Need some insight into British cuisine

[Deke]

Fellow Chrons, in my novel my space captain is a British woman and they are having a captain's mess, where once a week she invites her various officers and a couple of enlisted personnel to a formal dinner and they toast the night away and enjoy a good meal.

My only issue is, as an American, I have no idea what you people eat. As a filthy colonial who despises the crown, my knowledge of your diet is limited to beans and toast, so I would appreciate some input from some of my UK neighbors across the pond as to what would be a proper English meal served at the captain's table.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Could be lots of things.

"Sunday Roast" was the first thing that sprang to mind. Here's a wikipedia link with probably far too much info on it, But you get the idea!

Sunday roast - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But it could also be Chicken Tikka Masala which always seems to come near the top of favourite dinners in the UK. You can get a very nice fancy Indian nowadays.

Or you could, perhaps, look up Queen Elizabeth II's eating habits, to see what the posh people might be eating:

What 7 things will Queen Elizabeth never eat or drink?

She likes Earl Grey in the morning, tuna sandwiches for lunch, and can’t resist a chocolate biscuit cake – but what common foods will Queen Elizabeth never permit to be served to her?

www.scmp.com

(Strikes me as a bit bland.)

 

[The Judge]

Sweetbreads. Tripe and onions. Toad in the hole. Spotted dick. Jam rolypoly.



Sorry, couldn't resist. They're all real, but unlikely to be on many household menus nowadays and highly unlikely to appear at the captain's table unless she's really into retro food from the 1950s and earlier.

Anyhow, first off do remember that British is not synonymous with English, as otherwise you'll get some heated words from the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish members, all of whom will have their own specialities.

English-wise, the national dish used to be a roast -- beef for preference -- with a full accompaniment of roast potatoes (King Edwards are the best for that, cooked in dripping if possible) and veg such as carrots, parsnips and cabbage. However, nowadays it's reputedly chicken tikka masala, a bastardised Indian curry that most people in India wouldn't recognise.

The English are also famous for pies of all kinds and we have a national pie competition -- game pies are traditional, with hot water crust pastry. Also we have a lot of stews/casseroles, such as Lancashire hot pot.

Puddings -- I could write screeds on these, but eg Sussex pond pudding, bread and butter pudding, treacle sponge pudding would be both traditional and rib-sticking, but again these have fallen out of favour in the last 50 years.


EDIT: VB got in ahead of me!!

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

For a high-class menu at the captain's table you could have:
Canapes: Cheese cubes and pineapple chunks on a cocktail stick
Starter: Prawn cocktail
Main: Chicken-in-the-basket/Beef Wellington
Afters: Black Forest Gateaux/Spotted Dick/Arctic Roll
Drinks: Babycham/Snowball

For those of us that remember the 70s

 

[Harpo]

Fish ‘n’ chips (emphatically NOT “fries”)

 

[Mouse]

As someone who owns a chippy I agree with Harpo.

See also: pizza, curry, spag bol, stir fry, pie. I dunno what a space captain would eat. Probably the same as everyone else.

 

[reiver33]

Take a pizza, fold it in half, and deep-fry. None of your vegetable oil either. Serve on a bed of spinach with a garnish of Worchester sauce. Pure class that would honour even the most select of gatherings.

 

[The Judge]

Deke -- just in case it's not obvious, some of the above suggestions are made with tongue firmly in cheek, and those which are serious reflect what people in England are eating nowadays but aren't perhaps what a captain would offer to her crew if she's trying to impress them with examples of good old English cooking!

Though actually as you might have twigged from Mouse's suggestion of pizza etc as well as the chicken tikka masala VB and I mentioned, actually defining English cooking isn't that easy now. In the last 70+ years what we routinely cook and eat has changed drastically and undoubtedly it will change further in the next 70 years. There are plenty of adults in the UK who haven't even heard of eg plum duff or spotted dick let alone eaten them. Instead much of what we eat nowadays is taken direct from other cultures -- not just the ingredients, which has always happened, but the recipes themselves, though not always with scrupulous authenticity.

