals (or dals) in a variety ofgravies like sambaar or rajma, and even ways to include low-fat milk and yogurt into the everyday meal (khaddi, paneer or aviyal).” 6as it also offers a healthy lifestyle. Even if it seems that the resources of Indian food are limited, the combinations are infinite. We will present the top five famous Indian dishes, that prove the creativity, as well as the flexibility of the Indian diet. The Indian curry is possibly the most famous dish that originated from the Indian subcontinent , as it is based on a variety of spices, as well as sauces. In fact, the word curry means “sauce” in Tamil. Curries can contain meat, such as chicken, lamb, seafood, rabbit, fish, or can be vegetarian, the most famous options being potato or lentil curry. As for the spices, turmeric, cumin and saffron are the most famous, alongside the famous chilly. Curries are often served with rice (sometimes lemon or jasmine infused) as well as naan bread, a special one that resembles an Italian ciabatta and poppadums(Indian crisps). If people consider the curry to be too hot, it can also be served with yoghurt, that makes it more mild. In Britain, the curry has received a standing ovation ever since the first curry house, The Hindoostanee Coffee House was opened in London in 1810.

6

Thompson, Antony ,Worrall , People’s cookbook , Rankin Paul Infinite Ideas Limited, 2008 , p. 4

13

Dhoklas are savoury cakes made out of fermented rice and chickpea batter, served as a snack or breakfast in India. They can be seasoned with salt, as well as the usual Indian spices such as turmeric and coriander and are served with yoghurt. They resemble in consistency and taste to the European, but are much more tastier and refined. Another good point about this dish is that it is steamed, so that makes it healthy and nutritious.

This specific dish offers, just like the curry, a meat and vegetarian option. Samosas are pastry parcels filled with potatoes and either lamb or chicken for meat eaters, or vegetables for the vegetarians. They are fried, usually in a lot of oil, so their consumption needs to be reduced for those

14

suffering with heart problems. However, no one can deny the fact that they are delicious and the equivalent of the European sandwiches. The last two places of the top five are given to two Indian deserts. Unlike regular Indian dishes, Indian deserts are not for everyone, as their taste can be considered sickly by some. GulabJaamun are balls made out of milk powder and boiled in sugar syrup, sometimes rose scented. Other ingredients include: flour, cardamom, ghee (clarified butter) and lots and lots of flour for frying. The European equivalent to a GulabJaamun would be a doughnut.

The last desert is Jalebi, equally sweet and decadent if we compare it to the GulabJaamun. Jalebi are sweets made by deep- frying (how else?) batter that has been soaked into sugar syrup. One important step is that the batter is first fermented, then poured into hot oil for frying.

These five recipes offer a glimpse of the complexity and creativity of the Indian palate, a complexity that people nowadays enjoy in the UK. The popularity of the Indian cuisine within the British Isles is solid proof that the connection between the two countries will never disappear. As SuneilKher said, “I firmly believe that food can bring different cultures together.” 7 No other two cultures seemed to have been brought together more by food than the British and the Indian.

7

Thompson ,Antony ,Worrall , People’s cookbook, Rankin Paul Infinite Ideas Limited, 2008 , p. 28

15

Chapter lll. Chinese Food in the British space

Wherever there is a historical immigrant Chinese population, the style of local food has been adapted to new inhabitants. Thus the taste and ingredients modified British cuisine once the Chinese settled on British land. Chinese food first arrived in the UK in the early 19 th century as a result of a long relation between China and Britain. The British-Chinese relations were not constant throughout history. The Cold War finds the People’s Republic of China and UK in opposing sides, while World War ll reveals an alliance between them. The trade between China and Britain had an unfavorable balance in the 19 th century. The British wanted tea and the Chinese wanted silver for payment, so the British decided to sell opium to China. The emperor objected to Queen Victoria and a war broke out. The Chinese navy was no match for British steamship and guns and the Opium War forced China to give the island of Hong Kong to British. With a long history, unique feature, numerous styles and exquisite cooking, Chinese cuisine is an important constituent part of the British cuisine , It is famous for its color , taste, aroma , meaning and appearance . The Chinese cuisine is seen all over the world as the richest and most diverse culinary heritage. The first thing that comes into our minds when we hear about the Chinese cuisine is the rice, but also noodles and steamed buns. But it is more than this, the Chinese cuisine means color , spiciness and flavour and this is why the entire world appreciates it as much . It is also a celebration of life and, as the cook Lin McKenzie says, whenever British people cook in a Chinese style, “east meets west on a plate” 8Speaking about the cultural background , the Chinese food on traditional beliefs as that farming animals are sacred and beef is for the highest

8

Thompson ,Antony, Worrall , People’s cookbook , Rankin Paul Infinite Ideas Limited, 2008 , p. 35

16

ritual . There is also a famous Chinese idiom which says: "Fish brings heat, meat brings phlegm, but vegetables, and tofu keep you well.” 9 A large part of the UK has developed distinctive dishes based on originally Chinese recipes. Their restaurants and takeaways are among the most popular in Britain. In fact Chinese food is no longer just a restaurant or takeaway treat, but British people are also cooking it at home . Spring Rolls is a Chinese dish based on the principle we mentioned above according to which the meat was sacred. It follows an old Chinese idiom "Eat more vegetables, less meat."10It is created by using small quantities of food mixed with vegetables. The taste could be either sweet or savory according to the recipe. Spring Rolls win a golden yellow color by frying them in a roll wrappers form.

Sweet and Sour Pork is a famous Chinese

dish

available

in

most

large

restaurants in the UK. It was improved over time just to satisfy all tastes, At the beginning , it was only sweet and sour pork , but in the end the pork was substituted by other ingredients like chicken or beef . It was included in the Top eight foreign dishes you must try in London .

9

http://www.eatingchina.com/articles http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/food-wisdom-and-proverbs-around-the-world/

10

17

Gong Bae Chicken is a popular Chinese dish and it is very present in the British menus . It has a unmistakable color containing ingredients as diced chicken, dried chili and fried peanuts. In Britain, there is a British-style Gond Bae Chicken , for which the diced chicken is covered with cornstarch and vegetables , sweet and sour sauce are added.

A study published by BBC shows that “Chinese food became one of the country’s dominant ethnic cuisine since it was popularised in the 50s and 60s11.” Most of British people declared that the spicy and the savoury of Chinese dishes made them to prefer it instead of any other . So The Chinese influence on the British cookery proved to be helpful and enjoyed by the British nation.

