English Food and Eating Habits

The English usually have four meals a day: breakfast, dinner (lunch), tea (five o'clock) and supper (dinner). Some people have din­ner at one o'clock and some have dinner in the evening (instead of supper) and the midday meal is then called lunch. The traditional English breakfast is a meal of bacon and eggs, hot buttered toast or bread, or rolls, marmalade or jam, tea or coffee. In Scotland and north­ern parts of England people sometimes have a plate of porridge or cornflakes for breakfast.

The second meal (lunch or dinner) is served at one o'clock. It consists of two courses if it is lunch and three courses if.it is din­ner. First comes soup (sometimes juice or a piece of melon). The sec­ond course is a meat or fish course. Beefsteak is the most popular meat dish. It is usually accompanied by roast potatoes or potatoes done in their jackets, a second vegetable (probably cabbage or carrots) and Yorkshire pudding.

Then comes a sweet. Apple pie (with hot custard) is a favourite sweet. There are also various types of pudding. Lunch is very similar to dinner but it is a lighter meal and as a rule people do not have soup for lunch.

The next meal is five o'clock tea. In most families it is served at half past four or five o'clock. Sometimes people may have some sand­wiches or biscuits with five o'clock tea but generally very little food. Tea is taken with milk. Tea with lemon is called Russian tea and is served only in some cafes and restaurants. Guests are often invited to five o'clock tea. The hostess welcomes them at the door and invites them to the drawing-room where tea is served. Then she brings in the tea-service (cups, saucers, plates, a tea-pot, a sugar bowl) on a tea-waggon (tea-trolley) or on a tray. The tea-party usually lasts not more than an hour.

The most known and popular food in Britain is fish and chips which anyone can get in cafes and restaurants or in special Fish and Chips shops open at certain times of the day (from 12 till 3 p.m. and from 7.30 till 11 p.m.).

When you come in and ask for fish and chips, the shop-assistant puts chips into a paper bag, puts a piece of fish on the top, sprinkles everything with salt and vinegar and then wraps everything in an old newspaper to keep them warm.

Answer the following questions:

1. How many meals a day do the English have? 2. What is the name of the first meal in the morning? 3. When is breakfast served? 4. What is the traditional English breakfast like? 5. What do people in the northern parts of England have for breakfast? 6. What do you have for breakfast? 7. What is the traditional English second meal? 8 When is it served? 9. What do the English usually have for dinner? 10. What is the most popular meat dish? 11. What is the favour­ite sweet of the English? 12. Is lunch lighter than dinner? 15 What is a five o'clock tea? 16. Are guests usually invited to five o'clock tea? 17. What is the most known and popular food on the British Isles? 18. Where is fish and chips served in Great Britain?