After a long break I've wondered what to return with. Something to do with absence seemed apt. So I'm writing in response to my gut feelings (get it?) following a recent trip to Croatia.
I definitely take for granted the variation and exoticism of foreign cuisines. I've become
obsessed with Greek food, fallen in love with
Thai flavours, and love playing with global ingredients. Holidaying for me is as much about the food as it is about the place. So when I spent a week in Croatia I experienced an odd feeling - they don't have a unique cuisine.
Croatian restaraunts are largely a mix of italian food (pizza, pasta and risotto as standard), fresh fish options and they serve chips with pretty much everything. The food I experienced was almost always oversalted - a poor substitute for that truly unique flavour I was hoping for. When I tried to experience something new and tried shark steak I found I was also eating about a bathtub of salt -it made for an uncomfortable night's digestion.
So clearly, my expectation is to experience a taste sensation in every new place I travel. Be it the fresh feta in Lefkas, or the enormous pancakes in America. But where does this expectation even stem from when we don't have a cuisine ourselves?
British cuisine is just meat and potatoes. Discuss.
Our pubs are also lined with stolen cuisine. "I really fancy some classic pub grub" generally means Lasagne, spag bol (meat and, the refreshingly different alternative to potatoes, pasta) or a version of our own great British classic (meat and potatoes) Shepherd's Pie, roast dinner, steak and kidney pie, bangers and mash, fish and chips or a big breakfast (and no Hilton Hotel, there's nothing continental about hash browns).
But it's not all bad in Britain. What sets British food apart to me is down to a combination of things.
Our ability to borrow ideas is pretty good.
Jamie Oliver being a great example of someone who has mastered world cuisine for the masses, giving enough inspiration to our untrained cuisineless minds to go out and experiment, just enough.
I'd also say we're leading the way in changing attitudes to food, with TV chefs talking more and more about where their food is being sourced as much as the end result. Sourced in Britain, cooked using Indian spices - works for me.
But finally, I've found the thing we do
really well. Baking. Cream teas, Victoria sponges (including the jam), iced buns, flapjacks, millionaire's shortbread, butterfly cakes - thank you
WI!
So, perhaps we naturally choose one direction or the other. Sweet or savoury. With us lucky Brits able to access so many global foods locally, I guess we can't really complain.
But what about Croatia? Who fail on a, savoury at least, cuisine. What's their pièce de résistance?
I give you - Ice cream...
