Need some insight into British cuisine

[Mr Cairo]

Wales makes me think of Lamb. Roast lamb with mint sauce.

And gangs of youths roaming the streets all singing in close harmony.

 

[Stomalomalus]

And gangs of youths roaming the streets all singing in close harmony.

And rugby. And confusing everybody by talking about those bloody gogs. Anyone north of Llanelli, I'll have you know.

 

[Danny McG]

And gangs of youths roaming the streets all singing in close harmony.

As part of my apprenticeship in the 1970s I had to go to an NCB training centre near Haydock horseracing track for a few weeks every year.
Myself and workmates were usually amongst the earliest in the mornings.

So we'd hang around outside for a while as the other lads turned up. every day a coach arrived from the Welsh collieries and, as it neared the gates, you could hear them all singing.

I always thought then, and still do, that it was a wind-up by them.
"Look Huw, we are at the centre isn't it.
Time to start singing, boyos"

 

[Mr Cairo]

As part of my apprenticeship in the 1970s I had to go to an NCB training centre near Haydock horseracing track for a few weeks every year.
Myself and workmates were usually amongst the earliest in the mornings.

So we'd hang around outside for a while as the other lads turned up. every day a coach arrived from the Welsh collieries and, as it neared the gates, you could hear them all singing.

I always thought then, and still do, that it was a wind-up by them.
"Look Huw, we are at the centre isn't it.
Time to start singing, boyos"

Surprisingly not a windup it was generally a thing that would occur on any day trip, rugby trip or get together when more that 3 or 4 welshmen had 10 minutes to spare, In villages most were miners and most were in the miners choirs but as the colliery closed the choirs slowly disbanded and the habit kind of fell to the wayside

Put us in a Rugby match though and this is the result ...... we are not the land of song for nothing

 

[Harpo]

....anyway, about the cuisine?

 

[Stomalomalus]

....anyway, about the cuisine?

Welsh rarebit, obviously. A slice of glammed up cheese on toast is always nice.

 

[Montero]

Surprisingly not a windup it was generally a thing that would occur on any day trip, rugby trip or get together when more that 3 or 4 welshmen had 10 minutes to spare, In villages most were miners and most were in the miners choirs but as the colliery closed the choirs slowly disbanded and the habit kind of fell to the wayside

Put us in a Rugby match though and this is the result ...... we are not the land of song for nothing

A lot of years back I had singing lessons, and my teacher said that my middle class southern English accent was the worst for learning to sing, as it is a lot in the back of the throat and very flat so doesn't resonate. Whereas the Welsh accent places the voice very much just behind the lips, and it has good resonance, which is why a lot of Welsh are good singers, because they are already in the habit of placing their voice in the right part of the mouth for a good round sound.

 

[Venusian Broon]

....anyway, about the cuisine?

The Welsh are nice, but I couldn't finish off a whole one.

 

[Harpo]

Welsh cakes are superb

Welsh Cakes Recipe

This traditional and authentic Welsh cakes recipe is one of the best cakes to come out of Wales. Learn how to make them at home with our easy to follow recipe.

www.greatbritishchefs.com

 

[Mr Cairo]

Ok so back on cuisine I will post what I wrote before noticing this was resurrected thread


I was born and raised in the Wales in the Swansea Valley and until a decade ago I was a Chef in Neath and that's just about 40 miles from Cardiff where you are placing your Captain. Currently the area your Captain is from is one of the most culturally food diverse places I have ever worked there is a bit of everything there.

Couple of questions I may have missed is did your Captain come from money or not and how old are they?

Me, well I was the youngest of 5 child and was born in the late 60's my Dad was a miner and passed away when I was 10 and my mum struggled financially for years after, couple that with living through the blackouts the miners strike mass unemployment through the 80's the food on our table was very basic and traditional and Traditional food in Wales was just an easy way of saying meals born out of poverty, cheap cuts and cheap ways to make them go further.

my mum always cooked big batches of stuff on fridays (baking day in our house) and that would see us through till midweek hearty filling things like shepherds Pies, Cawl, Oggies which are a type of meat filled Cornish pasties (Normally Lamb) but covered in breadcrumb not pastry, very little fish as that was to expensive.

a meal to tide you over till Dinner (the evening not afternoon meal) was Bara,Te which was hot Tea with no milk lots of sugar and lumps of Cheedar cheese and thick buttered bread all mixed together like a stew and eaten with a spoon this was a a very traditional local meal for Miners who would put their sandwich into the tea to eat so as to not get coal dust on the food.