11

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/27164636

18

Chapter IV. Mediteranean Food in the British space

As we have mentioned before in our paper, British cuisine gathered the cultural influence of those who have settled in UK . So the British menu offers us many hybrid dishes with flavors from different parts of the world. Their presence in the British space is motivated by the historical connections between them in the past. The Mediterranean cuisine has an important place both in Europe and worldwide. It is different from all others, as it is also considered a healthy diet by the use of ingredients such as: olive oil, vegetables, pasta and rice, cheese and fish, so affordable in Mediterranean countries . The Mediterranean cuisine is known as being tasty but at the same cheap and accessible so we will find it also on London’s streets. Our paper will talk about what is Italian and Greek in the British cuisine and will give some historical references to explain the cultural connection between them. The Anglo-Indian relations and the diplomatic exchanges between the Papas States and the Kingston of England developed during the investiture disputes between William and John and their archbishops of Canterbury Anselm and Langton. The quarrels between them were finalized with John’s excommunication to the papacy. In 1801, The Unites Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland hosted ambassadors from the Italian peninsula . Italy and United Kingdom strengthened their relationships when they signed the London Pact and entered a formally alliance on 26 April 1915 and won the First World War.

Throughout the war, British

intelligence supported Benito Mussolini with the Hoare-Laval Pact between Italy and Germany. In the second war Italy stayed on the side of Britain and Germany till the Allied invasion of Sicily ended with Italy’s defeat and finally the restauration of democracy. The British historical background regarding Italy explains the existence of a huge number of Italian citizens and residents in Britain . Elements of their culture can easily be found on London’s streets in Italian restaurants or even in British menus. The British chef borrowed Italian dished and adapted them according to the products available on the British market .

19

We will focus on famous Italian dishes as rissoto , pizza and spaghetti . As time went, each population turned these dishes according to their specific ingredients so we can find them in each parts of the world . As we already have found the British cuisine needed some sources to vary its poor menu so the Italian influence was one of them. This influence went so far that Irish farmers now produce dairy following a Mediterranean recipe, as author Rachel Allen observes in her book “Coast”: “Our sheep and cattle provide us with milk for delicious artisan cheeses with traditional flavors, but Ireland is also at the cutting edge of food production, with Mediterranean-style cheeses being produced from buffalo’s and goat’s milk. “12 Risotto is an Italian dish which may be cooked in different ways including fish , chicken , eel , mushrooms and many more besides. It was flavored and seasoned according to the British tastes and nowadays it enjoys a good reputation among the British population.

Pizza is an Italian dish very famous on London’s streets in restaurants but also in fastfoods serving slices . It varies from place to place in terms of topping so it may contain chicken ,beef , pork , fish , seafood according to each one tastes .

12

Somerville ,Christopher ,Coast , A Celebration of Britain's Coastal Heritage , Harpercollins Publishers , New York , 2000 , p. 4

20

Spaghetti are also very popular Italian dishes in Britain. They vary being modified according to the British taste .Authentic recipes offer us simple choices involving just olive oil and garlic while the British restaurants contain also some sophisticated dishes based on spaghetti and clams , sardines , anchovies or buffalo mozzarela . Italian food has become so famous that the most posh and expensive restaurants in the UK have Italian origins: Zazza, Prezzo, Luna Nuova are just some of them. Past relations between Greece and United Kingdom were consolidated during the First and the Second World War. The United Kingdom also offered military assistance to Greece during the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s. Such connections made that both countries maintained relations with 40 -45 thousands Greeks residing permanently in the UK. Their presence in the British space involves their culture which we will remember through the Greek menu in Britain . Greek cookery is distinguished by the presence of olive oil so accessible in the Mediterranean space. It adds a distinctive taste to the Greek food which British nation seems to enjoy. Greek cuisine is also known for some flavourings as oregano , mint , garlic , onion , dill or bay laurel leaves . Greek cuisine is known all over the world for its tasty fastfood dishes including souvlaki , gyro or spanakopita. Souvlaki is a Greek product consisting in meat and vegetables served in a pita wrap. It is seasoned and served with a variety of sauces difficult to reproduce by a foreign chef.

21

Gyro is also a fastfood dish which consists of meat, feta cheese and vegetables, all wrapped in a pita. It is also dominated by the taste of the Greek sauce tzatziki, made out of yoghurt, garlic, cucumber and olive oil, so refreshing and tasty.

Spanakopita is a Greek pie which contains spinach, feta, cheese and onion . It is seasoned and wrapped in phyllo pastry. It has also a vegan version with tofu instead of feta. Spanakopita can be eaten as a hot or cold snack.

All three dishes described above are so present on London streets and testify the presence of a huge number of Greeks in the British space. There are a lot of Greek fast-foods restaurants which offer cheap and tasty dishes to the British nation. Most often they are cooked by authentic Greeks who inherited the recipes from their families. The Mediterranean side of the British cuisine has been appreciated and still is nowadays because of the facilities it provides. First of all it is cheap so all people can afford to eat a kebab or a pizza instead of spending time cooking. It is also very accessible being present everywhere on London streets. So from this point of view the UK gain a plus thus enriching its gastronomy with a variety of easy, cheap and tasty recipes. As Rachel Allen says, Mediterranean cuisine tastes “like a warm sunny day somewhere very exotic.”.13

13

, Somerville ,Christopher , Coast , A Celebration of Britain's Coastal Heritage ,Harpercollins Publishers , New York , 2000 , p.27

22

Chapter V. American and Oriental Food in the British space- Fast Food phenomenon

The “fast food“ technique is very familiar to us today . It is defined as a massproduced food, in a quick way at low prices,also known as “quick service”. The fastfood became, in a relatively short time, a strong industry which has monopolized the entire world.It is ironically known as providing obesity among people and fat profits in the food industry.

The Industrial Revolution forced the meek farmer to leave his duties and to move in the city for emancipation. The man power did not count so much in those times because it was replaced by all kinds of machines and the British nation faced urbanization. The fast food phenomenon was one of the consequences of this process; people were forced to relieve of their domestic duties in order to get a job. The new circumstances led the emancipated Englishman to a new lifestyle to which he was forced to adapt to a different environment. Regarding our subject in matter, the Englishman also approached a new menu according to his time and financial resources and schedule. Thus, the old inns and coffee houses where British society used to spend its free time have been replaced by take away restaurants, where people do not talk to each other, but eat and then return to their duties. As time went on, people transformed the idea of eating out into a habit and the consumption of fast food increased substantially. Sheri Torelli, one of the victims, wrote that : “ Had someone asked me why we were to drive-thru so much , I would’ve said that it

