Text 1. In search of good English food

How come it is so difficult to find English food in England? In Greece you eat Greek food, in France French food, in Italy Italian food, but in England, in any High street in die land it is easier to find Indian and Chinese restaurants than English ones.

Britain'-and good food are two things which are not commonly associated. Visitors to Britain have widely varying opinions about all sorts of aspects of the country, but most of them seem to agree that the food is terrible. Why? One reason could simply be that British tastes are different from everybody else's. However, the most common complaint is not so much that British food has a strange, unpleasant taste, but rather that it has very little taste at all. The vegetables, for example, are overcooked. It is all too bland.

Another explanation may be that most visitors to Britain do not get the opportunity to sample good cooking. They either eat the food cooked in an institution, such as a university canteen, or they 'eat out' a lot, usually in rather cheap restaurants and cafes. These places are definitely not where to find good British food. For one thing, food should, according to British people, be eaten hot, which is difficult to arrange when feeding large numbers of people. In addition, the British have not got into the habit of preparing sauces with grilled food in order to make it tastier.''

The explanations above can only serve as a partial excuse for the unfortunate reputation of British cuisine. Even in fast food restaurants and everyday cafes, the quality seems to be lower than it is in equivalent places in other countries. It seems that British people simply don't care enough to bother.

Even at home, food and drink is given relatively little attention. The coffee is often just as' bad as it is in the cafes. British supermarkets sell far more instant coffee than what the few people who drink it often call 'real' coffee. Instant coffee is less trouble. Meals tend to be eaten quickly and the table cleared. Parties and celebrations are not normally centred around food.

British people have been mostly urban, having little contact with 'the land', for longer than the people of other countries. Perhaps this is why the range of plants and animals which they will eat is rather narrow.

However, the picture is not entirely negative. While the British are conservative about ingredients, they are no longer conservative about the way they are served. In the 1960s, it was reported that the first British package tourists in Spain not only insisted on eating (traditionally British) fish and chips all the time but also on having them, as was traditional, wrapped up in specially imported British newspaper!

By now, however, the British are extremely open to the cuisine of other countries. The country's supermarket shelves are full of the spices and sauces needed for cooking dishes from all over the world (the increasingly multicultural nature of the population has helped in this respect). In addition, there is increasing interest in the pure enjoyment of eating and drinking.

TASKS ON THE TEXT:

1. Read the quotations about English food. Comment on them using information from the text above:

" If the English can survive their food, they can survive anything! " (George Bernard Shaw);

" Even today, well-brought up English girls are taught to boil all vegetables for at least a month and a half, just in case one of the dinner guests comes without his teeth! " (Calvin Trillin, American writer);

" On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners." (George Mikes, writer and humorist).

2. Explain the meaning of the following phrases:

in any High Street in the land; English food is all too bland; to sample home cooking; to eat out; unfortunate reputation of British cuisine; 'real' coffee; instant coffee; package tourists; fish and chips; the increasingly multicultural nature of the population.

3. Make up 10 questions to cover the text.

4. Give a summary of text 1.