I became a student Chef at Neath college in 86 and quickly learnt that culinary school at the time only taught French cooking and that was it, after college started working at a place called the Geranium in the Swansea valley and it was instantly better versions of what I ate as a child, over the next couple of decades I watched food change and improve as chefs slowly became rockstars in their own right, people became more affluent and other cultures invaded local cooking, Curried Lamb Cawl!!, I never thought I would see it but there it was on the menu and selling by the pot full.

18 years and a serious Motorbike crash and I was out of the game

the best advice for your Captains table is find traditional meals and then refine them

Things like ..... (Google the recipes you will find many many many versions)

Caerphilly Welsh Cake Canapés for people on arrival

Smoked Mackerel Pate ... we had Mackerel or Haddock only when we could afford it as they were the cheap cuts back then) or a bowl of Mussles would be acceptable

Small bowl of refined leek soup for the soup course

Palette cleanser like a Damson or Wimberry Sorbet

Welsh Salt Marsh Lamb cutlets with traditional welsh veg (leeks are a must)

dessert ...tough one as to a dish the traditional welsh desert is a heavy thing but a version of Picau ar y Maen (cake on a stone) which is just a small fruit cake (light thin scone) baked on a large stone and serve with cream and some berry compote, we did also cook pancakes (both types) on a bakestone so you could have a version of that

someone born less that 10 houses away from me will tell you that all this is wrong, Hell my sister in the next room would start a fight over it, Each of us ferocious in our belief that the way we do it is correct and the way you do it is not "how my Mamgu did it"

 

[psikeyhackr]

I'll have to try to find this:

Beef Shepherd's Pie

Enjoy an easy hearty meal with a beef frozen shepherd's pie from Marie Callender's. Made with beef, carrots, and corn in gravy topped with mashed pota

www.mariecallendersmeals.com

It doesn't have very good ratings.

 

[Bramandin]

Couple of questions I may have missed is did your Captain come from money or not and how old are they?

Binging it back to the original subject...

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.

My ex is the son of ex-pats and all three boys came back here. (Weep for the youngest, I left him in the care of my mom and my aunts for a week before college and I'm still trying to construct an understanding of the culture-shock that he must have experienced.)

 

[Ursa major]

but generally speaking people are free to indulge in 'thread necromancy' as they so desire

Do you think we ought to mention that every old thread raised from the dead automatically chops a few days off the necromancer's life...?

 

[psikeyhackr]

Do you think we ought to mention that every old thread raised from the dead automatically chops a few days off the necromancer's life...?

It also curls the hair but since I am of African descent it is not a problem.

 

[Bramandin]

I'll have to try to find this:

Beef Shepherd's Pie

Enjoy an easy hearty meal with a beef frozen shepherd's pie from Marie Callender's. Made with beef, carrots, and corn in gravy topped with mashed pota

www.mariecallendersmeals.com

It doesn't have very good ratings.

Lol, that's edible, but pretty standard for cheap frozen meals. Really what you want to do is make a big crock-pot of beef stew, put some of the leftovers into a glass baking dish, top it with mashed potatoes, and reheat it in the oven the next day.

 

[Pyan]

A mashed potato-topped pie made with beef is a cottage pie. To be a shepherds pie, the meat must be lamb (or mutton).
Shepherds don't look after cows - the clue is in the name...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

My husband is rather fond of that, um, product. I will inform him that it has been masquerading under an assumed name.

 

[Pyan]

My husband is rather fond of that, um, product. I will inform him that it has been masquerading under an assumed name.

You could always try to tempt him with a Cornish Stargazy Pie...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

It's the kind of thing I might have built a story around, if Victoria Goddard hadn't already done it better than I could ...but as for actually preparing it and eating something that fishy, my allergy to seafood says no. We will stick wth cottage pie.

 

[Danny McG]

a meal to tide you over till Dinner (the evening not afternoon meal) was Bara,Te which was hot Tea with no milk lots of sugar and lumps of Cheedar cheese and thick buttered bread all mixed together like a stew and eaten with a spoon

I just know that I'm now compelled to try this tomorrow!