23

is easier , quicker and more economical to buy dinner than to prepare it .”14. It soon became a global phenomenon which has been continuing to expand since then. The extension of this phenomenon seems to be motivated by several advantages. It provides quickly a variety of meals to the busy estate agent who can eat on his way to work. It also offers very cheap products to the student who can consume his pre-packed lunch in a break .The fast food can be served without knife and fork so the driver can eat while is working. It is also more accessible:you can have a fast foodat every street corner in major cities. Current times changed people’s priorities, they look for fast and consistent quality of food at low prices. Their needs seem to be satisfied by the American phenomenon called fast food.It is known as being American but soon adopted worldwide. They promoted an easy lifestyle by spreading the advantages of eating more at low prices. Beside advantages, there are also inconveniences that people considered only later. Years after, in 1990s, people started to think at fast-food as a destructive type of food. The American nation’s health problems are known all over the world. The obesity issues which are due to their disorderly lifestyle and especially to their eating lifestyle are more and more disputed for several years now. The United States nation is the fattest developed with a rate double than in the European countries. Once asked, Michelle Obama said that: “The problem is when that stuff becomes the habit . And I thinkthat’s what happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal.”15Thus, if actions are not taken, it is feared that the UK nation will be the next one touched by a huge rate of obesity. The Scientist revealed a strong relationships between fast food and obesity but people did not consider the impacts of this this kind of eating lifestylefrom the very beginning .It is indeed a tasty food , but it has many negative effects on our bodies . There are also deadly consequences regarding the fast foods people do not consider. Fatty acids increase people risk for cardio muscular diseases, high blood pressure or diabetes.

14

Torelli , Sheri , “ The Fast Food Kitchen – More than 100 Fast and Healthy Recipes” . Ed. Harvest House Publishers, Oregon , 2011 15 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/michelleob415519.html

24

The good news is that we can notice people became more and more concerned about the fast food effect in their lives. They have never taken it more seriously than today. The fast foods became forbidden in schools because the government tried to encourage healthy eating among children. They see burgers and fries in their environment, everybody consuming fast foods and they do not think about an alternative. Lately,programshave been introduced in schools to inform students about the healthier choice they have. Why in schools? Because we are perpetuating a culture of junk food that is literally making kids sick. Children are inspired by their parents who consider easier and cheaper to grab a Happy Meal with the awaited toy. It is unbelievable how many calories are containedin only one sandwich. The first such menu was limited consisting in hamburgers at high speed and low costs, but the area flourished during the next centuries around the world and now it is based on processed foods, sugary foods, deep fried foods, heavy sauces, high calories and tasty aspect. A variety of products centered on inexpensive and quickly prepared meals. Brands like McDonalds, Pizza Hot, KFC, Subway or Burger King were multiplied and have been still operating for decades in majority of civilized countries. Fast food phenomenon became a global very soon one and conquered the world. Like cars and computers they seem to be everywhere, on the street corners, in malls, railway stations or airports. We will mention McDonalds chain of restaurants,the largest franchises nowadays which was founded by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino , California , in 1940 . It is just an example of American fast food in the British space and all over the world. There was a period when the British nation felt the need for new and this “new” was found by looking outside England for inspiration. The western influences were unstoppable since they have arrived in the European space and they are on a continuous increase. They have made that the American fast-food mentality alsotouch the British society. Englishmeneasilyreplaced the fresh food with the pre-packaged products and in a very short time we notice a strong fastfood industry in the British space. It reveals a rapid expansion because the business man found it more convenient. 25

The fast food industry starts in England as a food for the working class, for poor people who did not afford to spend money on their meal. Once touched by the fast-food virus, they began to personalize it by using their own resources. It took little time to the first fish and chips shop in 1860. They used sea-foods, especially oysters and eels served on the street corners. Turkish fast foods in the kebab houses are also very present on the British streets. It seems to be noticed mainly for its unmistakable kebabs so loved by the British nation, who was quickly conquered by the oriental sauces and spices. The kebabs date back to the times when the nomadic Turks learned to grill and roast their meat over their camp fires. They had been feeding generations since then until they finally arrived also in the British space. Englishmenhave never intervened by changing the traditional recipes in their own way, but consumed the authentic Turkish fast foods made by Turkish chefs. The kebab enjoys a good reputation in the British space by offering caloric bombs to the rushed Englishman who sets his priorities by forgetting what is really important: HIS BODY. Turkish fast foods are filling products which costs a little compared to a fresh healthy salad. They are easy to prepare and do not take long time. The Englishman enjoys this delicious heavy food despite of the impact it has on their bodies. A kebab consists in a lot of fatty, heavy sauces and deep fried ingredients.

As we have already seen the British streets are invaded by different cultures with only one purpose: to sell junk foods to the nation. The companies aim to win as much as possible by feeding people with unhealthy food. The Englishman loses the essence and forgets what is his purpose: to live as long as possible. The society is invaded by new technologies and loaded programs of work which make people neglect their own lives. The 21st century man continues to 26

make uninspired choices regarding his eatinglifestyle by forgetting the old adage: We are what we eat! There is nothing wrong with going to a fast food restaurant once in a while, it is wrong to make it a habit. Producers enjoys the situation and develop more and more to destroy the human species. They promote junk foods in the most accessible places and offer a tricky alternative to people.

27

Chapter VI. Famous British chefs throughout history

Since the oldest times, people have manifested a big interest in their daily meals. It is a necessity and no matter what happens, people need to eat. Starting with the street vendors who took advantage of this, people found a practical and comfortable alternative to satisfy hunger: eating out. This area developed pretty soon and now fast food restaurants all over the world represent an important industry . A chef is the engine which makes a restaurant good or badly ranked. . He is responsible of making orders, supervising the kitchen staff , food preparation , but also planning menus. According to the definition , there is a big difference between ‘cook’ and ‘chef’ . In Longman Dictionary the word ‘cook’ is defined as “someone who prepares and cooks food as their jobs” while the term ‘chef’ appears as “a skilled cook , especially the main cook in a hotel , restaurant”. Both of them represent kitchen workers , but the difference consists in their experience and culinary education . A chef owns a culinary degree obtained after an extensive training under a supervised experienced chef . It has managerial roles in the kitchen including creation and implementation of personal menus. His dishes must be tasty , but also good looking so he has to consider every detail by following some intricate steps. Chefs have turned their profession in art over time. They cook with love and professionalism so their job exceeds the limits of a simple profession. To perform as a chef is also important to study the culture and the civilization of those whose cuisine they represent . They need to know about Chinese when they cook Gong Bao Chicken , but also about Indians when they spice their specific foods. Leaving the kitchen they are also accredited to publish personal recipes and cook books. The first woman who published such a book was Mrs Isabella Beeton . She is a famous British figure who is known mainly for her first book: “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household 28

Management” . Her work was considered admirable during the Victorian era when it was published and so it is today. She gathered recipes from her readers and published them as supplements to The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine.

