Beef Wellington, Saag Paner

The UK has the worst reputation for cuisine. People always ask when I get back "How awful was the food?"

Of course the truth is, while England's indigenous cuisine may not be much to write home about, they brought great food back from all the ends of the world, most of which they had colonized. I don't mean this as a slap; they got the Magna Carta, the brits got Abu Mater and asian noodles.

Jonathan Pearce of Samizdata reports on Britain's first known curryhouse, circa 1805.

In my area of Pimlico, central London, there is an Indian restaurant right near my flat (aaahhh!) - said to be one of the oldest in London, dating back to the 1950s. But it appears that this now-established feature of culinary life has been going on since the age of Nelson, Wellington and William Wordsworth. An early example, in fact, of culinary globalization. It is not, in fact, all that surprising, since the desire for eastern spices and foodstuffs was an important economic incentive behind much of global trade at that time.

If you enjoy Indian food, not only will you not starve in the UK, you will come home to find our good ol' 'mercun Himalayan food distictly sub par.

On the web Posted by jk at September 30, 2005 4:13 PM