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The Resurgence of British Cuisine

After years of suffering under the image of grey boiled meat and cold soups, Britain today now has a vibrant culinary reputation. In fact some of the great chefs now come from Britain- names include Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.

Unfortunately a great deal of damage was done to British cuisine during the first and second world wars. The war effort used up goods and services and so less was left over for people to consume. During the 1940’s food rationing began and the British tradition of stews, pies and breads went into decline, so did works by the great British culinary expert –Mrs. Beeton.

The atmosphere of doom and gloom peaked in and turned the country into a nation of gastrophobes.

The years, which followed, meant that the British culinary skills according to the taste buds of the rest of the world went into decline. What was best of Britain was only that which showed the influence of France, and so British food soon developed a poor reputation and the French art of nouvelle cuisine was adopted.

In the mid 1980’s British cuisine started to look for new direction. Chefs began to look close to home for inspiration. Calling on a rich tradition and utilising many diverse and fresh ingredients, forming what today is known as the modern British food.

Traditional dishes such as roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, Cornish pasties, steak and kidney pie, bread and butter pudding, treacle tart, spotted dick and Fish and Chips remain popular though there is a great multicultural mix from other commonwealth and European nations.

Today fish is still very important to the British cooking. Being an island surrounded by some of the richest fishing areas of the world, many species such as haddock, hake, plaice, cod, turbot, mullet, herring as do lobsters, oysters and eels form the core of the British cooking.

Below is a list of theTop-Rated British restaurants of 2005. Each was awarded at least 7 out of the 10 marks for cooking excellence, presentation, hygiene and quality as perceived by The Good Food Guide and its readers.

The Good Food Guide publication is the UK’s trusted and best independent guide resource, providing consumers with the independent information they need to make informed choices .

I have randomly chosen 5 of the top scored restaurants in London , the counties, Wales and Scotland, serving a good mix of the Traditional British and the Modern Cuisine.

Gordon Ramsay (UK Restaurant of the year 2005)

Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road
Chelsea , London
SW3 4HP
Tel: +44(0) 207 352 4441
www.gordonramsay.com

The Fat Duck
High Street
Bray Berkshire
SL6 2AQ
Tel: + 44 (0) 1628 580 333
www.fatduck.co.uk

Winteringham Fields
Winteringham
Lincolnshire
DN15 9PF
Tel: +44 (0) 1724 733 096
www.winteringhamfields.com

Martin Wishart
54 The Shore
Edinburgh
Scotland
EH6 6RA
Tel: +44 (0) 131 553 3557
www.martin-wishart.co.uk

Tyddyn Llan
Llandrillo
Nr Corwen
Denbigshire
North Wales
LL21 0ST
Tel: +44 (0) 1490 440 264
www.tyddynllan.co.uk

Claudia Foleng-Achunche (c_foleng@yahoo.co.uk) is the Author of Tasty and Exotic Foods – an exotic blend of West African mouthwatering cuisine for the 21 st century. She lives and works in the United Kingdom.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the businesses in question before making your plans.