The 20th century is marked by the famous British chef Heston Blumenthal. He is known as the pioneer of molecular gastronomy and won many degrees for scientific approach to cooking. He was called “Doctor of Science” for his scientific approach to food.

Heston Blumenthal developed a long passion forthe kitchen environment since he visited a three star restaurant in his childhood. He has worked with enthusiasm and professionalism from his first day in a professional kitchen. He has soon conquered the British public with his avant-garde techniques he applied in the culinary space. His first dish ‘triple cooked chips’ became one of the most famous British plates. Although it sounds complex, this dish simply requires potatoes to be parboiled, fried and then roasted.

29

The result of his efforts materialized in a restaurant which he named “The Fat Duck”, considered the best restaurant in the world. He had no experience as a chef before opening his own business. There are also some valuable works which Heston Blumenthal published during his career. They had a huge impact on the British public and were awarded prizesmany years after. So he won awards as Best Children Cookbook for “Family Food -a new approach to cooking" in 2004, Best Cookbook of the year Worldwide for Family Food " the same book, as well asWinner of Design Award for “The Big Fat Duck Cookbook” in 2009. Thus, his important contributions and innovations to the British cuisine have made him deserving to be mentioned when we talk about great figures of culinary field. The British kitchen of the next period was marked by great chefs as Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. They are still working in the field nowadays and it is impossible not to mention them when we talk about cookery. Gordon Ramsay is known as an amazing chef with unique culinary talents who focuses on French, Italian and British cuisine. In the past years, he has spread his activity to America, where he presents a show called “Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen nightmares USA”, in which he visits and helps rescue restaurants on the verge of bankruptcy. He appeared in the public eye as a footballer, but later he found his passion and followed it with devotion. Firstly, he had to do with the British cuisine and later he decided to move to Paris to interact with the French identity and their culture. So he approached the French cuisine and worked in their space for three years. Back in London, Gordon Ramsay accepted the position of head chef in a high ranked restaurant . There he performed for four years until he opened his own restaurant. Beside his culinary talents, Gordon Ramsay is also a famous public figure because of his TV programs on food and competitive cookery. He is known as the meanest chef who does not avoid to express his thoughts and opinions during his programs. 30

Over his career, Ramsay won three Catey awards for “Independent Restauteur of the Year “ . He was also called the Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elisabeth ll. Because of his activity and the contributions he bought in the British cuisine, Gordon Ramsay deserves to be mentioned when we talk about great figures of the cuisine in United Kingdom . Jamie Oliver is still present on our screens and his every appearance makes a splash. He gained experience by cooking Italian food and soon became an important figure of the British

cookery.

He

made

it

exciting by reviving traditional cuisine in his own way. Oliver started his activity as a TV personality in 1997. He became more and more famous all over the world throughout his television programs. He is known in the British space as “The Naked Chef” even if he does not appreciate this nickname. He also published some cookbooks and one of them became a bestseller in the United Kingdom.The book enjoyed a huge success all over the world being translated in 30 languages. During his career, he won several awards including Emmy Award for Best Reality Series, the TED Prize, IACAP Cook book award , the Observer Food Monthly Food Personality of the Year award . So Jamie Oliver deserves his place in the top of chefs by contributing to the world cuisine throughout his cook books, his food television shows and lately for his campaign against fastfood. Even if United Kingdom does not offer us very sophisticated dishes , it gives us great culinary talents who are worth to be mentioned . They have proved passion and devotion over 31

their career and turned gastronomic culture into art. We just mentioned four chefs, but the list could continue because UK has valuable people in this chapter.

32

Chapter VII. The Victorian eccentricity In British Food

The Victorian Era represented the reign of Queen Victoria (20thJune 1837 – 22ndJanuary 1901), a peaceful period when Britain flourished in all areas: social, economical, political and cultural. It promoted democracy, socialism and feminism when people started to develop a new mentality and a national self-confidence. There was also a shocking industrial and technological change which the British nation enjoyed.The Industrial Revolution transformed Great Britain because the railways made mobility much easier:“Men could leave the village and seek work elsewhere”.

16

Most of them left their cottages and agricultural duties

and moved into the cities to perform labour for low daily or weekly wages. It caused a rapid urbanization, new attitudes and habits according to Victorian tendencies and outside influences. This was a period with a clear system which splitthe British populations in poor, middleclass and rich. Each of them occupied different places in the society having different preoccupations and occupations according to their status. The difference in eating habits was substantial: the Victorian kitchen revealed various products “The quality and still more the quantity of the food was a distinguishing feature of the way of life to which Self-help might lead – otherwise there was the unskilled labourer’s unwholesome and unvaried died of white bread, margarine, cheap jam, tea and potatoes. The skilled artisan and the shop-keeper ate meat (including breakfast bacon) to an extent which astonished the thrifty foreigner; they favoured rich, often indigestible puddings and cakes and “something tasty”would commonly be cooked for supper.”17. For the rich people, the food was a way to expose wealth. They organized sumptuous meals to impress guests “On Sundays and 16

Deac, Livia ,Nicolescu . Adrian , British and Life and Civilization , Ed. DidacticasiPedagogica , Bucuresti . 1983, p.230 17 Deac, Livia ,Nicolescu . Adrian , British and Life and Civilization , Ed. DidacticasiPedagogica , Bucuresti . 1983, p.235

33

other festive occasions hospitality was often the excuse for what we should nowadays regard as gluttony”18. They experienced sophisticated French dishes spending huge sums. Regarding women, there was a fashion which involved starving: “In Victorian England an appetite for food was......a taboo”19. This rigid diet, the lack of vitamins and minerals, malnutrition unbalanced metabolism caused anorexia and bulimia and it provoked huge disasters among people. On the other side there was the population, recently urbanized, looking for cheap shelters and often more than one family lived in an apartment to split the costs. “In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room”20.This was one of the reasons why people chose cheap street-foods to appease their hunger. “Most Victorians did not have such refrigerator “21to keep the food for a long time or proper conditions to cook their own dishes. People still involved in farming industry tended to have much meat than the others, whose volume of vegetables was huge. They also possessed fresh milk, so important for growth and development of children. Thus, people living on a farm enjoyed better diet than those from the city. The trade is another feature to consider when we talk about Victorian eating style. The industrialization of food influenced also the culinary values. “Again, the speed and low rates of railway transport enabled fruit , vegetables , and milk to be set safely , and there were special trains for bringing fish from the fishing ports to land towns.”

