Re: [tlug] [OT] French cuisine

[Nick Bikkal <ipod.bikkal@example.com>]

On 05/30/2012 06:07 PM, Godwin Stewart wrote:
> On Wed, 30 May 2012 06:57:13 +0900, Nick Bikkal<ipod.bikkal@example.com>
> wrote:
>
> > > If you put traditional UK pub grub and your typical bistrot meal in a
> > > bar in France side by side, there is no comparison possible. I'd take
> > > the food in the UK pub any day of the week.
> > Awesome. Factoid worth passing along. Why do you think that is? Economy?
> Firstly, people are much more health-conscious than they used to be and
> would now much rather eat something carefully prepared than a bowl of salty
> fat.
>
> Secondly, economy does play an important part in that independent pubs (not
> many big chains, sadly) tend to champion local produce, which very
> frequently they source directly from the producer, ie. the farm down the
> road. This means that you end up with quality fresh ingredients on your
> plate rather than a frozen, mass-produced stew that's thrown into a
> microwave, that looks and probably tastes like someone has already eaten it,
> and that has never been within a country mile of a piece of beef.
>
> Thirdly, and someone else pointed this out, there is a massive "ethnic"
> influence. People want variety. You can get all sorts of ethnic foods in
> this country from all continents. Of course you'll find places that alter
> the preparation to "suit" local tastes (such as someone's "sushi with no
> raw fish" - although I'd like to point out that the name "sushi" actually
> refers to the rice and you can put what you want on it, it doesn't have to
> be raw fish at all), but you can also get the real McCoy over here. About
> the only authentic ethnic food you can get in France is North African.
> Everything else is tamed down beyond recognition, if you can find it in the
> first place.
>
> The French have always had a reputation for excellent cuisine, and it is a
> well deserved reputation. The problem is that France has not been looking
> outside her own borders. The French have always been so convinced of their
> (at one time perfectly justified) culinary superiority and just dismissed
> everyone else that the thought that another country might have good food and
> wine has only just started crossing their minds in the past decade or so,
> and it has been a rude awakening. Some still don't accept it. Other
> countries have overtaken France because France has sadly become complacent.
In 1986 I took my first to trip to Asia. I went to Beijing then Xian. In 
Xian I was told French cuisine has its roots in that city. Whatever the 
path the French seem to have inherited a cuisine unique to even their 
neighbors.

Nick

> There are still plenty of traditionalists here in the UK who would rather
> have their bowl of salty fat than any of that "foreign muck", so you'll
> still see traditional British fare such as fish'n'chips, steak and ale
> pies, scouse, hotpot etc. for sale over here. I'll indulge in that
> particular guilty pleasure from time to time as well. They are, however, no
> longer the only kind of consumer over here, nor are they even a majority
> any more.

--
Nick

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