To All Those Critics of British Food...

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by molly bloom



Well, in English we have 'pottage' as in Jacob, Esau, and selling one's birthright for 'a mess of pottage', or the nursery rhyme about 'pease pottage'.

In French you have 'potage'.

Title: A Pilgrim's Lentil Pottage
Categories:
Yield: 8 Servings

2 ts Olive oil
2 Cloves garlic; finely
.. chopped
1 md Onion; chopped
8 c Cold water
1 1/2 c Lentils; rinsed in cold
.. water and drained
3 tb Ketchup
1/8 ts Ground cloves
1 1/2 ts Salt
Black pepper

Soften vegetables in oil in soup pot. Add water,
lentils, ketchup, cloves and salt; bring to a
boil. Reduce to low, cover and cook until lentils
are tender, about 45 minutes, adding more water if
needed. Season. If desired, add vinegar, wine, or
lemon juice for flavor.

http://www.nwljds.org.uk/YR%20learn%20about%20a%20mess%20of%20potage

Soup of the day- or soupe de jour.

Me, I prefer to describe a menu in the language of the country where it's being served up- otherwise we'd see an awful lot of Londoners trying desperately to bone up on Amharic, Arabic, Cantonese and Hindi.

Ketchup is a condiment not a recipe ingredient! Any culture that uses ketchup in place of tomatoes in a recipe cannot be taken seriously on the world culinary stage.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Oerdin
There's great local food here too. Spago's is the original California Fusion restaurant and it's on the list. There are other's from California on the list but I'm not sure about the menu.

If I'm ever in Cali again, I gotta try Cali Fusion. Last time I was in Cali, the local cuisine I had were In'N'Out burgers (admittedly far superior to the McD's crap I know from here) and Seafood.

/me notes Spago's in his head

[Pekka]

But as a great food lover, I won't say any kitchen is best.. every kitchen has some real treats.. MMmmm... and that's why I REALLY like the diversity in different country's and their dishes.. oh yeah.. please, no assimilation in there...

[alva]

Re: Re: To All Those Critics of British Food...

Originally posted by Drewcifer
God, that is one of the most pretentious menues I have ever seen.

It is all about "look what I can do with my cool toys" and has no coherent thematic philosophy underlying it as a foundation. Fine cooking IMHO is all about getting the best ingredients possible and showing them off in a way that lets their natural beautifulness shine through. The monstrosity above is what happens when chefs cook with their ego and put that above their respect for the ingredients. Becuase food editors need to sell papers to a public that is enthralled with gee-whiz technology and are often such themselves these bs chefs and their bs food tend to get heaped with praise.

I have been a professional cook and chef for 15 years mostly in fine dinning. Technology is useful but it is not the point of cooking, those nitro-blasters are abhorent, I would never allow one in my kitchen.

Completely agreed, though I wouldn' mind trying out the restaurant, it certainly wouldn't be my first choice.

[Atahualpa]

Re: Re: Re: To All Those Critics of British Food...

Originally posted by molly bloom
France will be soon surrendering all its croissants to the Austrians, I suppose- perhaps on Turkey's admission to the E.U. .

All France's croissants are belong to us! The baguettes as well! Not to even mention the pain au chocolat, which belonged to us ever since it was created.

The english can keep their food though. Except for the mostaza!!

[Dis]

Originally posted by molly bloom



Have you eaten there ?

Thought not.


As for describing food in French, it's similar to French having been the language of diplomacy in Europe for hundreds of years- put it down to the inluence of people like Brillat-Savarin and Careme- and the Normans (who are said to have introduced rabbit to the British Isles), the Plantagenets, the Angevin Empire, and the unquenchable British desire for novelty in foods.

Sweet pasta, for instance, was a feature of Tudor feasts.


In any case, not all restaurants do it, but saying 'saucisson' rather than 'sausage' seems to elevate an ingredient or meal in some people's eyes.

It's entirely pointless trying to get rid of the French influence on British cooking, or the Roman influence on European cooking, or the Indian influence on British cooking, or the Italian influence on French cooking- when the Medicis married into the French Royal family, they brought with them many Italian cooking novelties, part and parcel of modern French cuisine.

admit it. The food is crap. It's just dressed up as a way for rich people to feel superior to poor people eating tacos.

I'd rather have a taco than that crap.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Dissident
admit it. The food is crap. It's just dressed up as a way for rich people to feel superior to poor people eating tacos.

I can't say for that particular restaurant, but in the great restaurants where I went, food didn't taste like crap at all. And I went there to appreciate the good things in the plate and the glass, and I couldn't care less about the rich, the poor, or whatever else. What counted was pleasure.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Spiffor

I can't say for that particular restaurant, but in the great restaurants where I went, food didn't taste like crap at all. And I went there to appreciate the good things in the plate and the glass, and I couldn't care less about the rich, the poor, or whatever else. What counted was pleasure.

I should clarify. It's crap for the money you pay. I'm sure the food tastes decent (nearly all food tastes good to me). But I fail to see the reason to overpay for food.

[Spiffor]

Besides, I'm regularly eating Kebabs (the European equivalent of tacos), and I'm actually going there right now.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Dissident
I should clarify. It's crap for the money you pay. I'm sure the food tastes decent (nearly all food tastes good to me). But I fail to see the reason to overpay for food.

Actually, most of the good restaurants where I go don't have extremely overinflated prices. I have already eaten in excellent restaurants for about 60€ per person, which is worth about 5 days of a Kebap diet, 6 movies, or a console game.

Sometimes it can be ridiculously overpriced (several hundred €/$ for a meal), but I don't remember having ever been in a restaurant like that, because in my circle, we really enjoy the pleasure instead of the rich-man's-world decorum (and in some places indeed, the money you pay is much, much higher than the actual costs of ingredients and labour that went in your food).

I would even agree that a portion of these restaurants' customers are Rich people going there merely for the label. But your broadsweeping generalization is patently false. Many of the customers I've seen in these restaurants looked like locals, looked like families who had something to celebrate, looked like friends having a good evening. I have also seen the occasional couple or pre-couple. These were fairly normal people paying for an extra (and the extra can be affordable to the average middle-class person), and not stuck-up snotty richmen.

[Atahualpa]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Besides, I'm regularly eating Kebabs (the European equivalent of tacos), and I'm actually going there right now.

moderately eating kebabs

Spain is the best place for Kebab! You get everything, turk kebab, arab kebab, shwarma, falafel, pollo, cerdo, tenera,... que quieres!

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison


And that is my exact point! Some things do have French terms just by the fact they have been invented by the French. But sausage/saucis (saucisson has a more specific meaning, eg, a sliced sausage so be careful there) is a perfect example! There is no reason why it just cannot be called a sausage...

Creme Brulée. English through and through, named in French just to get a better rep it seems. In France its Creme Anglais, which is better than "Burnt Cream" I suppose.

Ever been to Strada (Italian of course) or Pret a Manger. Saying you are going to Strada or Pret sounds so much bettter than going to "Road" or "Ready". Admittedly there is a sandwich shop called EAT.

[Provost Harrison]

Oh some of the names they give these places are so silly though. I'm sure people would dine as 'Maison Merde' just because the name is in French

[Spiffor]

Well, there's a bakery in Bordeaux called "Au Pain Dégueulasse" (The Disgusting Bread's), and it get has plenty of clients

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Dissident


I should clarify. It's crap for the money you pay. I'm sure the food tastes decent (nearly all food tastes good to me). But I fail to see the reason to overpay for food.

Why is it ?


(Give reasons, not just a gut feeling)