22

Their choices began to increase

and the nation started to replace the local products with imported ones. Analyzing Victorians eating lifestyle we will met a variety of dishes sold by FoodVendors on the London streets .The powerty of people left its marks on people’s eating lifestyle . 18

Deac, Livia ,Nicolescu . Adrian , British and Life and Civilization , Ed. DidacticasiPedagogica , Bucuresti . 1983, p.236 19 Civitello , Linda , Cuisine and Culture- A History of Food and People , second edition , Published by John Wiley and Sons , New Jersey , 2008 , p.230 20 https://prezi.com/qhrzppvoxcdq/oliver-twistpoverty-and-children-in-the-victorian-era/ 21 Broomfield , Andrea , Food and Cooking in Victorian England : A History , Greenwood Publishing Group , Conneticut , 2007 , p.140 22 Deac, Livia ,Nicolescu . Adrian , British and Life and Civilization , Ed. DidacticasiPedagogica , Bucuresti . 1983, p. 231

34

They needed a job and their despair allowed the owners to keep wages down and people did not afford basic human needs. Most of money were spent on food: bread , milk , cheese and potatoes and they saved some for the Sunday lunch , the only meal of the week which consisted in meat often tinned meat because it was less expensive than fresh meat .The poor people’s diet was soon responsible in causing illnesses and death among Englishmen.The farmers who had left their cottages behind , were forced to live in tenements without any possibility to cook the daily food. So they had no choice but to eat on their way to work even thought there were obviously not hygienic conditions. They were forced to eat in cups which had to be returned to be used again by others. Thus, food vendors enjoyed flourishing times by selling cold and hot dishes to the hungry nation which did not afford more. The foods were cooked very quickly, in large quantities by the vendors themselves. We will mention only four dishes very popular in Victorian times: Pickled Oysters,Whilks and Perwinkles, Rice Milk , Meat Pies and Meat Pudding. Pickled Oysters, Whilks and Perwinkles enjoyed a good reputation among Victorian Londoners. It could be bought for practically nothing because the fish was widely available then.They were served raw or boiled and people seemed to like them a lot . Rice Milk was also very fashionable at the time. It was cheap to produce it by boiling rice in milk in a metal basin over a charcoal fire. The dish was served in bowls which had to be returned to be used again. People consumed the portion while they were standing on the streets. Meat Pies were hugely popular in London in Victorian times. British people could serve a hot dish there or to take it home. The meat consisted of beef, mutton, kidneys or eels.

35

Meat puddings were also very consumed by the British nation. They were cheap meals, very accessible, which Londoners enjoyed in the period. Meat puddings consisted in steak and kidney, cooked in huge quantities and miserable conditions to be sold on streets. The Victorian period represented an important period in English history marking all areas including the cuisine which had dramatically changed. The food varied hugely according to the social status of British people, the rich ate sophisticated dishes consisting in high volume of meat while the poor people had been forced to limit to cheap products because of low wages they received. The choices began to increase once the industrial revolution broke out. Because of railways development and and the advancements of the sea trade British nation started to import more and more. The lack of space for cooking or refrigeration was a real problem in those times so people were forced to look for solutions. Thus, the local Vendors became very famous and gain huge sums by selling a number of different foods cooked by themselves in miserable conditions and cheap ingredients. It caused damages among people because of the lack of vitamins and minerals. So the Victorian cuisine changed dramatically in the period, as the whole England did. The development of industry caused difference in eating habits and people were affected according to their social status. We mentioned above some reasons why people started to eat differentlike advancement of industry, low wages, or lack of conditions for cooking and we also gave examples of popular dishes during the period. The chapter also introduced popular dishes among poor people, trends among the rich and shared some culinary curiosities during the Victorian era .

36

Chapter VIII. Food connected with media in the British space Mass-media is a phenomenon which grows increasingly faster nowadays, covering a variety of topics and areas. We can observe a spectacular achievement of propaganda nowadays by media . As Jess C. Scott once said :“People are sheep. TV is the shepherd.”23The audience becomes noticeably addicted to the products offered by media in everyday life. It turned out to have a huge impact on the entire society dealing with topics such as politics, sports, entertainment , lifestyle and many more. Mass-media consists of digital media through televisions and radio, but also of printed media when the information is delivered via paper in newspapers or magazines. We will discuss the section about lifestyle which has been more and more present on our screens since people realized its necessity. Starting with

thefast-food phenomenon and its

consequences, humans began being very concerned about their health and lifestyle . There are increasingly more ill people because of their messy lifestyle in our modern society. The man of the 21st century is in a continuous searching of success and fame, but he forgets about himself. His job does not allow him to enjoy a healthy lunch and late dinners provoke damages during the night. Thus, the modern Englishman looks for solutions regarding his unhealthy lifestyle and mass-media seems to be his best advisor for quick tips which often do not give any results. Without delay, mass-media took advantage and developed a huge diet industry considering this issue of humanity . The “food” soon becomes one of the most debated subjects on our screens,hundreds of recipes being delivered every day , tens of nutritionists offer us tips and diets for a healthy lifestyle daily . Ordinary people enjoy to receive free advice without seeing a doctor to prescribe a well- balanced diet according to their organism. There are a lot of myths which they consider and are disappointed later because it did not work.

23

http://viewfrommypew.blogspot.ro/2015/02/people-are-sheep-tv-is-shepherd-jess-c.html

37

There is also a second category in the same section which people seem to enjoy a lot . These are programs which gives us a variety of recipes and enrich us with the gastronomic culture, with dishes all over the world. Thus, we can discover different cultures through spices and flavour. So Italians prove to be balanced people with their famous “colazione “, while Chinese prefer carbohydrates by cooking a lot of rice and noodles ;French people are famous for a variety of cheeses, while the Turkish are known for their baklava and kebab. The fame of this category proves the truthfulness of a famous quote which says that: “There is no sincerer love than the love of food. ” Through their programs, the producers manage to lead the viewers around the world and to inform them about gastronomic features of each civilization . Returning to the first category mentioned we will bring into discussion some massmedia products which deal with a proper daily administration of food for a healthy lifestyle. It is important to build a diet according to some realistic tips. There are all over the internet dramatic measures for losing weight but we must see some professional supervisors who own knowledge about the topic. We will mention two British television programs which deal with healthy diets for quick results : “ Super Size vs Super Skinny” and “ How to lose weight well”. The first one, “ Super Size vs Super Skinny” is a TV production , presented by Dr. Christian Jessen, which offers healthy tips about dieting , having as subject two guests : an overweight person and an underweight one. They experience different professional methods to solve their issue in a healthy way. The two contestants swap the eating lifestyle and find a way to deal with the new menu. The TV show has gathered much better than expected ratings because the public hope to find in solutions for their disorders. The program offers information about what each guest ate and the results of the diet are reported at the end of theweek . “How to lose weight well“ is another famous British TV program which deals with professional tactics for overweight people . It offers tested healthy diets for quick results . The diets consist of drastic changes regarding the eating lifestyle . The doctor insist all over the program about the importance of eating better and exercise , stressing the idea of health diets and practicing sports instead of starving for temporary results .

