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Mitos sobre la gastronomía inglesa

Quite Fishy and Definitely Chippy: A Defence of English Food

 First things first: not all English people eat fish and chips. Some English people don´t even like fish and chips. I know that this may seem strange, like a Spanish person who doesn´t care for paella, but trust me – it´s true.

In the North of England, many people actually prefer to eat pie and chips – meat and potato pie, cheese and onion pie, mince pie, steak and kidney pudding – take your choice. Fish and chips? Not so much.

English food seems to be a global joke – like the cliché that all Americans are fat and eat burgers for breakfast, that all French people love cheese,

or that German people eat spicy sausages all the time.

At least those cultures´ gastronomic prowess is revered, or at least not mocked; the poor English, meanwhile, have to endure all manner of slights on their national diet.  It´s stodgy and tasteless, it is said. There is no variety in the food; the fruit and vegetables are not fresh; it´s unimaginative; plus the English all have bad teeth, and what does that tell you? Pimientos Blog

It´s interesting that these opinions are often espoused by people who have never been to England, let alone eaten its food. Those who have been invariably cite London as their point of reference. Newsflash: London is not England, not in the deeper, culturally relevant sense. London is arguably a country in its own right, with its own culture, languages and customs, in the same way that New York is in no way representative of the American Midwest.

I think it´s time that English food stood up for itself!

Go and try some of our black puddings, roast dinners and meat and tatty (potato) pies or, if you´re sweeter of tooth, check out our Manchester tarts, clotted cream fudge or spotted dick covered in thick custard… and discover real English food for yourself. You might be surprised.

 A. Porter