The Resurgence of British Cuisine by Claudia Foleng-Achunche

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 Ramsey, 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.