38

It is important to know that the diet has to be adapted depending on each organism. People have to consider the need of seeing a doctor when they decide to lose weight. The consequences of an inappropriate diet can be deadly so we have to care about this issue with responsibility. In case we opt for a healthy eating lifestyle we have to consider the fresh food , low in terms of calories and to exclude processed foods and sweets . The second category targets the programs which deal with culinary matters worldwide. It reveals cultures and civilizations by their way of cooking over time . The Italian scientist Carlo Petrinisaid :"Food history is as important as the baroque church. Governments recognize shouldn’t cultural heritage and protect traditional foods. A cheese is as worthy of preserving as a Sixteenth-century building. " People seem to be attracted to this side regarding these type of programs from two perspectives : gastronomic and cultural . We will mention two TV shows which tickle the taste buds of the gourmet by offering recipes and curiosities around the world : “Come dine with me ” and “Master Chef”. The first one “Come and dine with me“ is a popular British television show narrated by Dave Lamb . The broadcast consists in a competition between chefs hosting a dinner party for the contestants. The dishes are very diversified in terms of origins , consistency and composition. Each chef choses a theme according to which he organizes an entire dinner party. The menu consists of traditional dishes served in an specific environment arranged by the chef according to the habits of the country he chose. All contestants aim to introduce the audience to as much information as possible about the food of the country they represent. The British public proved to be fascinated by this cooking program because it recorded huge rating over time .People travel all over the world with their favourite chefs and gather priceless information about cultures and civilizations. The second famous British TV show is “Master Chef:,which lately experienced a spreading in different countries of the world . It is a culinary competition in which participants improve their cooking skills during a certain period of time. They are subjected to different tests regarding dishes from the entire world. They are prepared to be the best chefs by learning cooking tips but also by gathering cultural information about the food of different civilizations.

39

The TV show seems to be highly appreciated by the British public because it has been broadcast since 2006 and still goes on recording huge ratings compared to other TV programs. Regarding the printed media,there are also sections concerning the cooking area. The Englishman can find cooking advice and recipes in great newspapers as “The Times”or “The Telegraph” each weekend but also in magazines which deal only with the cooking area. The “Good Food” magazine is one of the most famous in the British space. It offers over 80 recipes in each volume and also cooking tips for its readers. It is a must in every kitchen,helping the housewives cook a tasty dinner for their families . The recipes are accompanied by professional instructions every step of the way. All of them are tested and tasted by the Goof Food cookery team so the reader cannot have a bad experience if they follow carefully the instructions.It also provides beautiful photography to attract the viewer and to lead him into his kitchen. It is nominated as the UK’s best-selling magazine, delivering new recipes month after month. It has been working for 25 years so the Good Food team seems to reach the housewives’ hearts by offering them new recipes which have ever had food feedback. The “Food and Travel“ is also a British famous magazine which enjoys a good reputation among Englishmen . It deals with a variety of recipes considering also their origins. So the reader will travel the world and discover flavours and spices which he will certainly experiencelater.He can explore a different country each week in a fantastic culinary adventure .The magazine covers a diversified range of recipes from the best international cuisine and also tips to impress dinner our guests. It proves to be an always present aid in the British cuisine because it has recorded high sales every month . People enjoy to discovernews and the cooking area is one of the most experienced one in terms of novelty.

40

The internet is another source for people to obtain

information

about

cookingand

eating

lifestyle. It provides millions of articles daily about weight loss but many of them are not approved by someone, they are simply posts

shared by

anonimous in order to achieve audience. Most of them are not reliable sources which do not have to be considered. There are also articles signed by doctors and supervisors of nutrition which also have to be adapted to our bodies.

So, the mass-media phenomenon provides advantages and disadvantages regarding its impact on the society. It is really important for us to be informed, but it is our job to sort the information we find out on the internet or to change the TV channel if we are not interested in the topic debated. Mass-media offers us information, sometimes plausible, sometimes erroneos and we are those responsible to filter them out according to our interest. For several years, the population faces increasingly more obesity issues in the fast-food era and and mass-media takes advantage by feeding people with its products regarding the subject just to ensure high ratings . The public is not informed properly and then they do not conceive that each person has a unique body and it has to be treated correctly. On the other hand there are advantages and the most important one of them is the improvement in the cooking area since people have faced the international cuisine. The exchanges of dishes between countries make them to work together as a family in order to obtain best products ever. It is an important development in the cooking field which enjoys the contemporary society.

41

Chapter IX. Super-foods craze and the extent of this phenomenon in the British space

The superfood appears nowadays as an avant-garde reaction against the fast food phenomenon. The manufacturers noticed the people’s need for “new” and introduced a different type of food which soon became a craze amongst people of the 21st century. Thus, it represented a marketing device which helped producers to win huge sums from the naive consumers. If these products were initially thought for health benefits, they quickly tuned into financial benefits for their producers. The phenomenon broke out in America and it was a real success so the market extended worldwide. It was received with enthusiasm because people found it as a solution for all their health issues. The superfoods range consists of a variety of exotic and anti-oxidant super fruits originating from South America , China , Oceania or South-East Asia .

42

The public reacted immediately to the good-sounding exotic names pledging miraculous effects in the treatment of diseases and soon words like “chia seeds” or “goji berries” were all in the air .It was firstly introduced via juices or fruits and soon proved to be a very fruitful business: people were spending money on superfood and waiting for miracles. The superfood phenomenon was initially introduced as innovative products with supposedly health benefits. According to Macmillan Dictionary “superfood” is “a food that is considered to be very good for your health and that may even help some medical conditions.” 24 It fact these are foods marketed as superfoods or healthy foods , so-called because someone out there is trying to sell them . People were fascinated by the advertising strategy and soon it became a powerful industry. Mass- media started to deliver information concerning the “superfood” topic and it did not take long time to become an elixir of health. They encouraged people to eat these exotic and expensive foods which proved not to be so super after all. The enthusiasm of the society tormented by the fast food damages, enjoyed the suppliers and the manufacturers and thousands of new products were introduced in a short period of time .In fact it was an advantage , to replace the junk food with superfood which is not unhealthy ,there is nothing wrong to eat it in a proper way. In this section we will talk about superfoods like Goji , Chia seeds and Açai . They all are introduced as having power against cholesterol, protecting against cancer and heart disease and improving digestive health. They are promoted and sustained by media ,because there is no scientificevidence to sustain them , but articles written by a person who was not accredited to do it. We would be surprised if we asked the scientists about the claims made for Goji juice or spirulina . There are other fruits that are more available and cheaper to achieve and have the same benefits. For example, the scientists have proven that there are more anti-oxidants in an apple than any other superfood. Goji juice is among the latest healthy trends in UK. Goji berries are Chinese fruits known for the health benefits they provide. It consists in improvements regarding the vision, heart health and sleep quality, 24

Bullon, Stephen , Carey , Stan , Macmillan Dictionary , London , 2010 , pag. 734.