In addition, what your captain will think of as British cuisine is going to depend on what she was brought up eating, which in turn is going to depend on her family background. Someone with Indian ancestry is likely to have different memories of the food of her childhood when compared with someone whose family hail from Africa or the Caribbean, and the more there is a melting pot of cultures within the UK, the more so-called fusion food is going to appear. And, as ever, class and family income are going to play a part -- the rich and upper middle class will have a different diet from someone living on the breadline on a council estate.

And all of that is before you factor in what might happen in the next 100+ years as to food production, meat consumption, fish farming etc.

So rather than ask us what we're eating now in the UK, it might be an idea if you pin down your captain's precise family background and her interests -- some people don't care about food and would just tell the chef to prepare whatever he/she likes; someone interested in history might want to have dinners based on specific eras (though hopefully not the 1970s...). If we knew more about that and what developments you think have happened in food worldwide between now and when your story is set, we might be better able to help you.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

However, nowadays it's reputedly chicken tikka masala, a bastardised Indian curry that most people in India wouldn't recognise.

I had a few decent tikka masala's in India. I was quite surprised how not different Indian food was to the food back in Blighty. Much tastier, of course and a bit spicier, but overall not a huge amount of difference.

It's not that difficult to get a fairly authentic dishes in the UK if you can find the right restaurants. Even more exotic foods a way away from our usual palettes - like "Stinky Tofu" or Durian - can be found quite easily in Borough Market.

History of food in the UK is fascinating. Hampton Court Palace used to have traditional feasts which followed traditional English recipes from the 15th / 16th / 17th centuries and they were a world away from the bland meat and two veg for which the UK is known. Proper spicy foods and curries even.

One thing you have to bear in mind with us Brits is (as Judge points out) that class and region dictates a lot of the kinds of food we grew up with. Nowadays the wealthier may be more interested in healthy food or socially responsible food (ethically sourced, vegan, cruelty free etc.) than in past times. If someone is trying to impress at a dinner party they may wish to go for more exotic or unfamiliar food as an experience - expensive or rare entrees, A5 wagyu beef prepared by an expert, Fugu, beluga caviar, all served with very expensive wines chosen to accompany the food. Heston Blumenthal is typical of this kind of gastronomic experience where he uses chemistry to create unfamiliar and exotic taste sensations.

A high class "event" meal might look more like something from Gordon Ramsey's or Heston Blumenthal's "Fat Duck" restaurant, Core by Clare Smyth, etc.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Shepherd's Pie is really good. Or at least I knew someone who made it really good.

Shepherd's pie - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Pies are quite possible, done in a fancy manner. Also we do love roasts.
why not look at some of the British cookbooks for some steer. Someone like Nigel Slater is quite representative or you cant go wrong with a Delia Smith.

 

[The Big Peat]

As pointed out, British food is a somewhat nebulous concept in this day and age. And probably always has been, but only grows more so.

However - if you want high end British food, of the sort they might serve at an officer's mess* at a good dinner, or at a high end British restaurant (The Ivy, Claridge's, St John), then you might consider Beef Wellington or Fish Pie. Or just simply dishes like the following:

Grilled Iberico pork cutlet - roasted apple, wilted greens and piccalilli
Roasted Creedy Carver duck breast - heritage carrots, burnt orange and pistachio

To steal from the Ivy's menu



*As the common barracks saying goes, the hardest course in the British Army is the chef's course.

 

[Deke]

Deke -- just in case it's not obvious, some of the above suggestions are made with tongue firmly in cheek, and those which are serious reflect what people in England are eating nowadays but aren't perhaps what a captain would offer to her crew if she's trying to impress them with examples of good old English cooking!