43

treatments regarding cancer , depression , anti-ageing or life extension. We will find all this benefits on the label of these products which certainly are written by companies that sell them . They are anti-oxidants indeed , but so are most berries , so are a lot of the fruits grow in our local woods being more accessible and cheaper . We will not see doctors or nutritionist prescribing this kind of medicines because they are not scientifically proven to be useful in a treatment. Chia is a plant, originating from Mexico, whose seeds are used for nutritious drinks and as a food source in UK and all over the world . It is also a marketing tool popular for its seemingly health benefits of heart and brain and its anti-inflammatory proprieties. The Chia seeds seem to stabilize blood sugar, to improve energy , mood , sleep quality , but also to fight cancer , treat depression and colon soothing. It became a trend amongst Englishmen and promoting them raised huge amounts from selling them in single-served packets for mixing into smoothies or in different combinations. Scientifically, Chia seeds are a rich source of vitamins which people buy hoping that it will heal all diseases. The Açaipalm is cultivated for its fruits in Brasil where it enjoys popularity like all over the world . It is promoted as having weight loss benefits and alter diseases riskfactors on the British market . Açaiis known as afruit which stops ageing, promotes skin health , helps digestive upsets; it also improves mental functions and immunity , fights cancer and protects the heart. Like all superfoods it is misleading by people who experiment it on their bodies without considering the side effects. In fact, superfoods are medicines which people do not have to take if they are not ill .If they are there, it is necessary to see a doctor or a herbalist, to prescribe you the right one, to help and to guide them to use them wisely. The wrong medicine may give bad reactions on the body because people are not informed about the side effects. They do not know how to combine this superfoods and how to take it. They make their bodies their science experiment instead of consuming local products from their garden. 44

The effects of the superfoods have not delayed to be debated and lately people began skeptical concerning the superfoods industry. Their wrongful administration of these fruits proved to increase risk of cancer and liver damage but the markets have continued to record big sales while people still neglect bananas and carrots. Eating a lot of fruits and vitamins can prevent a variety of diseases. Scientifically. It is proven that anti-oxidants supplements may increase cancer risks so we have to see a doctor when we decide to take them. We have to be join a balanced diet supplementing only with necessary vitamins. There is nothing wrong about super foods if they are properly taken under the guidance of a doctor. They are food supplements known as superfoods which in fact are just super marketing with colored packages and big prices. The industry promises incredible health benefits including prevention of cancer and heart disease and people pay for that. They are not advised to take them slowly , regularly and notice how their body react , they are encouraged to use them more and more often in order to spend a wealth for a fake idea.

45

Chapter X. TOP 10 strangest British recipes

The last chapter of our work is reserved for some curiosities about the British gastronomic cuture. It offers us a list of ten recipes with apparently ‘odd-sounding names’ which hide an interesting history explaining them. Some of them sound disgusting posing a challenge for even the most keen gourmet, while others sound delicious and make us look forward to tasting them. It needs to be mentioned that the names chosen for these recipes they have little to do with the dishes themselves . Thus, the British humor decided that a toast bread should be called “Welsh Rabbit “ and a sweet pudding called Dead Man’s Arm, which might seem extremely misleading to foreigners. We will list ten such oddities and will make references to some events in order to explain the etimology of each name. It is a well known fact that Britain has developed an entire gastronomic branch to ‘odd-sounding foods ‘and it has a reputation from the ancient times until today. We will start with the most famous British dish which sounds really unappetising to a foreigner who wants to taste something British. It is Toad in the Hole , a classic British dish which despite of its odd name is an ordinary food , a dish of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. The final result can explain the strange name of this dish by its aspect because it looks

46

like toads smacking their heads from a hole . It is certainly the least appetising named dish which enjoys a good reputation being served in traditional British restaurants and cooked in every home in Britain . If the first dish does not sound approachable to a foreigner , the second one will certainly do . It might sound shocking but it is even tastier than the last one . It is the Bubble and Squeak , a very popular British food which a foreigner will surely find in a traditional British menu. It is really strange

to

mention the “squeak” term when we name a dish , but the British ingenuity found a place for it in the gastronomic area . It is something that the Englishman has on Monday because over the weekend he has had his roast dinner. Bubble and Squeak basically consists in all the leftovers from it , left over vegetables , mashed potatoes and some bacon . All the ingredients are mixed together and baked in the shape of a burger . We will ask then “where is the bubble and squeak coming from ? “ . It is apparently the sizzling noise the vegetables make in the pan . It is one of the moments when the well known British humor causes smiles to foreigners. Another really simple dish with a strange-sounding name is Sheperd’s Pie or Cottage Pie. It is a very present meal on the British menu which all foreigners should taste once they find themselves in England . As we have already pointed out, the Englishman has never wasted the leftover food so he invented some different recipes to

47

save the "scraps". Sheperd’s Pie or Cottage Pie is in fact leftover roasted meat with mashed potato which British people appreciate a lot . According to the recipes , the Stepherd’s Pie consists of lamb , while The Cottage Pie is made of beef . The odd-sounding name is linked to the consumers of this product. It seems that there were hard times in England when people had no choice but to spend as little as possible on food. They were forced to look for recipes they could afford and the dish we described above was one of them . It seems to be very popular among people who lived in cottages and had no resources or time for cooking . Another classic dish with a strange name in our list is the Singing hinnies , a food which comes from the north of England and has become very popular in the British space. It is a dessert , a cake , which has been fried in animal fats.

Its name is also related to the sound while cooking , to the sizzling hiss it provides during it. The hinny is a word that comes from the dialect of those living near Newcastle in the North of England.

48

Pigs in Blankets is also a weird name we will hear if we visit a British restaurant . It is nothing else than little sausages wrapped in bacon or dough and baked in an oven . It explains the oddsounding name which reveals the process of wrapping sausages . They are very popular in England , especially for parties, as well as the Christmas dinner.

Another traditional British dish for this holy evening is Angels on horseback . It is also a really strange name from the semantic point of view , but very British in terms of style . This is a traditional food always present in the Englishmen's homes on Christmas day, conceived in Victorian times . It consists in oysters wrapped in bacon and grilled in the oven , and it is served as an appetizer.