Though actually as you might have twigged from Mouse's suggestion of pizza etc as well as the chicken tikka masala VB and I mentioned, actually defining English cooking isn't that easy now. In the last 70+ years what we routinely cook and eat has changed drastically and undoubtedly it will change further in the next 70 years. There are plenty of adults in the UK who haven't even heard of eg plum duff or spotted dick let alone eaten them. Instead much of what we eat nowadays is taken direct from other cultures -- not just the ingredients, which has always happened, but the recipes themselves, though not always with scrupulous authenticity.

In addition, what your captain will think of as British cuisine is going to depend on what she was brought up eating, which in turn is going to depend on her family background. Someone with Indian ancestry is likely to have different memories of the food of her childhood when compared with someone whose family hail from Africa or the Caribbean, and the more there is a melting pot of cultures within the UK, the more so-called fusion food is going to appear. And, as ever, class and family income are going to play a part -- the rich and upper middle class will have a different diet from someone living on the breadline on a council estate.

And all of that is before you factor in what might happen in the next 100+ years as to food production, meat consumption, fish farming etc.

So rather than ask us what we're eating now in the UK, it might be an idea if you pin down your captain's precise family background and her interests -- some people don't care about food and would just tell the chef to prepare whatever he/she likes; someone interested in history might want to have dinners based on specific eras (though hopefully not the 1970s...). If we knew more about that and what developments you think have happened in food worldwide between now and when your story is set, we might be better able to help you.

She is from Wales, Cardiff to be exact, if that helps. As I said I am a culture less yank, a southerner to be exact. My state mandated hatred for all things pertaining to the the British Crown demands I remain ignorant of your customs, though my novel requires me to understand Welsh traditional cooking.

 

[Deke]

As pointed out, British food is a somewhat nebulous concept in this day and age. And probably always has been, but only grows more so.

However - if you want high end British food, of the sort they might serve at an officer's mess* at a good dinner, or at a high end British restaurant (The Ivy, Claridge's, St John), then you might consider Beef Wellington or Fish Pie. Or just simply dishes like the following:

Grilled Iberico pork cutlet - roasted apple, wilted greens and piccalilli
Roasted Creedy Carver duck breast - heritage carrots, burnt orange and pistachio

To steal from the Ivy's menu



*As the common barracks saying goes, the hardest course in the British Army is the chef's course.

The roasted duck breast has caught my eye!

 

[Deke]

Pies are quite possible, done in a fancy manner. Also we do love roasts.
why not look at some of the British cookbooks for some steer. Someone like Nigel Slater is quite representative or you cant go wrong with a Delia Smith.

My only exposure to Nigel and Delia has been in the form of Uncle Roger videos on YouTube.

 

[Deke]

I would like to use all of these suggestions of course, but I think that, while the classics hold sway there is certainly some room in the endless void of storytelling and thus captains messes I have planned to inject one or two odd but authentic British meals. So keep the wierd folded fried pizza posts coming plz!

(This certainly isn’t intended to embarrass or insult British national pride and the crown so I might instigate more colonial ferver, oh no, of course not *snickers*)

 

[Foxbat]

You could make the captain of Scottish descent and have her give a Burns Supper (complete with address to the haggis).

 

[Danny McG]

Big Mac meal followed by a caramel McFlurry

 

[Harpo]

As pointed out, British food is a somewhat nebulous concept in this day and age. And probably always has been, but only grows more so.

However - if you want high end British food, of the sort they might serve at an officer's mess* at a good dinner, or at a high end British restaurant (The Ivy, Claridge's, St John), then you might consider Beef Wellington or Fish Pie. Or just simply dishes like the following:

Grilled Iberico pork cutlet - roasted apple, wilted greens and piccalilli
Roasted Creedy Carver duck breast - heritage carrots, burnt orange and pistachio

To steal from the Ivy's menu



*As the common barracks saying goes, the hardest course in the British Army is the chef's course.

Four years ago I had fish ‘n’ chips in The Ivy.

 

[Harpo]

Big Mac meal followed by a caramel McFlurry

That’s probably global, not British especially.