49

The etimology of the name is still vague because no one knows exactly where it comes from . It appears for the first time in 1880 in a cookbook and it seems to be related with the poor man’s food of those times . “Its first occurrence, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and other sources, is in 1888, in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.”25 Stargazey pie also sounds very quaint . It is a Cornish dish of pilchards which are baked under a crust . It traditionally consists in fish heads poking through the crust , so they seem to be gazing up the sky. It apparently has noting to do with its name , but the Englishman has his own explanation for that . The legend says that the dish is conceived in Monsehole where a brave fisherman , Tom Bowcock , saved his fellow from starvation. He sailed out into a storm and returned with seven types of fish which were baked. They poked out of the pies to prove to everyone that there were fish inside.

Jam Roly Poly is another strange-sounding food in British restaurants . It is a traditional children's dessert, which enjoys a good reputation in the British space . Making it involves rolling up a sweet dough that is spread with jam . The charmingly childish name obviously has to do with the process of rolling up which makes it looks like a Swiss Roll . Usually it is wrapped up to steam in an old shirt sleeve and served in this way, a procedure that led to an alternative name : Dead Man’s Arm.

25

Breeton , Isabella , The Book of Household Management , Volume 1 , Ed. The Ex-classics Project , 2009 http://www.exclassics.com/

50

Another mind-blowing British recipe is Welsh Rarebit , a dish that has nothing to do with the rabbit. In fact it is a little more than a gourmet version of cheese on toast , a dish that combines savory sauce and melted cheese on a toasted bread.

The name of the dish is explained by an English joke which dates from the 18th century and even then never used rabbit. The Welsh were so poor in those times so they could not afford a cheap meat like a rabbit . The British humor tried to minimize the Welsh inabillity by naming a cheap toasted bread Welsh Rabbit . The last mystery dish of the British menu mentioned here is Love in disguise . It took this fancy romantic-sounding name because of its ingredient : lambs' , pigs' or calves' hearts. It is pretty obviously why it is called “ love in disguise” even if this combination is odd indeed . In fact this dish was originally “a calf’s heart stuffed’ with mincemeat, then rolled in vermicelli and baked in the oven .

51

To conclude , the list above consists of some strange-sounding food names which achieved a certain popularity to outsiders. In fact, the British have an entire collection of strange named foods that foreigners find intriguing. Black Pudding , Mince pies or Spotted Dick are further examples that are meant to draw a foody's attention, as they will surely surprise, but definitely not disappoint. Each meal has its own story which explains the unusual combination found in its name . But more than that, each dish proves once again the humour and cleverness of the British, as well as giving us a glimpse of the historical context in which it was invented. Each dish represents a bit of the British spirit, that adores food and demonstrates that even the simplest recipe can rise from anonymity. Even melted cheese in toast.

52

Conclusion

This paper aimed to show the great diversity and flexibility that the British Cuisine offers. Even if, throughout time, the origins of English food became a gastronomic joke, because what is best in England has foreign marks, it is precisely this openness to foreign influences that makes it outstanding. Nowhere else but in England is the variety of food so diverse and eclectic, and this only goes to reinforce the saying "You are what you eat". The English people, so open to gastronomic indulgences from all over the world are as open when it comes to welcoming different nations in their midst. Even if the recent referendum that decided Britain's exit from the EU might prove otherwise, the English are still one of the most welcomong spaces, Europe's "melting pot of cultures ". Its food menus seem to be dictated by foreigners (Indians , Chinese , Italian , French , Spain ). The benefit of having an empire is that they learned quite a bit from colonies . From China they adopted tea and from India the curry . The British cuisine is a mixture of cultures and what it makes it interesting is its cosmopolitan nature . British dishes are described as hybrid and each one of them hides a historical event. So to explain the current form of the British cuisine we have to consider its history . It is easy to find out why so there is so much curry in British dishes just by looking in the past . Our work divides the British dishes according to their belonging and develops a work by making reference to the history . The originality of our work consists in gathering several cultures to explain the British gastronomy . Each chapter deals with a different country and argues its presence in our work by historical facts . We also mentioned some famous British chefs because paradoxically, even if the cuisine is not remarkable ,famous chefs exist all over the British space.

53

To conclude, we do have a wide and varied cuisine in Britain today, and after years of people saying that British food is bad, Britain now has an enviable reputation. This reputation has been changed since the 1980’s. In fact some of the great chefs now come from Britain. Traditional British cuisine is substantial, yet simple and wholesome. It has also been influenced by the traditions and tastes from different parts of the British Empire.The food industry in Britain is now undergoing major changes so we are waiting for more to discuss .

54

Bibliography

1. Breeton , Isabella , The Book of Household Management , Volume 1 , Ed. The Exclassics Project , 2009 2. Broomfield , Andrea , Food and Cooking in Victorian England : A History , Greenwood Publishing Group , Conneticut , 2007 3. Bullon, Stephen, Carey, Stan, Macmillan Dictionary ,London , 2010 4. Civitello , Linda , Cuisine and Culture, A history of Food and People, second edition , New Jersey, Thompson Antony Worrall ,People’s cookbook , Rankin Paul Infinite Ideas Limited, 2008 5. Colquhoun , Kate , Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking , Bloomsbury USA , 2011 6. Cronon , William , Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England Revised Edition, Hill and Wang; Revised edition , 2003 7. Deac, Livia ,Nicolescu . Adrian , British and Life and Civilization , Ed. DidacticasiPedagogica , Bucuresti . 1983 8. Dickson Wright Clarissa , A History of English Food, Random House UK; 1St Edition edition , 2011 9. Flandrin , Jean-Louis , Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present , Columbia University Press; 1st edition , 1999 10. Grigson , Jane , Jane Grigsons English Food 4th Edition, Penguin UK; 4th edition , 1998 11. Hilaire , Walden Traditional British Cooking: The Best of British Cooking: A Definitive Collection , Hermes House; Reissue edition, London . 2016 12. http://www.exclassics.com/ 13. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7738203/Majority-ofBritish-meals-are-now-foreign.html 55

14. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7738203/Majority-ofBritish-meals-are-now-foreign.html 15. https://foodimentary.com/best-food-quotes-list/art-2/ 16. 1https://prezi.com/qhrzppvoxcdq/oliver-twistpoverty-and-children-in-the-victorian-era/ 17. Martin, Knowlden, Classic British Cookbook: Over 50 Recipes Inspired by the Flavour of the British Isles , Kyle Cathie London . 2006 18. Somerville Coast , A Celebration of Britain's Coastal ,Christopher , Harpercollins Publishers , New York , 2000 , 19. Spencer , Colin , British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History Revised ed. Edition, Grub Street Cookery , London , 2011 20. Torelli , Sheri , “ The Fast Food Kitchen – More than 100 Fast and Healthy Recipes” . Ed. Harvest House Publishers, Oregon , 2011 21. Tannahill , Reay , Food in History , Broadway Books; Revised edition , 1995

56